An image created more than six years ago that shows the Mediterranean Sea superimposed on a map of the United States is recirculating on social media, along with false claims that it's tied to climate change.
The map went viral on Twitter over the weekend, along with claims that it shows what the U.S. would look like by 2050 if no actions are taken against global warming and the sea level rises. Those claims, however, are completely false.
The map can be traced back to a 2015 blog post titled "The Mediterranean Sea of America" by architect Bret Drager, according to the Associated Press.
"I was examining maps and globes and realized that the Mediterranean Sea is at the same Latitude as the United States. If only it were possible to rotate the Mediterranean Sea around to our side of the planet," Drager wrote. "Would it fit? What effect would this have? What about the states… new coastlines in the middle of the country… new relationships… states torn in pieces?"
After taking some screenshots and with the help of "graphic manipulation," Drager created an image showing that the Mediterranean Sea does fit within the confines of the U.S.
"So, what have we done? This is a new vision of the United States of America," Drager wrote. "A brave new alternate United States of America with its great inland sea. What a different world it might have been, or might be in another alternate world."
Drager told the AP he created the map as a "thought experiment" to compare the relative sizes of the US and the Mediterranean Sea, and that he has had to debunk false claims that it is related to climate change many times.
While a rising sea level is a real threat to coastal communities, the U.S. wouldn't experience flooding as depicted in the image. A recent report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration indicates that sea levels are predicted to rise 10 to 12 inches by 2050, leading to more frequent high-tide flooding and extreme storm surge heights.
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