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.


Rithet’s Bog on Vancouver Island

January 28, 2020

Rithet's Bog

Photographer: Rebecca Roush
Summary Author: Rebecca Roush

Southern Vancouver Island in British Columbia (Canada) was once
home to many peat bogs. As human development has transformed the
Saanich Peninsula, north of Victoria, there’s just one peat bog
remaining.

Human impact is recent and shallow; the geological history here
indicates that glacial activity had a far greater effect on the
area. For instance, prior to the existence of Rithet’s Bog (shown
above) as it appears today, a 50 ft (15 m) marine shell layer had
formed.

Currently, the health of Rithet’s Bog is a result of significant
efforts to return it to a natural state after years of neglect. Several
decades ago, it was drained and subjected to severe ecological damage.
However, in 1996 it was donated to the municipality of Saanich, with
the intent of it being reclaimed as a nature sanctuary. This
restoration began in 2002, including regulation of water levels,
removing willows, and biofiltration swales. Rithet’s Bog is now a
park with trails and is considered an “ecological hotspot on Vancouver
Island.” Photo taken on January 10, 2020.

Photo Details: Camera: SONY DSC-WX220; Exposure Time: 0.0080s (1/125);
Aperture: ƒ/3.3; ISO equivalent: 100; Focal Length: 4.5mm.
* Rithet’s Bog, British Columbia Coordinates: 48.491514,
-123.379398

Related EPODs

Rithet’s Bog on Vancouver Island Archive - Casa do Penedo in
Portugal Archive - Landscape Boundary: The Mogollon Rim Bisti
Wilderness Mushrooms Dreamy Night on Mount Etna Kīlauea Iki
Crater
More...

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

--- up 6 days, 15 hours, 4 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (21:1/186)

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 - Upper Tangent Arc, Halo, Sundogs and Glitter Path Observed from Vancouver

February 28, 2020

Jul 04 English Bay Sundogs 01a (4)

Today's Earth Science Picture of the Day features an EPOD that was
chosen by viewers like you in our monthly Viewers' Choice polls.

Photographer: Doug Farmer
Summary Authors: Doug Farmer; Jim Foster
May 2014 Viewer's Choice Clearly visible on this splendid photo are
the upper tangent arc (top center), a portion of the 22 degree
circular halo and sundogs or parhelia. It was taken a little before
sunset on July 4, 2009, from Vancouver, British Columbia. Ice
crystals in cirrostratus clouds, covering much of the sky this
summer afternoon, are responsible for these arcs and halos. The tangent
arc forms when sunlight interacts with column-shaped hexagonal ice
crystals. These columnar crystals drift with their long axes nearly
horizontal. Sunlight enters through one of the prism's side faces and
exits through an alternate face. Note also the glitter path on
English Bay (lower center). See yesterday's Earth Science Picture
of the Day.
Photo Details: Nikon D300 camera; 16 mm focal length: f/11 aperture;
HDR 7 image sequence exposure times - 1/8000 sec. to 1/200 sec. (+/- 3
stops); ISO 200; Photomatix Pro Rev 4.2.7 software.
* Vancouver, British Columbia Coordinates: 49.277, -123.135

Related EPODs

Encore - Upper Tangent Arc, Halo, Sundogs and Glitter Path Observed
from Vancouver Encore - Fogbow Near Mount Luxmore, New Zealand
Corona Over Westmoreland State Park, Virginia Twilight Sky at
Mont-Saint-Michel Red Sprites and Airglow Double Rainbow Over
LaJolla, California
More...

Atmospheric Effects Links

* Atmospheric Optics
* 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 5 weeks, 2 days, 15 hours, 5 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (21:1/186)

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 - Snell's Window

March 28, 2020

TurksCaicos

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.

Photographers/Illustrators: David K. Lynch and Simon Higton
Summary Authors: David K. Lynch and Simon Higton

Zenith June 2014 Viewer's Choice Looking up from underwater,
one sees the whole sky. But it doesn’t stretch 180 degrees from horizon
to horizon as it does above water. Instead, it's compressed into a
circle about 97 degrees across, regardless of the observer’s depth.
This occurs because light rays bend when entering or exiting water. The
shrunken sky seen by submerged observers is called Snell’s Window,
informally named for Willebrord Snellius, a Dutch astronomer and
mathematician. It's also called the optical manhole.
In this wide-angle picture taken at French Cay, Turks and
Caicos, Snell’s Window shows tropical clouds, the Sun at the bottom and
a few bubbles from the scuba diver. The window also shows ragged
edges, with bits of sky detached from the main window. These are due to
surface waves. Seen through perfectly flat water, the edges are
sharp. Photo taken on April 22, 2014.

Photo Details: Nikon D600 camera; Tokina fisheye lens at 14mm; in
Hugyfot housing; 1/100 exposure; f/25; ISO 320.
* French Cay, Turks and Caicos Coordinates: 21.50944, -71.51778

Related EPODs

Encore - Snell's Window Similarity Across Scales at the
Extreme: Shapes of Pleurosigma and the Milky Way Archive - Visible
and Near-Infrared Views of the Meuse River and Rochers de Néviaux
Terrella and the Northern Lights Solar Power and the Mojave
Desert Archive - Infrared Yellowstone
More...

Applied Sciences Links

* BBC: World Water Crisis
* Indoor Air Quality
* Mathematics in Nature
* A Mathematical Nature Walk
* NASA: Applied Earth Sciences
* Remote Sensing Tutorial

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

https://epod.usra.edu

--- up 9 weeks, 3 days, 14 hours, 5 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (21:1/186)

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 - Geological Unconformity

June 28, 2020

Uncoformitysm

Each Sunday we present a notable item from our archives. This EPOD was
originally published June 30, 2003.

Provided and copyright by: Tom McGuire
Summary authors & editors: Martin Ruzek; Tom McGuire

An unconformity is a buried erosion surface. This one is located south
of Cannonville, Utah. (Thanks to Mr. Bill Lesniak of Sodus HS, NY) The
folded siltstones on the bottom were eroded to a horizontal surface
before the pebble rich conglomerate on top was deposited, perhaps by
streams, meandering over a flat land surface. Uplift of the Colorado
Plateau, possibly caused by a descending Pacific plate that turned
horizontal, resulted in a massive regional uplift in the past several
million years. Among the legacies of this uplift is the Grand Canyon of
Arizona.


Related EPODs

Archive - Geological Unconformity Young Lava and Old Olivine
A Crack in the Moon? Mount Etna and Pillow Lava of Aci Castello
Archive - Blended Image of Rock Outcrop Field of Balls at
Ichigualasto Provincial Park
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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

--- up 22 weeks, 4 days, 16 hours, 6 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (21:1/186)

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.


Delightful Glows on a Summer's Eve

July 28, 2020

20200613 7R304660-4686 Stars and fireflies

Photographer: Alessia Scarso
Summary Authors: Alessia Scarso; Jim Foster

Sometimes called lightning bugs or glow worms but more often
referred to as fireflies, they’re appearance is a sure sign that
summer is at hand. Emerging during twilight, they use intermittent
bioluminescence to attract mates and perhaps to also lure prey.
Shown here in Monteleone d'Orvieto, Umbria, Italy, with a backdrop of
the Milky Way, these little packets of light will soon disappear,
though their offspring will be back in time for next summer. Photo
taken on June 13, 2020.

Pumbaa: Timon, ever wonder what those sparkly dots are up there?
Timon: Pumbaa, I don't wonder; I know.
Pumbaa: Oh. What are they?
Timon: They're fireflies. Fireflies that, uh... got stuck up on that
big bluish-black thing.
Pumbaa: Oh, gee. I always thought they were balls of gas burning
billions of miles away.
Timon: Pumbaa, with you, everything's gas.

- from " The Lion King"

Photo Details: Composition of 24 photos; SONY ILCE-7RM3 camera; 20
seconds exposure time; ƒ/2.8; ISO 1000; 35 mm.
* Monteleone d'Orvieto, Italy Coordinates: 42.9214, 12.0539

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Delightful Glows on a Summer's Eve Earthshine and Crescent Moon
Meteorite Find 100-Year Anniversary Comet Neowise Seen from
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T-Lyrae
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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

--- up 1 week, 5 days, 15 hours, 25 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (21:1/186)

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.


Cotton Trees

August 28, 2020

Menashe cottontree
Photographer: Menashe Davidson
Summary Author: M enashe Davidson

A 222fixtree222 s shown above, it’s easy to understand why this
tree is called the cotton tree. Its scientific name is Bombax
malabaricum, though it’s also referred to as the red silk cotton
tree or Kapok tree. Its fruits (pods) are brown oval capsules that
when ripe contain seeds and white cotton-like fibers, a mix of
lignin and cellulose. Cotton trees produce several hundred of
these 6 inch (15 cm) pods.

These photos were taken in a park in Rishon LeZion, Israel, where the
cotton tree is grown as an ornamental. When leafless, in February, its
scented flowers are particularly fragrant. In India, villagers
gather the fruit and extract the cotton-like substance for filling
pillows, sofas, etc. Photos taken May 29, 2020.
* Rishon LeZion, Israel Coordinates: 31.9730, 34.7925

Related EPODs

Cotton Trees Lavender Leaves of Three, Let it Be Mount
Nebo Hollyhocks Rise from the Ashes Spring and Summer Figs
Blossoming of Tajinastes
More...

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 3 days, 20 hours, 20 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (21:1/186)