EPOD - a service of USRA

The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory
captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The
community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and
relevant links.


Creating a Natural Abstract Photograph

August 02, 2021


Menashe_DSC_5806 (002)

Photographer: Menashe Davidson

Summary Author: Menashe Davidson

The photo above shows a purple anemone flower as observed through
water drops coating a sheet of clear plastic. It was taken in my
home garden in Rishon LeZion, Israel. A water drop can act as a
convex lens. Such lenses are thicker in the center than along
their edges and can magnify and also distort objects placed behind
them.

Since I focused here in on a fragment of a natural scene in my garden,
I purposely created a seemingly unreal impression from a real object --
the anemone. So, it can be thought of as an abstract photograph that
captures a sensation, a mood, but to create it I had to begin with
something concrete, in this case with water drops and flowers. The
drops beautifully reflect the world about the anemone. Click here
to see a video of this phenomenon.


* Rishon LeZion, Israel Coordinates: 31.9730, 34.7925

Related EPODs

Creating a Natural Abstract Photograph Alien Iceplants in
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Plant Links

* Discover Life
* Tree Encyclopedia
* What are Phytoplankton?
* Encyclopedia of Life - What is a Plant?
* USDA Plants Database
* University of Texas Native Plant Database
* Plants in Motion
* What Tree is It?

-
Earth Science Picture of the Day is a service of the Universities
Space Research Association.

https://epod.usra.edu

--- up 12 weeks, 3 days, 12 hours, 15 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)

EPOD - a service of USRA

The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory
captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The
community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and
relevant links.


Archive - Gurgler Glacier

October 02, 2021
6a0105371bb32c970b01b7c85d7cfd970b

Every weekend we present a notable item from our archives.

This EPOD was originally published May 23, 2016.
Photographer: Klaus Sandforth
Summary Author: Klaus Sandforth

May 2016 Viewer's Choice Shown above are several ski
mountaineers entering the Gurgler Glacier in the Ötztaler Alpen
(Eastern Alps) of Austria. What looks at first sight like a classic
glacier snout is dead ice of the retreating Gurgler Glacier,
not far from Schalfkogel Peak, where the group is heading to climb.
Dead ice is forming in receding glacial environments, where
distinct ice bodies get separated from the main glacier. Note the
slightly stratified but mostly crystal clear ice here. The rippled
surface texture might be caused by differential melting and
sublimation due to warm air currents, particularly in spring and
summer. The surface of the ice is perfectly smooth and appears to
be polished. This structure is rather temporary and fragile as it
developed only a few years ago and will likely fade away just as
quickly. Our passage might seem dangerous, but during the winter season
when temperatures are generally below freezing level, it’s a pretty
safe place to stay.
Like many glaciers in the Alps, the Gurgler Glacier lost much of
its mass in the last 150 years and is now retreating on average a
few tens of meters every year. Climate change and glacier retreat
in the Alps has both ecological and economical impacts. Glaciers
attract tourists and also provide natural water reservoirs and
hydropower. Photo taken on March 17, 2015.
Photo Details: Apple iPhone 4S back camera; 35 mm focal length; ƒ/2.4
aperture; 1/1126 sec. exposure; ISO 50.
* Gurgler Glacier, Austria Coordinates: 46.8193, 10.9756

Related EPODs

Archive - Gurgler Glacier April Snow in Dolly Sods, West
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Backyard Avalanche
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Cryosphere Links

* Guide to Frost
* What is the Cryosphere?
* Bentley Snow Crystals
* Glaciers of the World
* Ice, Snow, and Glaciers: The Water Cycle
* The National Snow and Ice Data Center Google Earth Images
* Snow and Ice Crystals

-
Earth Science Picture of the Day is a service of the Universities
Space Research Association.

https://epod.usra.edu

--- up 4 weeks, 1 day, 21 hours, 56 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)

EPOD - a service of USRA

The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory
captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The
community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and
relevant links.


The Diminutive and Prolific Common Duckweed

November 02, 2021


PattiW_DSC09886 (003)

PattiW_DSC09921 (003)

Photographer: Patti Weeks

Summary Author: Patti Weeks

The photo above at top shows tiny common duckweed plants floating
on and around a decaying American lotus lily pad. They inhabit a
shallow, still-water pond on the inland side of a boardwalk along the
Pamlico River on the Washington, North Carolina waterfront. The bottom
photo reveals a broader view of the extensive mat of duckweed, covering
virtually the entire surface of the lily pond. Both photos were taken
in September, 2021, at about the mid-life cycle of both plants.

The common duckweed (Lemna minor), along with other duckweed
species, is the smallest known flowering plant, and is native
throughout most of Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. The
individual plant has 1–4 flat, oval leaves that are only 1/8 to 1/4
inch long (0.3 to 0.6 cm). Each plant has one single hanging root,
and often contains a tiny hidden flower in a pouch-like sac. Its
asexual reproduction is done by the intertwining of new stems from
buds. Also, a turion can break from the parental stem and sink to the
pond’s bottom to overwinter and resurface in the Spring to become a new
bud.

By November, the duckweed and the lotus’s decayed lily pads and seeds
will have sunk to the bottom of the pond, and the plants will re-emerge
in the Spring to start their life cycles again. Because of its rapid
growth, duckweed can often be a nuisance in homeowners’ ponds, but
it’s an important food source for waterfowl and fish. It’s used for
livestock feed and can also be used as a bioremediator of
environmental and wastewater pollutants. In addition, research shows
that duckweed has promising value in the creation of biomedicines.

Photo details: Top - SONY DSC-RX10 IV camera; 120.91 mm focal length;
f/4; 1/1000 second exposure; ISO 100. Bottom - Same except 8.8 mm focal
length.
* Pamlico River, Washington, North Carolina Coordinates: 35.5523849
- 77.0846757

Related EPODs

The Diminutive and Prolific Common Duckweed Careful Where You
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Plant Links

* Discover Life
* Tree Encyclopedia
* What are Phytoplankton?
* Encyclopedia of Life - What is a Plant?
* USDA Plants Database
* University of Texas Native Plant Database
* Plants in Motion
* What Tree is It?

-
Earth Science Picture of the Day is a service of the Universities
Space Research Association.

https://epod.usra.edu

--- up 8 weeks, 4 days, 21 hours, 55 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)

EPOD - a service of USRA

The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory
captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The
community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and
relevant links.


Quebrada de las Conchas Nature Reserve

December 02, 2021

13(1)

Photographer: Carlos Di Nallo

Summary Author: Carlos Di Nallo; Cadan Cummings

The photo above features the Quebrada de las Conchas- also called
the Quebrada de Cafayate- nature reserve located in the province of
Salta in Argentina. The roughly 96 square mile (25,000 hectare)
reserve within the Calchaquíes Valleys is important to the fields
of geology and paleontology as some of its features date back to the
Cretaceous period. The ravine shown in the foreground of the photo
is a landscape produced by tectonic activity that took place in the
last two million years. The geology of the region was also largely
shaped by tectonics combined with subsequent weathering and
erosion. Numerous fossils continue to be discovered within the reserve
including fossilized frogs, fish, and stromatolites. A recent
discovery that adds to the cultural and archaeological significance of
the area was the Inca Trail passed near to what is now Route 68
in the nature reserve.
* Quebrada de Cafayate, Salta, Argentina Coordinates: -26.005278,
-65.798889

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Geology Links

* Earthquakes
* Geologic Time
* Geomagnetism
* General Dictionary of Geology
* Mineral and Locality Database
* Mohs Scale of Mineral Hardness
* This Dynamic Earth
* USGS
* USGS Ask a Geologist
* USGS/NPS Geologic Glossary
* USGS Volcano Hazards Program

-
Earth Science Picture of the Day is a service of the Universities
Space Research Association.

https://epod.usra.edu

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* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)