Point Nemo
Geometry & Trigonometry
Point Nemo is the point in the ocean furthest from any land. Finding it is a real-world version of the 'toxic waste dump' problem: locating the point that maximises the minimum distance to a set of sites.
Introduction
Point Nemo, in the South Pacific, is the point on Earth's ocean surface furthest from any coastline. This is the spherical version of the 'toxic waste dump' problem: given a set of sites (here, coastlines), find the point that maximises the distance to the nearest one. On a Voronoi diagram built from the surrounding coastlines, Point Nemo sits at a vertex, equidistant from its three nearest landmasses, which is why perpendicular bisectors identify it.
Guiding Questions
- Point Nemo is the ocean point furthest from land. What exactly is being maximised?
- How do you measure distance between points on a sphere? Set up the calculation.
- Verify the published location: check its distance to the three nearest coasts.
- Find the 'Point Nemo' of a smaller region — your country, or a lake. What changes in the method?