News Britain has a new tallest mountain.

[Notebook]

Well, hurrah for us. Thought it was a long time since we had one!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-42238262

N.

 

[Linguofreak]

Heh... I didn't think there was a point left anywhere on Earth (except maybe under the oceans) whose altitude wasn't known to within tens of meters. An error of nearly 400 meters is surprising.

But Antarctica is the place that I would most expect to find such errors.

 

[jedidia]

I guess it's not polar/high enough to be a "peak of eternal sunlight". You know, what with "the sun never setting on the empire" and all...

 

[Notebook]

Whats surprised me is the territorial claim. Thought Antartica had been declared a World Park, and all land claims withfrawn?

N.

 

[Face]

Whats surprised me is the territorial claim. Thought Antartica had been declared a World Park, and all land claims withfrawn?

It is always easy to be generous if what you give away has no real value. Just wait until the ice melted away and the rest of the world is a steam bath.

 

[Urwumpe]

It is always easy to be generous if what you give away has no real value. Just wait until the ice melted away and the rest of the world is a steam bath.

Already happens in the arctic, after offshore technology became good enough that the resources there can matter....

 

[Notebook]

Seriously, I thought the UN had done a deal, and all nations had agreed to not pursue territorial claims.

Or am I confusing that with something else?

N.

 

[Urwumpe]

Seriously, I thought the UN had done a deal, and all nations had agreed to not pursue territorial claims.

Or am I confusing that with something else?

N.

No, you just misunderstand that "UN had done a deal" already means that it can be safely ignored by a superpower and thus, in consequence by everybody.

 

[4throck]

:hmm: There are territorial treaties and deals to suit all claims.

Related to Antartica you have this odd one:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Tordesillas#Modern_claims

The Treaty of Tordesillas was invoked by Chile in the 20th century to defend the principle of an Antarctic sector extending along a meridian to the South Pole, as well as the assertion that the treaty made Spanish (or Portuguese) all undiscovered land south to the Pole.[44]

 

[jedidia]

as well as the assertion that the treaty made Spanish (or Portuguese) all undiscovered land south to the Pole.

Wait, land south of the south pole? how does that even work? :blink:

 

[Face]

Wait, land south of the south pole? how does that even work? :blink:

 

[Andy44]

Wait, land south of the south pole? how does that even work? :blink:

South "to" the pole, not south "of" the pole.

 

[jedidia]

South "to" the pole, not south "of" the pole.

Every once in a while, I do have to admit that english isn't my first language. So, what's the difference between the two?

 

[paddy]

South from here all the way TO the pole.
Starting from the pole, everything south OF it.

Wait for the poles to flip, and they have done in the past, and south of the pole will be the whole world!

 

[jedidia]

South from here all the way TO the pole.
Starting from the pole, everything north OF it.

Is this what you meant? Otherwise, I don't quite get it yet.

 

[Andy44]

Let me try...

"South to the pole" means "all the land between here (Chile) and the pole"

"South of the pole" means "all the land that lies beyond the pole in a southerly direction", which as you pointed out, makes no sense, since the south pole is defined as the southern most point.

 

[RisingFury]

"South of the pole" means "all the land that lies beyond the pole in a southerly direction", which as you pointed out, makes no sense, since the south pole is defined as the southern most point.

That's the sensible explanation, but let's have some fun.

So let's define three points on a sphere. Let A be the south pole. Let B and C be two points on the globe that don't lie on A, don't lie on each other and don't line on the same great circle line.

So that gives us a wedge of territory.

If we define south as the latitude, then obviously it doesn't get any more south than point A, which is at -90°. But if we instead define south as a direction, then the argument can be made that if you travel on a line from point B to point A, you're travelling south. If you maintain that direction without changing it, then you're still travelling south.

With that argument "all land south of the south pole" would then cut out a wedge on the opposite side of points B and C.

 

[Notebook]

Once you leave point A, you are travelling North?

N.

 

[statickid]

:2cents:

In a more general sense:

South to something means you end there, -traveling south to get there.

South of something means you start there, -traveling south when you leave.

 

[Notebook]

Just to totally confuse the issue...

"Its all gone South!" can mean "Its all gone wrong!".

Probably a local colloquial expression, might not mean anything outside the UK?