There's no "there" there.

[Gob]

A South Pacific island, shown on marine charts and world maps as well as on Google Earth and Google Maps, does not exist, Australian scientists say.

The supposedly sizeable strip of land, named Sandy Island on Google maps, was positioned midway between Australia and French-governed New Caledonia.



But when scientists from the University of Sydney went to the area, they found only the blue ocean of the Coral Sea.

The phantom island has featured in publications for at least a decade.

Scientist Maria Seton, who was on the ship, said that the team was expecting land, not 1,400m (4,620ft) of deep ocean.

"We wanted to check it out because the navigation charts on board the ship showed a water depth of 1,400m in that area - very deep," Dr Seton, from the University of Sydney, told the AFP news agency after the 25-day voyage.

"It's on Google Earth and other maps so we went to check and there was no island. We're really puzzled. It's quite bizarre.

"How did it find its way onto the maps? We just don't know, but we plan to follow up and find out." [a bit like Swansea.]

Australian newspapers have reported that the invisible island would sit within French territorial waters if it existed - but does not feature on French government maps.

Australia's Hydrographic Service, which produces the country's nautical charts, says its appearance on some scientific maps and Google Earth could just be the result of human error, repeated down the years.

A spokesman from the service told Australian newspapers that while some map makers intentionally include phantom streets to prevent copyright infringements, that was was not usually the case with nautical charts because it would reduce confidence in them.

A spokesman for Google said they consult a variety of authoritative sources when making their maps.

[rubato]

I had heard, I don't know if it's true, that mapmakers sometimes add things which aren't really there in order to prove copyright infringement.

Once the error got out into the public sphere it could be copied indefinitely.

??

yrs,
rubato

[Gob]

From the OP.

A spokesman from the service told Australian newspapers that while some map makers intentionally include phantom streets to prevent copyright infringements, that was was not usually the case with nautical charts because it would reduce confidence in them.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Brilliantly restrained and effective!

[The Hen]

Maybe when it was first identified it was a pod of whales?

(Or perhaps a squad of squid?)

[Gob]

It's the island of Leshp, I should know I have a doctorate (Doctorum Adamus cum Flabello Dulci), in such matters.

[Gob]

Ys?

[MajGenl.Meade]

Whatever it is it could mean death for Archibald Buttle

[Rick]

In Rubatos defense the OP article never actually read that it was on navigational charts.

Different article same subject

Geologists from the University of Sydney have discovered that Sandy Island, a Manhattan-sized island that shows up on Google maps and other charts between Australia and New Caledonia, does not actually exist.

The Australian scientists were aboard the RV Southern Surveyor on a 25-day expedition studying plate tectonics when they "undiscovered" the island.

The crew thought they would check out the mysterious island since it was in the path of their route, but immediately grew skeptical of its existence when they did not see it on a navigation chart aboard their ship, according to The Guardian's Luke Harding.

The island's non-existence was confirmed when the RV Southern Surveyor sailed right through where the 60-square-mile island should have been.

A crew member told The Guardian:

"This was one of those intriguing questions. It wasn't far outside of our path. We decided to actually sail through the island ... Lo and behold there was nothing! The ocean floor didn't ever get shallower than 1300 metres below the wave-base. There's an island in the middle of nowhere that doesn't actually exist."

The non-existence of Sandy Island was also reported in 2000 by ham radio enthusiasts who embarked on a voyage to find the island, according to The Daily Mail's Damien Gayle. Apparently, not all maps were changed.

A cartographic expert tells MailOnline that Sandy Island is "the result of an error in digitizing satellite photos."

[MajGenl.Meade]

In Rubatos defense the OP article never actually read that it was on navigational charts.

OP:

while some map makers intentionally include phantom streets to prevent copyright infringements

.

rubato:

I had heard, I don't know if it's true, that mapmakers sometimes add things which aren't really there in order to prove copyright infringement

Meade

[Rick]

And?

[MajGenl.Meade]

And

. . . Intersting. The only thing rubato wrote was that he "had heard" something . . . and that exact same thing was already described in the article.

In the same spirit, I enjoyed your post and would like you to know that I heard somewhere that some experts in maps think that there may have been a mistake when satellite photos were digitized but I don't know if that's true.

Yes. That's what I thought too

Meade

[Rick]

Yer velvet gloved smartassness aside

The only thing I caught in Gobs reply was the thing about navigation charts. As the man once said, sometimes an oversight is just an oversight.

I understand full well there is no love lost between the 2, so why would you want to throw in another bone?

[MajGenl.Meade]

Let me assist you with the non-nautical part:

From the OP.

A spokesman from the service told Australian newspapers that while some map makers intentionally include phantom streets to prevent copyright infringements, that was was not usually the case with nautical charts because it would reduce confidence in them.

I doubt that either Gob or rubato could care less for our little spat. I was replying not to either of them but to your "defence" which was er . . . not a defense at all. So if you don't want to know "and..." don't ask.

Yer velvet gloved smartassness aside

Yes, that's what I thought too.

Meade

[Rick]

Brilliantly restrained and effective!

Only after you posted this.

Are we having a "spat"?

Sorry, I'll let you play through then...

[MajGenl.Meade]

Whatever

[Gob]

You two!! Shake and make up like gentlemen!!

I'll be banging heads together otherwise.

I respect the pair of you, and know you are better than this, even if one of you is fucking English and the other a Yank, so stop it.

[MajGenl.Meade]

You two!! Shake and make up like gentlemen!!

. . . and I thought I'd never have to do it again:



. . . and hey! I'm not "(what you said) English" anyway - my wife's from the USA!

Meade

[oldr_n_wsr]

Atlantis?
The island on the TV show LOST?

[rubato]

I wonder how long it will be before there is a conspiracy theory about Sand Island?

Add:
Secret Government Labs.
Aliens.
Illuminati
Masons
Muslims
World domination.

And stir.


yrs,
rubato