Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Hawaii Bathymetry

 
Original - Bathymetric image of the Hawaiian Islands, lava flows are highlighted in red.
Reason
Excellent image which contributes to a reader's understanding of Hawaii hotspot, and it is of high standards and resolution.
Articles this image appears in
Hawaii hotspot, Maui Nui, Penguin Bank
Creator
United States Geological Survey, Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason
Could you explain your comment of "Unrealistic depiction of the relief" Seddσn talk 02:36, 9 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • Info PDF was apparently composed in Adobe Illustrator ("Hawaii-poster.ai"). Resolution of alternate pdf does not seem significantly different. Will point out one vector drawn part that apparently is not on the original raster image, and that's just North of the text "Honolulu" (best apparent on the original PDF). Not sure what's going on there, in terms of providence and accuracy. The original raster image may also have had some jpegesque artefacts, but I'm no expert on PDF-embedded images. Papa Lima Whiskey (talk) 13:57, 9 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • My attempt to upload a much bigger png to at least fix the fonts did not succeed (commons gave an error, "empty document", after about ten minutes spent in transferring the 31MB file); however, the previously uploaded image may be at or near the maximum resolution of the embedded raster image from what I can tell. Text is vector, though. Papa Lima Whiskey (talk) 14:02, 9 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • Question about the various lines and trails that run across the sea floor, especially in the deeper parts of the image, but also at the edges of the image: Are they artefacts, and if so, which stage of the measuring/processing introduces them? Papa Lima Whiskey (talk) 10:34, 9 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • Reply Some of the lines you see are the edges of data integrated from ship-based sonar, hence the zig-zag detail of the Maui Fracture Zone. If that is what you're referring to. If you're referring to the purple area below the Molokai Fracture Zone, that is more of an artifact of the lower resolution zone and this is what the source has to say about it:

Bathymetry that is predicted from variations in sea-surface height, observable from satellites, provides the low-resolution (fuzzy) bathymetry in between ship tracks. Subaerial topography is from a USGS 30-m digital elevation model of Hawaii.

--ErgoSumtalktrib 22:34, 9 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Update I have provided a higher resolution image, so the fonts issue is solved. Also, there is no "towers of hanoi" effect, as this shows the natural features of volcanic lava flows piled up over time. All of the ship based data is of high resolution, but the areas of fuzzy low resolution are still present. Nothing can be done about this, but the supposed "artifacts" can be smoothed out, however, the this would only "hide" the fact that there is less data available for these areas (i.e., its still not going to be as detailed as the rest of the map). I'm hoping the previous !voters will be kind enough to re-evaluate the image again based on the new and improved version, and in light of new information. Or should I just renominate? I don't deal too much with Featured Pictures, so I'm not up to speed on the procotols around here. --ErgoSumtalktrib 20:28, 12 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Answer Actually, no, it is not short for anything. If you notice, there is a "Hawaiian Arch" and a "Hawaiian Moat". The islands are surrounded by a peculiar moat-like trench (see this article). Some theorize that the arch is actually an effect of the hotspot deep below the islands, and this "swell" is proof of a "mantle plume", and that this mantle plume is pushing up through the crust like a pimple. Others might say it is simply an effect of the subsidence (sinking) of the heavy volcanic islands pushing down on the sea floor which produces a second arch beyond the moat (notice the words "Hawaiian Arch" again in the upper right-hand corner of the image). Also, the arch in the center of the image was part of an ancient mega-island, Maui Nui, which was broken up (through erosion and sea level rise) into several of the islands we see today. --ErgoSumtalktrib 13:07, 13 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Not promoted --wadester16 01:38, 17 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]