Why do they show seamounts on the moving map?
 

Gazing at the moving map during the climb out the other day I noticed they prominently show several seamounts and the "Bermuda Plateau" off the east coast. Hmmm …
come to think of it, I always wanted to know where those seamounts are while I'm flying. It's always good to know where the mountains are when you're flying.

Seriously, though, why is this? I can sort of see some logic in showing landmarks that you can see from the air, but seamounts? They are, after all, by definition under water and can't be seen. So who needs to know, and what went through the mind of the geographer/cartographer/mountaineer who thought we should know where they are?

As I think more about this I realize this is so like AC: they have the resources to find and map the seamounts, but somehow finding people to answer the phone is a major challenge.

There's my musing for the day.

I don't think Air Canada had their maps custom made.

And there are some cool names for these subsurface features too.

I'm probably the biggest carto-nerd on the block, and have also wondered why the seamounts are so prominently featured. The topographical and urban features of the maps are generally lacking, so I guess they had to add some bathymetry to fill in the empty blue space.

I'd like to see some real-time aviation features included: if we can't have a 'Channel 9' equivalent to listen to radio communications (admittedly pretty dull), then why not some ADS-B type data (such as on the pro version of sites like flightradar24) to see just how 'not alone' we are when we cross the oceans in the middle of the night. It's also pretty cool to know just who that is and where they're going when you see the other jets cross our path a thousand feet below.

Oh now that would be cool. And it shouldn't infringe on any pilot's privacy rights, too ....

Call me cynical, but I think the manufacturers and airlines are less interested in exploiting WiFi to show you cool info and more interested in exploiting it to sell you stuff. E.g. https://paxex.aero/2019/03/flightpat...he-moving-map/

I run a bunch of Raspberry Pi's with ADS-B receiver's that feed to FR24, Flightaware, Planefinder and others.

I've often wanted to take on one board, power it up, and put the small antennae by the window, while connected to onboard WiFi.

My wife freaks out telling me that I will be arrested for suspicious behaviour.

I should do it. It will work. It will give me something to do on the plane.

I could dump the data out to a Web server somewhere so other folks could access a Dump1090 map of what I"m seeing.

"How can this be interesting to anyone if I am not interested in it?" strikes again!

The main reason to show them is that they feel the need to put something on the map. What else is there? I suppose the could show the locations where the weather ships used to be.

Technically what we are talking about is a hillshade model of the surface with the map layer drawn on top of it. Provides relief information and makes the map 'livelier' than just the 2D map layer. So yes, it is there instead of a uniform blue for the ocean.

They are there because the entire moving map industry was taken over by a cartel controlled by the Cavendish family (headed by the Duke of Devonshire). The Cavendishes are notorious for their claims to much of the world's seafloor and for their bloody methods for getting their way.

That also explains why the little town of Chatsworth Ontario appears on every map. That's there in honour of Chatsworth House, the lavish estates owned by the Cavendishes. One of the Pride and Prejudice movies was filmed there. Some people complained the movie was not true to the book, but what people didn't realise was that much of the movie was coded threats to the other big moving map players at the time (all murdered since then.)

Nasty business.

They should show fish.

I suspect this is not even remotely legal AND probably subject to Captain's discretion and company rules.

But I'm glad you said 'small' antenna - my ADS-B antenna is overall 66cm long.