Bluer

earthstory:

Look at all the Flamingos!

This is Lake Nakuru in Kenya. It is a small alkaline lake on the Southern edge of the town of Nakuru about 160 kilometers from Nairobi. Low salt levels and warm water temperatures encourages the growth of an abundance of algae - because of this a enormous gathering of pink flamingos, often more than a million, come to feed at the lake. Scientists reckon that about 250,000kg of algae per hectare is consumed by the flamingo population every year! Although the abundance of flamingos makes for good photography opportunities, they are not the only species found here. The lake is rich in other birdlife also. There are over 400 resident species on the lake and in the surrounding park.

-Jean

For more photos see: http://www.arkinspace.com/2012/02/welcome-to-flamingo-city.html

Photo courtesy of Meiguoxing blog.

earthstory:

This may look like the result of photoshop, but unfortunately it is not. This orange discolouration is the result of Acid Mine Drainage (AMD). It is caused when water flows over or through sulphur-bearing materials forming solutions of net acidity. It is mainly associated with abandoned coal mines and currently active mining. AMD is formed when pyrite, an Iron Sulphide is exposed and reacts with air and water to form sulphuric acid and dissolved Iron. It is the Iron precipitate that is accredited to the discolouration. The acid nature of the run off also aids to further dissolve heavy metals such as lead copper and mercury; this in turn can lead to contamination of both surface and groundwater.

Keep reading

jadewolf-photography:

Mesa Arch

Canyonlands National Park
Island in the Sky
Moab, Utah

earthstory:

Meeting of the rivers

Upstream from the canyon I’ve written about for the last month, the Colorado River reaches nearly its fullest extent in Utah after meeting with the Green River.

During the summer months, the rivers pick up varieties of sediment as they flood, causing more vivid colors. The larger of the two rivers, the Colorado, carries with it a load of suspended reddish clay, from which the river originally got its name.

The Green River appears…well, green. That’s actually not the origin of the river’s name; it is called the Green River due to it being an oasis of green in the dry deserts.

When the rivers meet, the waters stay distinct for a short distance downstream – different temperatures and different sediment loads cause the waters to have different densities and allow them to remain distinct. But, as the river twists and turns, the waters are mixed together by fine-scale eddies and the distinct path of the Green River disappears.

-JBB

Image credit: Tom Till Photography, reproduced with permission http://www.tomtillphotography.com/ Follow him on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tom-Till-Photography/170762047719?fref=photo

beautiful-wildlife:

Baby Hyenas by Will Burrard-Lucas

Liuwa Plains, Zambia

feet-of-clay:

Castles on a snowy slope