• ES Picture of the Day 21 2020

    From Black Panther@21:1/186 to All on Tue Jan 21 14:01:04 2020
    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.


    Nature Nurturing Nature: Stump Flowerpots

    January 21, 2020

    Menashe_logpot1
    Photographer: Menashe Davidson Menashe_logsaspots2
    Summary Author: Menashe Davidson

    In trees, heart rot is a fungal disease that causes the decay
    of wood at the center of the trunk and branches. This disease is
    prevalent throughout the world, affecting all hardwood trees,
    including in my citrus plantation in Israel. Infected trees
    eventually lose their strength and suffer from limb breakage when
    supporting a heavy fruit load and/or during strong winds, conditions
    they could normally handle when not diseased.

    Since several of the old stumps from these damaged trees are found in
    my citrus plantation, and because I manage a home garden, in Rishon
    LeZion Israel, of ornamental plants grown in containers, I took
    advantage of the stumps by making flowerpots made of logs. Nature
    sometimes supports those who work the land in unexpected ways. I enjoy
    my home garden even more now that these once useless pieces of my
    citrus orchard serve as the vessels for my beautiful flowers.

    Top photo taken on January 4, 2010. Inset photo, Snapdragon
    ( Antirrhinum majus), taken on September 14, 2019.


    * Rishon Le Zion, Israel Coordinates: 31.95, 34.8

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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

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  • From Black Panther@21:1/186 to All on Fri Feb 21 14:01:30 2020
    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.


    Provo CanyonΓÇÖs Bridal Veil Falls

    February 21, 2020

    Bridalveil287c_31jan20 (003)

    Bridalveil388c_26may19 (003)

    Photographer: Ray Boren
    Summary Author: Ray Boren

    One of many waterfalls similarly named, from Niagara to
    Yosemite in North America, and all around the world, UtahΓÇÖs
    eye-catching Bridal Veil Falls tumbles some 600 feet (183 m) in two
    principal cataracts down the primarily limestone cliffs and
    rubble slopes of Cascade Mountain in the Wasatch RangeΓÇÖs Provo
    Canyon, where the waters join the Provo River en route to Utah
    Lake. In winter the falls mostly freeze, along with nearby seeps,
    as illustrated in the first photograph here, taken on January 31, 2020.
    In spring and summer, the fallΓÇÖs tresses streak the well-defined rock
    strata among green trees and bushes, shown in a second, wider image,
    taken on May 26, 2019.

    The waterfalls, easily visible from U.S. Highway 189 and various
    viewpoints and trails, have given their name to the regionΓÇÖs Bridal
    Veil Falls Limestone, a many-layered basal unit of the
    Permo- Carboniferous Oquirrh Group, deposited in coastal
    seas during the early Pennsylvanian subperiod about 300 million
    years ago, and now conspicuous in the uplifted southern Wasatch
    Mountains near such cities as Orem and Provo, Utah. The limestone unit
    is 1,050 feet (320 m) thick, geologists report and features a prolific
    fauna that includes corals, brachiopods and other organisms.

    When winter ice is particularly dense, frozen Bridal Veil Falls
    attracts ice climbers. However, the waterfallΓÇÖs course is also
    avalanche prone in snowy winters, as are other segments of busy,
    steep-sided Provo Canyon. An aerial tram line began operating at the
    fallΓÇÖs base in 1961, lifting passengers to a viewpoint and restaurant
    called the EagleΓÇÖs Nest atop a nearby pinnacle overlooking the canyon
    and the cascade. But a massive avalanche on New YearΓÇÖs Day 1996
    barreled down the fallsΓÇÖ chute, taking out buildings beside the Provo
    River, and a 2008 fire destroyed the high EagleΓÇÖs Nest.

    Photo Details: Top - Camera: NIKON D3200; Exposure Time: 0.0040s
    (1/250); Aperture: ƒ/10.0; ISO equivalent: 400; Focal Length (35mm):
    105. Bottom - same except: Camera: NIKON D3500; Aperture: ƒ/8.0; ISO
    equivalent: 110; Focal Length (35mm): 27.
    * Bridal Veil Falls, Utah Coordinates: 40.3390, -111.6019

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    Hydrology Links

    * Current Sea Surface Temperature
    * NOAA Ocean Explorer Gallery
    * Ocean Color
    * What is hydrology?
    * Tides and Currents
    * Water Resources of the United States
    * World Waterfall Database
    * The USGS Water Science School
    * World Water Database
    * The WorldΓÇÖs Water
    * USGS Surface Water Information Pages

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

    https://epod.usra.edu

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  • From Black Panther@21:1/186 to All on Sat Mar 21 13:01:36 2020
    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.


    Encore - Water Strider Art

    March 21, 2020

    Strider Art
    Today and every Saturday Earth Science Picture of the Day invites you
    to rediscover favorites from the past. Saturday posts feature an EPOD
    that was chosen by viewers like you in our monthly Viewers' Choice
    polls. Join us as we look back at these intriguing and captivating
    images.

    Photographer: Tommy Hornbeck
    Summary Author: Tommy Hornbeck

    June 2014 Viewer's Choice A Gerridae with a penchant for
    physics demonstrates a two-point source interference pattern on a
    fluid surface. Gerridae are commonly called names such as water
    striders, water skeeters, water bugs and Jesus bugs because of their
    ability to walk on water. They're covered with hydrophobic micro
    hairs, repelling water, thus preventing them from being weighed down by
    splashed water droplets. Their two front legs capture and hold prey;
    the second pair propel the strider over the water as oars, while the
    third pair act as rudders. Their water-walking skills are made possible
    by the surface tension of water molecules that have a greater
    attraction to one another than to the molecules of the air, giving the
    water, in effect, an elastic membrane upon which the Gerridae walk. The
    striderΓÇÖs forward walking motion sets up twin circular, traveling waves
    on the water's surface which expand and meet. Where they meet, the
    peaks and troughs ( anti-nodes) create the lovely interference
    pattern shown above. Photo taken on a pond in western Missouri on May
    2, 2014.
    Photo Details: Nikon D7100 camera; 1/640 sec. exposure; f/6.3; ISO 400;
    85 mm lens.
    * Nevada, Missouri Coordinates: 37.8516, -94.3666

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    Animal Links

    * Animal Diversity Web
    * ARKive
    * BirdLife International
    * Bug Guide
    * Discover Life
    * Integrated Taxonomic Information System
    * Microbial Life Resources
    Earth Science Picture of the Day is a service of the
    -
    Universities Space Research Association.

    https://epod.usra.edu

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  • From Black Panther@21:1/186 to All on Tue Apr 21 13:03:12 2020
    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.


    Lunar Libration Observed from Sicily, Italy

    April 21, 2020

    AMoonite copia

    Photographer: Marcella Giulia Pace
    Summary Author: Marcella Giulia Pace

    The image above is a result of the sum of 7 individual photos of
    the Moon as observed from the Modica countryside, near Ragusa
    (Sicily), Italy. Because of how the Earth and Moon move in space
    (one hemisphere of the Moon always faces Earth), during the course of
    the night, we’re actually able to see more than just ½ of the Moon’s
    surface. This is referred to as lunar libration. Starting at 8:15
    p.m. on February 10, 2020, I captured the Moon every hour until 2:15
    a.m. on February 11. The final image reminds me of an ammonite.
    Click here to see a little video showing this night’s libration.
    * Ragusa, Italy Coordinates: 36.9269, 14.7255

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    Night Sky Links

    * Space Weather Live
    * Space Weather Live Forum
    * About the Moon
    * American Meteor Society
    * Arbeitskreises Meteore e.V.
    * Global City Lights
    * Heavens Above Home Page
    * The International Meteor Organization
    * Lunar and Planetary Institute
    * MoonConnection
    * NASA Eclipse Web Page
    * Understanding The Moon Phases

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

    https://epod.usra.edu

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  • From Black Panther@21:1/186 to All on Thu May 21 15:01:46 2020
    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.


    Nyctinasty in Ranunculus Flowers

    May 21, 2020

    Menashe_nyctnasty

    Photographer: Menashe Davidson
    Summary Author: Menashe Davidson

    One of the many things I enjoy about my apartment garden, in Rishon
    LeZiyyon, Israel, is following the development of the various plants
    and flowers. While strolling among the flowers on April 3, 2020, just
    after sunset, I noticed that the Ranunculus ( buttercup) flowers
    tend to retire after the Sun goes down. Flower petals close in stems
    bend down, preparing to sleep for the night. (bottom photo). But
    several hours after the next morning’s sunrise, the flower stems are
    erect again, and the flowers are open, exposing their reproductive
    organs. (top photo -- taken near midday)

    This phenomenon is called nyctinasty, a type of plant movement
    that’s related to night and day, directed by the plant’s diurnal
    cycle. The reproductive organs of ranunculus flowers have evolved to
    achieve a successful reproduction strategy. The flower doesn’t open
    when it’s wet and heavy with dew, rather, it waits until the
    pollen is dry so that it can be more easily transferred by
    pollinators.
    * Rishon LeZiyyon, Israel Coordinates: 31.9730, 34.7925

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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

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  • From Black Panther@21:1/186 to All on Sun Jun 21 15:00:48 2020
    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 - Longest Day

    June 21, 2020

    Gevs

    Each Sunday we present a notable item from our archives. This EPOD was
    originally published June 21, 2003.

    Provided by: NOAA
    Summary Author: Jim Foster

    The Summer Solstice occurs today at 3:10 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. At
    that moment, the Sun's rays will be positioned directly over the Tropic
    of Cancer (23 1/2 degrees north latitude). It's the longest day (length
    of daylight period) in the Northern Hemisphere and the first day of
    summer. The above GOES visible satellite image was taken yesterday from
    approximately 22,000 miles (35,200 km) above the Earth's surface. Note
    that while the tops of North America and Greenland are fully
    illuminated, the bottom of the globe is dark -- it's the first day of
    winter in the Southern Hemisphere. The Arctic region (north of 66 1/2
    degrees north latitude) is now experiencing 24 hours of daylight.


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    Climatology Links

    * Aerosols: Tiny Particles, Big Impact
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    * Climate History
    * National Centers for Environmental Information
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    * NOAA Climate Analysis Branch
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    -
    Earth Science Picture of the Day is a service of the Universities
    Space Research Association.

    https://epod.usra.edu

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  • From Black Panther@21:1/186 to All on Tue Jul 21 15:00:32 2020
    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.


    Meteorite Find 100-Year Anniversary

    July 21, 2020

    2015_09_17_Hoba_Met_Pano_New_1500px

    Photographer: Petr Horálek
    Summary Author: Petr Horálek
    Almost exactly a century ago the largest meteorite ever found on
    the ground was discovered. In 1920, farmer Jacobus Hermanus Brits, came
    upon the cosmic stone while plowing one of his fields near
    Grootfontein, Namibia. Shortly after the discovery and scientific
    analysis, the Hoba West meteorite was classified as an
    iron-type (composed of about 84 percent iron, 16 percent
    nickel and other elements). It fell to Earth about 80 thousand
    years ago. Its unusual flat shape, with dimensions almost 9 ft (3 m) by
    9 ft by 3 ft (1 m) and weight of around 66 tons, created virtually no
    crater. In 1955, it was declared a Namibian national monument. In
    the image, taken in September 2015, I’m standing on this cosmic stone,
    gazing at the southern Milky Way. Photo taken on September 17,
    2015.

    Photo Details: Canon 6D Baader IR modified camera; Samyang 24 mm lens;
    f2.8; ISO 10000; cut of 31×15 s panorama (captured from tripod).
    * Hoba Meteorite, Namibia Coordinates: -19.59257, 17.93393

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    Night Sky Links

    * Space Weather Live
    * Space Weather Live Forum
    * About the Moon
    * American Meteor Society
    * Arbeitskreises Meteore e.V.
    * Global City Lights
    * Heavens Above Home Page
    * The International Meteor Organization
    * Lunar and Planetary Institute
    * MoonConnection
    * NASA Eclipse Web Page
    * Understanding The Moon Phases

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

    https://epod.usra.edu

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  • From Black Panther@21:1/186 to All on Fri Aug 21 15:00:28 2020
    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.


    Cerro Tomolasta and Cloud Shapes

    August 21, 2020

    PSX_20200621_233707

    PSX_20200623_102718

    Photographer: Pablo Barrios
    Summary Author: Pablo Barrios

    Cerro Tomolasta is an isolated peak in the southern Andes
    Mountains of central Argentina, in the province of San Luis. At
    nearly 6,621 ft (2,018 m) it’s sizeable enough to, on occasion, alter
    the shape of orographic clouds that form when relatively moist air
    is forced to rise over its elevated terrain, resulting in curious cloud
    formations as shown above. Here, Cerro Tomolasta is observed from a
    distance of about 6 mi (10 km) on January 16, 2020.

    Photo Details: Top - Camera Canon EOS Rebel T6i; Software Adobe
    Photoshop Express (Android); Exposure Time 0.0020s (1/500); Aperture
    ƒ/8.0; ISO 100; Focal Length 168.0mm; Lens 70-300mm. Bottom - same
    except: Camera Motorola moto g(7) plus; Exposure Time 0.0003s (1/3500);
    Aperture ƒ/1.7; Focal Length 4.3mm.
    * La Carolina, Argentina Coordinates: -32.8118, -66.0958

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    Geography Links

    * Atlapedia Online
    * CountryReports
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    * Holt Rinehart Winston World Atlas
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    * 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

    --- up 5 weeks, 1 day, 15 hours, 25 minutes
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  • From Black Panther@21:1/186 to All on Wed Oct 21 15:02:14 2020
    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.


    Big Obsidian Flow

    October 21, 2020

    BigObsidian1

    BigObsidian3

    Photographer: Peggy Riemer
    Summary Authors: Peggy Riemer, Stu Witmer

    The Big Obsidian Flow in Oregon's Newberry National Volcanic
    Monument dates back 1,300 years and is Oregon's youngest volcanic
    flow. About 20 miles (32 km) southeast of Bend, Oregon, Newberry is
    one of the largest volcanoes in the Cascade Range, standing 3,600
    feet (1,097 m) above the landscape and encompassing an area of more
    than 500 square miles (1,300 sq km) with over 400 cinder cones.

    Research indicates intermittent human activity here for more than
    10,000 years. Obsidian, natural glass that's usually black and
    formed from quickly cooling lava, was regularly quarried and used to
    make stone tools and weapons. The caldera was later named
    Newberry Crater in honor of Dr. John Strong Newberry, the
    geologist who accompanied the 1885 Williamson-Abbott Expedition
    Pacific Railroad Survey.
    * Big Obsidian Flow, Oregon Coordinates: 43.69573, -121.23449

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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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