Mercator Map and Equal Earth Projection

About Mercator Map

• Mercator map is a cylindrical map projection which is derived mathematically.
• Features:
  • It has a grid pattern with longitudes (or meridians) and latitudes (or parallels) at 90-degree angles.
  • The lines of longitude are evenly spaced.
  • The lines of latitude become farther apart away from the Equator.
  • Equator is located at the centre of the map.
• Creator: This map was designed in 1569 by the Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator to help European explorers navigate across the world.
• Problem with Mercator Map: The Mercator map makes countries and regions near the equator look smaller, while areas near the poles appear much larger.
  • For example, on the Mercator map, Africa appears similar in size to Greenland, even though Africa is about 14 times larger.

About Equal Earth Projection

• Definition: The Equal Earth map projection is an equal-area pseudocylindrical projection for world maps.
• Feature: In this map, the meridians of Equal Earth are equally spaced and do not excessively curve outwards.
  • There are loosely approximate elliptical arcs that mimic the overall appearance of a globe. 
• Developed by: The Equal Earth projection was developed in 2018 by an international team of cartographers. 
  • It was promoted by Togo’s #CorrectTheMap campaign.
• Advantage: It gives a more accurate representation of the actual size of continents.
• Adoption of new map: The United Nations General Assembly voted to phase out the traditional Mercator map in favour of the Equal Earth projection to accurately reflect the true proportions of global landmasses.
  • Not legally binding: The UN resolution does not force countries to stop using the Mercator map, but it could influence school textbooks, technology and other mapping systems.