coasts

All the lighthouses that illuminate the coasts of the North Atlantic, gathered in an impressive interactive map

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The figure of the solitary lighthouse keeper in charge of the thankless task of keeping his tower operational and in good condition at the service of the boats has long been a rare sight: they are in danger of extinction in front of the automated towers, both in terms of lighting and other auxiliary tasks within of the DGPS differential system. There are (almost) no lighthouse keepers, but the lighthouses look like never before. Only Europe’s 90,000 kilometers of coastline They are a veritable garden of lighthousesbut one thing are lighthouses (that iconic tall tower with a light on top) and another is lights for maritime signaling, where large lights, small lights, beacons or buoys enter. The reference technical standard is IALA Recommendation E-110, as collects and translates into Spanish Puertos del Estado. If we talk about maritime signage, things change there and the figures increase: there are 23,217 lights in the northern seas alone, according to OpenStreetMaps. It must be considered that this is open data, provided by the community, with areas very well mapped and others not so well. The lighthouses of the North Seas, as we have never seen them If we stick to the northern seas, the lighthouses drop to around 2,500 units. Although his thing is teaching and business, Wharton University professor Ethan Mollick has condensed all this information into an interactive map using vibe coding: Lighthouse Atlas. Lighthouse Atlas This map of the northern seas is more than a mere cartography of that maritime signage: it is interactive, making it a tool as visual as it is impressive for the possibility of playing with zoom, filtering or the information it shows. If you also hover over the lights, you can see more data such as their name, color range or frequency. In addition to being able to filter to see only the headlights (‘Major lights only’), as Mollick explainseach light has the correct color, each flashes with the appropriate frequency, and its brightness has been scaled according to OSM data. You can also see how far away they are visible. How far are the light signals seen in the Atlantic, between the Spanish and French states Thus, the size of the points serves to get an idea of ​​how close or far the vessels can be to view the signals. For example, on these lines you can see how much the signals of the muga between the Spanish and French states illuminate. Especially striking because of how congested the Norwegian coast is, as can be seen numerically. in the database from Norsk Fyrhistorisk Forening, the company that compiles a detailed map of locations along the entire Scandinavian coast. However, of the historical 212, it has about 150 operational. It is not the only one: Scotland and the Isle of Man, the coasts of Denmark and the Adriatic Sea, on the coasts of Greece and Türkiye are also well nourished. In Xataka | A man bought a desert island in 1962: he planted 16,000 trees and turned it into an anti-rich sanctuary In Xataka | All the lighthouses of Europe, with their different patterns and colors, gathered in this fantastic map Cover | Lighthouse Atlas

a widespread error reveals that the coasts are much more exposed

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One of the great ‘fears’ we have regarding global warming is the rise in sea level and the risk of floods in coastal locations in much of the world due to the melting of the poles. But now we have bad news: the vast majority of scientific studies on the risk of coastal flooding have started from the wrong premise. And it is not a miscalculation in the thaw or in the CO₂ emissionsbut we have been measuring wrongly where the ‘zero’ is. They have realized. This is what has been revealed by a new study published this month March in Nature that has shaken the foundations of coastal climate projections. Here the research has pointed out that the sea level on the coasts is, on average, about 30 centimeters higher than what the risk models assumed. And in some areas of the planet, the difference exceeds one meter. How is it possible? To understand where the problem is, you have to look at how a flood risk map is created. When researchers calculate which areas will be underwater if sea levels rise, they need a starting point like a baseline, and the problem is that this starting point was very wrong. The problem. To reach this conclusion, the researchers reviewed 385 peer studies published between 2009 and 2025 and discovered a pattern: more than 90% of these investigations used “theoretical geoids” to mark this baseline. The problem is that a geoid is an idealized gravitational model of the Earth that assumes an ocean at perfect rest. However, the real ocean is far from being completely at rest, since there are different factors, such as prevailing winds, ocean currents, water temperature and salinity, that cause water to accumulate more on some coasts than on others. That is why when the researchers compared these theoretical models with the real measurements obtained through satellite altimetry and tide gauges, the discrepancy was evident. They change the world. At a global level, if this correction is adjusted to real factors, the underestimation of coastal sea level is between 24 and 30 centimeters. And although it may seem like a manageable figure, in coastal topography 30 centimeters makes the difference between a dry promenade and a flooded city. The most worrying thing is the geographical inequality of this error, since, while in some areas of the global north the deviation is smaller, in the South the effective sea level becomes one meter or more higher than what had been projected. But there are even exceptional areas where extreme figures of up to 5.5 or 7.6 meters are reached. Greater risk. By applying these new models of the seas, the Wageningen researchers discovered that, given a projected 1 meter rise in sea level, the coastal area at risk of flooding is 37% greater than previously thought, which puts an additional 132 million people in the danger zone. The rhythm does not change. Although this may seem like we are experiencing an increase in the speed of sea level rise, the truth is that everything remains at the same point, and with a speed that remains the same as that at which it had been previously measured. What changes in this case is the starting point, since by starting from a base that was too low we were experiencing a false sense of security. This means that we are now closer to the critical flood thresholds than we thought, so the time margin we thought we had to build dams, relocate populations or adapt infrastructure in megacities in Asia or on Pacific islands has just been drastically reduced. The next step. To solve this historical “blind spot”, the research team has not limited itself to pointing out the error that has been made, but has processed the corrected data using supercomputers and published it openly. The goal here is for governments and climatologists to be able to recalculate their coastal risk maps using the actual sea surface and not a theoretical globe. In Xataka | Someone has created a simulator where you can see if sea level rise is going to reach your house or not. Image | Adam Dillon

The loggerhead turtle is increasingly common on the Spanish coasts. It is a bad sign about the Mediterranean

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The Mediterranean is being invaded. The ‘fried egg’ jellyfish or the imposing lionfish They are two undesirable new tenants, but there is one animal that is much less annoying, It is not invasive and yet it is a problem that it is colonizing the western Mediterranean. This is the loggerhead sea turtle. And it is another adaptive response to climate change. The loggerhead turtle. Its scientific name is Caretta caretta and is one of only two species of sea turtle (the other is the Chelonia mydasor green turtle) that reproduces in the Mediterranean beaches. If you look at the map, its distribution is worldwide. They enjoy warm waters with a wide range of surface temperatures (a range between 13 and 28 degrees Celsius), but things change during the spawning season. Nesting females prefer temperatures between 27 and 28 degrees, making Mediterranean beaches an ideal area to lay eggs. The traditional spawning grounds in the Mediterranean were the eastern area, especially the Greek beaches, but something is happening: an increase in temperatures is creating a double imbalance. A determining factor. It is curious, but temperature controls both the willingness of turtles to nest in an area and, and this is almost the most important, the sixth of their hatchlings. The sexual determination of chelonians depends on the incubation temperature in the eggs buried in the sand. With this strict fan of 27-28 degrees, a balanced population between males and females is achieved. With higher temperatures, there is a imbalance towards the predominant birth of females. This is a problem for the turtle population itself, since an imbalance of this type would put the species at risk. And even more curious is that mature females have instinctively found a biological refuge on the coasts of the western Mediterranean, where the beaches are somewhat colder (for the moment). The objective is to ensure greater sexual diversity. Increase in nesting. HE esteem that, in the Mediterranean basin, there are about 8,000 eggs per year. The traditional places are Greece, Türkiye, Libya, Tunisia and Cyprus, but little by little we are seeing that change in the balance. In 2001 found a first nest on a beach in Almería, in Vera, and since then loggerhead turtle nests have been recorded in other parts of the geography of the western Mediterranean. The turtles They are spawning in Spainbut also in Italy, Malta and Tunisia. In addition to the Almeria coast, the areas in which the turtles are creating nests are Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, Valencia, Murcia and they have been observed in Fuengirola and Marbella. Conservation and awareness. There are organizations that, increasingly, point out that nesting has been increasing in recent years, and regardless of what it means at a climatic level, it is another problem due to the human factor. In countries “accustomed” to this, where nests are protected, the population knows not to interfere with them. In others where turtles are beginning to nest, it is possible that we, maliciously or unintentionally, interfere with the reproductive cycles of a species that is considered under threat. That is why it is also they throw citizen awareness campaigns to inform about them and how to proceed if someone finds a nest that is not already being monitored. For example, performing events in schools on biology and conservation of the species. It is also perform awareness work with fishermen as a target audience, since fishing activities are one of the main causes of death. Likewise, when a clutch is detected, there is the possibility of protecting the nest in situ (where the turtles have to hatch correctly and take the infernal path to the sea) or take the eggs to controlled breeding centerswhere they mature and are subsequently released. Turtle nursery in Fuerteventura Poison beyond the heat. But there is another problem apart from climate change and human action: the pollutants that are poisoning the turtles. In recent years there has been studied the liver of at least a dozen loggerhead turtles, finding traces of PCB, PCDF and PCDD. These are chemicals, pesticides that alter the immune and hormonal systems of turtles. It is something that comes from the hand of the esurface runoff carrying chemical waste from agriculture and industry to the rivers that subsequently flow into the sea. And torture, unfortunately, is becoming a thermometer of the state of our waters, both in terms of temperature and the presence of chemicals that are already altering the fauna. Images | H. Zell, Dionysisa303 In Xataka | The owner of Loro Parque in the Canary Islands charges against animal rights activists. And with this it reopens the debate on the existence of zoos

That another tsunami reaches the coasts of Japan

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The west of the Pacific has witnessed this morning of a great earthquake with epicenter off the coasts of the Kamchatka Peninsula. While for now there have been no victims, numerous areas of the Pacific coast They have activated alerts for the risk of tsunami. Among them, the densely populated coasts of Japan, where alert can bring memories of what lived in 2011. The earthquake. The earthquake, of magnitude 8.8occurred around 11:25 at local time, or 1:25, Spanish peninsular time (23:25 UTC). After the central event there have been a series of replicas in the area, one of which It has reached magnitude 6.9. The last replica detected by the United States Geological Service (USGS) has occurred at 12:13, Spanish time (22:13 local time), and has been a movement with magnitude 5.2. The event also had its precedents: the area had registered a high seismicity in the previous 10 days. A few hours earlier, at 4:59 PM, Spanish peninsular time (02:59 local time), A movement was recorded of magnitude 4.8 in the coastal region. The earthquake and its replicas have occur More than 180,000 inhabitants) and capital of the administrative region in which the Peninsula is located. Magnitude 8.8. Today’s has been the largest earthquake recorded from the earthquake Magnitude 9 which caused in 2011 a tsunami that swept part of the east coast of Japan. There is one Inverse relationship between the magnitude of an earthquake and the probability of being such an event. For example, the earthquakes of magnitude 8 occur, on average, once a year, while in an average year we can expect that some 1,500 earthquakes of magnitude 5 will occur globally. We do not know exactly how much energy the event has released, But based on USGS data We can estimate that it could be the equivalent of more than 7 billion tons of TNT. A new tsunami? The earthquake has activated alarms throughout the Pacific coast but especially in neighboring Japan. The coast of the Asian country is still under different levels of alert by Tsunami: about two million people have been calls to evacuate your residence or work areas due to risk which implies sea level rise. According to The local media reports Japan Timestowards the end of the afternoon waves of up to 1.3 meters had been recorded, but the country is still on alert since the waves can reach three meters. This implies an important risk for people, goods and infrastructure, but is far from the 40 meters of tsunami that swept the country’s coast in 2011. Another reassuring factor is that the distance from the earthquake has given the authorities time to react and avoid major problems. The Fire Ring. Both the earthquake and tsunami of 2011 and today have occurred in The so -called “Fire Ring”a region of high seismic activity that surrounds the Pacific Ocean. This is a meeting region between the Pacific tectonic plate and the surrounding plates. Throughout this border region there are numerous failures in which this meeting is particularly dynamic, causing high seismicity and high volcanism. An active peninsula. According to Explain the USGSin the area where the match has occurred, the peaceful plaque moves to the west-northwest with respect to the American plate with a speed of about 80 mm per year. Fruit of the high seismicity of this environment, the Kamchatca Peninsula has an abundant amount of volcanoes. Volcanoes that, located in a remote and relatively depopulated area, make up a natural place whose uniqueness led Unesco to add them to your list of the World Heritage. In Xataka | China will resurrect the technology that was believed a legend: the eight dragons that detect the lands of the earth Image | USGS

‘The White Lotus’ has shown how a group of millionaires veraneanding on your coasts is a magnet for tourism

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In addition to catching millions of viewers, Successful television series They have proven to have an unexpected power: become fashion tourist destination Your locations. Beyond their plots or characters, the landscapes that appear in them become one more actor and an object of desire to Millions of anxious tourists for living the same experiences as the protagonists of the series. The last to exploit this phenomenon has been “The White Lotus” in which, for more signs, a group of millionaires enjoy some vacation in a luxury resort. The tourist claim is served. The “The White Lotus” effect is very real In the same way as each stop on the Taylor Swift tour affected the economy Local for the singer’s convocation power, every season of “The White Lotus” has had in response an increase in visitors in the locations in which it has been filmed. In the BBC They analyzed the phenomenonwho have not hesitated to qualify as “White Lotus effect“ The White Lotus series, which tells the vacations of a group of Millionaires in a luxury resort which gives name to the series, but in real life it is hotels of the Four Seasons chain. For the first season, Mike White, made the whole plot happen at the facilities of the Four Seasons Resort Maui in Waileain Hawaii. According to data published by the BBC, the hotel registered an annual increase of 425% in the number of visitors to its website and 386% in availability consultations after the broadcast of the first season. Four years after the broadcast of the first season of the series in Hawaii, there is still no availability for the “pineapple suite” that appears in the series. The hotel chain has not let the occasion escape and has taken advantage of the pull of the series to offer one of its “premium experiences” emulating the protagonists From the series on a 20 -day jet in private jet to the three hotels that have served as a location for “The White Lotus”. Its price: since 188,000 per adult. The tourism of “The White Lotus” in figures According to published data by The Wrapthe impact on Hawaii’s local economy Tourism attracted by the series In the first season it was 12.89 million dollars for local economic activity. That provided 3.86 million dollars in salaries to the workers of the island and attracted an investment of 7 million in local companies and suppliers. All this in his first season, when his success still did not reach current popularity quotas, where Variety He reportedan audience of 4.2 million viewers in episode 6 of the third season. For the second season of the series, the group of millionaires moved to the facilities of the FOUR SEASONS SAN DOMENICO PALACE In Taormina, Sicily, and with them They dragged a legion of followers. In the case of Sicily, the series was already coming from a very successful first season, so its figures quadrupled. The local tourism economy It received an impact of 40.1 million dollars after the broadcast of the second season, which generated 18.7 million dollars in salaries for local workers and an investment of 21.4 million dollars for local companies and suppliers. The numbers suggest that the third season of the series, set in the Four Seasons Resort Koh Samuiin Thailand, they will also be a tourist ball that has already generated a benefit of 36.9 million dollars in tourist activities. According to published The New York Timesthe reserves in the Four Seasons in which the third season has already registered a 40% increase in its reserves. Those responsible for local airlines They assuredto Bloomberg They expected a record of 2.7 million visitors this year, attracted by the The White Lotus effect. Set-Jetting: Choose destination according to your favorite series The tourist success of The White Lotus is not an isolated case result of the aspirational desire to achieve some luxury vacation like those enjoyed by the wealthy protagonists of the HBO series. Choose how Vacation destination The locations of the series most popular of the moment has become a trend called “Set-Jetting“ According to The UNPACK´24 report Expedia, 66% of travelers have considered traveling to a destination after watching it in a series or film, and 39% have ended up spending their vacation in one of these film locations. Game of Thrones left an even deeper mark on his recording scenarios, such as Dubrovnik. From the premiere of the series, the city, which served as the scenario for landing of the King, experienced a 40% increase in the influx of international tourists. That generated immediate economic benefits, such as a 60% growth in local income related to tourism. However, series impact also brought some inconveniences For the inhabitants of the Croatian city. According to a studybetween 2012 and 2018, housing prices in Dubrovnik fired 28%, promoted in part by international investments and the arrival of foreigners who sought to acquire properties in the now famous destination. In Xataka | The last trend among millionaires is not to buy a yacht. Is to share a luxury minicrucero Image | Max

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