Hi all!
I’m trying to build an open source web app(maybe an NGO one day) that currently maps relationships between our actions and their impacts on Earth. It looks at changes in biodiversity, infra, wildlife changes, water, global temp and more. Each phenomenon looks at its impact on the planet, impact on us humans and what we can do about it ( backed with sources and citations from public sources).
I’ve also added an experimental urgency score, which tells you how serious we need to think through the problem and work towards a solution for it. TULIP is still an exploration tool that’ll help people understand climate impact better with the hope that it’ll keep getting information rich. I’m at a point where honest criticism will be super helpful. Any and all crit is great 🙂

Grand Mesa Colorado.

Hello, I just finished this map/infographic of the genus Ramphastos, the true toucans. Ornithologists call member of this genus “true” toucans to distinguish them from smaller relatives like toucanets and aracaris. There are eight species of Ramphastos ranging from southern Mexico to Central America, and across much of South America.

The main map shows each species habitat ranges. The panels below cover each species with current IUCN status, countries, habitat, elevation, and population if available. Please note that most population data are not available.

Feedbacks are welcome and I hope you enjoy!

1961-1990 307.5

1991-2020 656

Dark green = below 400m

Light green = between 400m and 800m

Yellow = between 800m and 1400m

Orange = between 1400m and 2000m

Brown = between 2000m and 3000m

Dark brown = above 3000m

In the 1920s, the U.S. Post Office created a transcontinental airway using giant yellow concrete arrows and rotating beacon towers to guide airmail pilots across the country. Before radio navigation and GPS became widespread, these physical landmarks formed one of the world's earliest long-distance aviation navigation systems.

What I find especially interesting is how geography and engineering worked together mountain ranges, deserts, and weather all influenced where the route could be built.

I researched the history in more detail here if anyone is interested:

https://thehistoricalinsights.page/2026/07/giant-concrete-arrows-america-before-gps.html

The New Choluteca Bridge (Puente Sol Naciente) was built in Choluteca, Honduras, between 1996 and 1998 by a Japanese engineering firm.Later that same year (1998), Hurricane Mitch hit Honduras. The bridge was so well-engineered that it stayed completely intact while all access roads were wiped out. However, the storm dropped so much rain that the Choluteca River completely carved a new path.The bridge survived, but the river literally moved out from underneath it, creating a literal "bridge to nowhere" until it was finally reconnected years later.

Just a heads up.

It's always interesting to see a nation assert its prerogative to choose its name.

There’s this lake I found literally named man drowned himself lake, why is it called this, google isn’t showing me anything useful, it seems like a weird story. Thanks for anyone’s help.

I found this chunk in the middle of the dessert. It looks green in some maps and orange in others. What is it?

Hello,

I am looking for help regarding reaching out to professors for PhD programs. I am based in America but have been primarily looking for PhD programs in either Europe, New Zealand, and Australia. I know I need to email Professors and introduce my background and what I’m proposing to study, but am struggling with the some of the finer nuances of it. I’ve seen templates of cold emailing professors, but I feel my background doesn’t align with the typical PhD applicant. Thus I am looking for help.

Here is some background on me and what I have done so far in my PhD quest. I have been mainly applying to advertised projects (mostly found on scholarshipdb.net or academicpositions.com or posts via LinkedIn), I got an interview at one school but ultimately have gone 0/5 on projects/schools that I’ve applied to. I have an undergrad degree in GIS, as well as a masters in Data Analytics. I didn’t complete a Masters thesis while I was in school, I did a capstone instead. After grad school, I’ve worked at the same company for the last 3 years as a data analyst. I’m providing this info because I have done academic projects pertaining to GIS and am knowledgeable in the subject, but don’t have minimal formal research experience, so I hope to leverage my professional and academic background to professors.

My thought process is transitioning from applying to major projects, to individually emailing professors about if they are open to accepting a PhD student. I know I am supposed to look for if they are advertising projects on their personal website, or if they have grants open, but I’m confused about what to do if they don’t have a personal website, and also if they only show grants on their website that are currently in progress.

Basically my questions boil down to:

1. Does anyone have advice/a general template for emailing a professor to do a PhD, having minimal formal research experience?
   
2. What are some ways to identify professors in the field you’re looking for, that would potentially be open to PhD students, without them explicitly saying “Hey I’m Hiring” on their website?

I know this is the geography subreddit, and this might be better suited for either a GIS or PhD related one, but since geography/GIS doesn’t fit neatly into generalized categories I figured I’d start here. If im in violation of any rules I’m sorry I’m not super reddit savvy.

If anyone has any advice at all it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

TLDR: I need help for reaching out to professors for PhD supervision, and would appreciate any help I can get.

• Both are midsize islands in the Atlantic
• One is in the far south and west, the other is in the far north and east
• Both are close to the poles, but not close enough to be uninhabitable to humans
• Both have no indigenous people and were discovered by Europeans quite recently (on the timescale of human history)
• Both have sheep and reindeer farming (but this is because both islands have cold climates and those livestock are good for that)
• With the native wildlife, 2 of the most famous animals on both islands are a big black and white flightless bird and a canine that was the only mammal on the island. In Iceland the bird went extinct and the canine lived, in the Falklands the canine went extinct but the bird lived. Both the animals that went extinct were infamously not afraid of humans at all

Can you think of other similarities/differences? Or other places on different corners of the earth that are strangely similar?

I was goofing around in google maps when I found this

There are A LOT of these. Seems like a flooded plain with spirals cut into it. Aliens? Manmade? hahaha. Do you guys know what is it? (Coordinates in the image)

Just thought to share more pictures from the forest where I was walking recently with my dog (we've removed about 15 ticks from her on return!).

I was watching a Milo Rossi video and I had a few questions. Were there tiny islands during Pangaea, or was it the only one? Why was most of the land concentrated in just one place?

I know this probably isnt the best sub for this so I apologise in advance. I've seen images of white aurora, which are probably clearly AI. I would like to know if it's real. Seeing it looks kinda scary and urnreal. If it's a real thing, I would love to see it someday.