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.


Spirit Lake in the Shadow of Mount St. Helens

August 04, 2021

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Photographer: Robert Forest

Summary Author: Robert Forest; Cadan Cummings

Shown in the image above is Spirit Lake located at the base of
Mount St. Helens in Washington. The photo was oriented looking
north from directly above the volcanic crater- with Mount Rainier
visible in the distance. Following the eruption of Mount St. Helens
in May 1980, approximately 15 billion cubic feet (430 million cubic
meters) of material was deposited into Spirit Lake. This debris flow of
melt water, vegetation, and volcanic ash- called a lahar-
subsequently changed the natural flow of Spirit Lake by blocking its
outlet to the North Fork Toutle River valley. Evidence of the
debris is still present today as thousands of felled trees from the
volcanic eruption formed a log raft- the gray colored material in the
image above- that covers about a quarter of the lake.

Following the eruption, Congress created the Mount St. Helens
National Volcanic Monument in 1982 to allow scientific research to
investigate how the surrounding landscape recovered naturally without
the influences of logging or other industries. As a result, the logs in
Spirit Lake and the surrounding area in the monument remains largely
untouched for the past 40 years. While there has been a good regrowth
of ground vegetation since the eruption, it will take a century or more
for the rich forest to once again blanket the northern foothills of
Mount St. Helens. Photo taken on May 29, 2021.
* Spirit Lake, Washington Coordinates: 46.265940, -122.147142

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Spirit Lake in the Shadow of Mount St. Helens Journey to the
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Geography Links

* Atlapedia Online
* CountryReports
* GPS Visualizer
* Holt Rinehart Winston World Atlas
* Mapping Our World
* Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection
* Types of Land
* World Mapper

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

https://epod.usra.edu

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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.


Lenticular Cloud Above Mount Aconcagua

October 04, 2021

Cerro Aconcagua

Photographer: Cristian López

Summary Author: Cristian López; Cadan Cummings

Shown above is a photo of a lenticular cloud over Mount
Aconcagua in Argentina. Unique in their flying saucer like appearance,
lenticular clouds typically form over alpine climates when stable,
moist air passes over a mountain peak and condenses once the water
vapor falls below its dew point temperature. This distinct
lens-shape is formed when the water vapor continues over the mountain
peak and its temperature increases above the dew point, causing it to
evaporate. The location for this spectacular phenomenon is also
very noteworthy because the summit of Mount Aconcagua (22,837 ft or
6,960 m) is the highest elevation point in both the Western and
Southern Hemispheres as well as outside the Himalayas.

Photo Details: Camera: Canon T3; Lens: 18-55 in 43mm, f/13, ISO: 100,
Exposure: 1/320 second, Software: Adobe Photoshop
* Aconcagua Provincial Park, Mendoza, Argentina Coordinates:
-32.6532, -70.0120

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Lenticular Cloud Above Mount Aconcagua Parisian Mammatus Clouds
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Braunfels, Germany
More...

Cloud Links

* Atmospheric Optics
* The Cloud Appreciation Society
* Cloud Atlas
* Color and Light in Nature

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

https://epod.usra.edu

--- up 4 weeks, 3 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.


Double Rainbow over Freital, Germany

November 04, 2021

Rainbow-EPOD(1)

Photographer: Heiko Ulbricht

Summary Author: Heiko Ulbricht; Cadan Cummings

Weather around the town of Freital in eastern Germany this past May
felt like a continuation of the typical April spring weather- rain,
sun, and brief thunderstorms. However, on the evening of May 16, 2021,
a beautiful sight could be seen on the horizon after a rather large
weather cell passed over from Freiburg, Germany. The weather
radar showed a large cloud-free zone behind the storm with the ideal
conditions for a rainbow. Preparing the camera in peace and quiet, one
could take their time positioning and waiting for an almost certain
rainbow to appear overhead. Luckily, the weather radar and predictions
were correct and the region was treated to a beautiful primary and
secondary rainbow.

In order for a double rainbow to be visible, specific atmospheric
conditions must be present. Primarily, larger water droplets must be
suspended in the air in order for a double reflection to occur.
Additionally, the rainbow must be exactly opposite in the sky to the
solar disk from the viewer’s perspective, also called the antisolar
point. Adding to the spectacle of a double rainbow is a region of
Alexander’s Dark Band between the primary and secondary rainbows.
This comparably darker area is caused by the water droplets between the
two rainbows scattering light away from your eyes.

Photo Details: Canon EOS 6D + 2.8/12 mm Fisheye (F4), 1/640s, ISO 200,
18:12 UT
* Freital, Saxony, Germany Coordinates: 51.0009, 13.6512

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Atmospheric Effects Links

* Atmospheric Optics
* Optic Picture of Day: Gruppo Astrofili Galileo Galilei
* Color and Light in Nature
* The Colors of Twillight and Sunset
* Refraction Index
* Image Gallery: Atmospheric Effects
* What is a Rainbow?

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

https://epod.usra.edu

--- up 8 weeks, 6 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.


Archive - Amboseli National Park, Kenya

December 04, 2021

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Every weekend we present a notable item from our archives.

This EPOD was originally published May 13, 2013.

Photographer: Sheyenne Scriven
Summary Author: Sheyenne Scriven; Jim Foster

The photo above showing a small herd of elephants in Amboseli
National Park, Kenya, was taken in late December 2010. Snowcapped
Mount Kilimanjaro (located across the border of Kenya in Tanzania)
looms in the background. Kilimanjaro, a dormant stratovolcano
topping 19,039 ft (5,803 m), is the highest mountain on the African
continent. Despite the arid conditions pictured above, December is
usually a rather rainy month in east Africa. However, the long
rainy season on Kilimanjaro begins in March and lasts early June --
this is when most of the snowfall is observed.
African elephants are the largest land animals on Earth. The
biggest tuskers may stand 13 ft (4 m) tall, weigh as much as 14,000 lbs
(6,350 kg) and require 300 lbs (136 kg) of food such as bark,
leaves, fruit and roots each day to sustain them.

Photo details: Camera Maker: OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.; Camera Model:
u7000,S7000; Focal Length: 9.1mm (35mm equivalent: 52mm); Aperture:
f/4.3; Exposure Time: 0.0020 s (1/500); ISO equiv: 64.
* Amboseli National Park, Kenya Coordinates: -2.641389, 37.248056

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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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