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Overview

World Monitor provides 40+ real-time data layers that can be toggled individually or by category. Each layer is sourced from authoritative datasets and updated continuously.
Layers are variant-aware: the Tech variant emphasizes startup ecosystems and cloud infrastructure, while the Finance variant highlights stock exchanges and central banks.

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Layer Categories

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Geopolitical Layers

Track conflicts, protests, and global events.
Active Conflict Zones
  • Source: UCDP (Uppsala Conflict Data Program) + ACLED
  • Coverage: Armed conflicts worldwide
  • Threshold: 1,000+ battle deaths/year for “war” classification
  • Update frequency: Daily
Data Points:
  • Conflict intensity (color-coded)
  • Casualty estimates
  • Active factions
  • Geographic extent
Countries with active wars receive automatic CII floor scores to prevent optimistic drift in instability calculations.

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Military & Strategic Layers

Monitor military assets, bases, and strategic facilities.
220+ Global Military Bases
  • 9 operators tracked:
    • United States (largest network)
    • Russia
    • China
    • France
    • United Kingdom
    • Germany
    • Japan
    • Turkey
    • NATO (joint facilities)
Base Types:
  • Air bases
  • Naval bases
  • Army installations
  • Joint facilities
  • Forward operating bases
Click any base for details: operator, facility type, nearest conflicts, and related military activity.

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Infrastructure Layers

Critical global infrastructure and chokepoints.
Global Submarine Cable Network
  • Landing points
  • Cable routes
  • Capacity and operators
Cable Health Monitoring:
  • NGA navigational warnings (cable damage alerts)
  • Repair ship tracking
  • Advisory severity classification
// Signal types
type CableSignal = 
  | 'operator_fault'    // Confirmed damage (severity 1.0)
  | 'cable_advisory';  // Repair ops, warnings (severity 0.6)
Geographic matching:
  • 50km radius around cable coordinates
  • Cosine-latitude-corrected equirectangular distance
  • Results cached in Redis (6h TTL)

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Market & Crypto Layers

92 Global Stock Exchanges (Finance Variant)Tiers:
  • Mega: NYSE, NASDAQ, Shanghai, Euronext, Tokyo
  • Major: Hong Kong, London, NSE/BSE, Toronto, Korea, Saudi Tadawul
  • Emerging: Regional exchanges
Metadata:
  • Market capitalization
  • Trading hours
  • Primary indices
  • Currency

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Tech Ecosystem Layers (Tech Variant)

Major Tech Company HeadquartersCategories:
  • Big Tech (FAANG+)
  • Unicorns ($1B+ valuation)
  • Public tech companies
Metadata:
  • Founding year
  • Employee count
  • Market cap / valuation

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Layer Management

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Toggle Controls

Layers can be toggled:
  • Individually - Click layer name
  • By category - Toggle all geopolitical, military, etc.
  • Via URL - ?layers=conflicts,bases,cables
  • Command palette - Press Cmd+K, type layer name

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Layer Presets

Quick combinations via Command Palette: 
layers:military    → Bases + flights + vessels
layers:finance     → Exchanges + banks + markets  
layers:conflict    → Conflicts + protests + alerts
layers:infrastructure → Cables + pipelines + ports

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Data Freshness

Each layer has different update frequencies:
LayerUpdate FrequencySource
Military flights2 minutesADS-B live
Naval vesselsReal-timeAIS live
Earthquakes5 minutesUSGS
Protests1 hourACLED
ConflictsDailyUCDP
BasesStaticCurated database
CablesStatic (health: 6h)TeleGeography + NGA
The Data Freshness Panel shows status for all 28+ data sources with explicit intelligence gap reporting.

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Mobile Rendering

On mobile devices (screens under 768px), layers degrade gracefully:
  • Reduced marker count (top 100 per layer)
  • Simplified clustering
  • SVG rendering instead of WebGL
  • Essential layers only by default

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Layer Persistence

Active layers are saved:
  • localStorage - Per-device preferences
  • URL state - Shareable configurations
  • Session memory - Survives navigation
  • Interactive Globe - Map controls and navigation
  • Live News - News items appear as map markers
  • Desktop App - Native performance for dense layers

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Best Practices

Layer Selection Strategy
  1. Start with 3-5 relevant layers
  2. Add more as needed for analysis
  3. Use time filters to reduce clutter
  4. Disable layers when not in use (improves performance)
  5. Save useful combinations via URL bookmarks
Performance ConsiderationsEach active layer consumes GPU memory and rendering resources. On lower-end hardware:
  • Limit to 5-7 active layers
  • Prefer static layers (cables, bases) over dynamic (flights)
  • Use regional presets to reduce viewport coverage

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