Exercise 1: Map projections as essential tools of physical oceanography.

This map of the five continents is an example of many maps which are in widespread use in post offices, companies, school atlases and other places. It does not conserve area and therefore gives a very misleading representation of the surface of the earth. To begin with, areas become more and more inflated as the distance from the equator increases. In addition, the map extends to about 82°N but only to 55°S, so the equator is found somewhere in the lower half of the map. Take extreme caution when drawing conclusions about the relative sizes of countries and continents from this map!