The Telegraph has posted images created by Felix Pharand-Deschenes, founder and director of Globaia, that show how subsea cables, power lines, roads, railways, and air traffic corridors cover the surface of Earth.
According to The Telegraph, his visualisations are based on real data from US government sources like the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency and the National Oceanic for railways, pipelines and roads as well as the Atmospheric Administration for the air traffic.
Among the pictures in the slideshow are two of Africa.
The first shows the continent’s underwater cables that connect it to the Internet, road and rail networks, and electricity transmission lines all superimposed over cities at night.
Looking at Pharand-Deschenes’ images it would seem that Africa isn’t nearly as dark as the old cliché would suggest.
A mesh of major roads, railways and air traffic corridors span across its surface, and the single strand of undersea connectivity that used to come to Africa’s most southern tip has multiplied into a good handful.
- Human technology presence over Africa at night
Looking at the lines of subsea cables running around Africa as beams of light is beautiful, but Steve Song and Greg Mahlknecht from South Africa have developed cable maps that show more detail.
- ManyPossibilities African undersea cable map
Song’s map shows Mediterranean and African undersea cables along with their design capacities.
Mahlknecht’s map is interactive and shows cables from all over the world. When you click on one its particulars are displayed, along with links to further information about it (such as a Wikipedia article).
Image credit: Felix Pharand-Deschenes / SPL/ Barcroft Media
Africa is not so dark after all << Comments and views
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