21 thoughts on “New Video: Greenland 2014 – Follow the Water”
Excellent! From time-lapse closeups of water melting and freezing, to iceberg calving, to aerial shots of ponds forming and water flowing and draining down moulins, to that scary dirty snow, to great explanatory animation—-well done, informative, and even “artsy” in spots. An info-packed and visually appealing piece of work, and only 7 minutes long—-many thumbs up!
Focusing attention on a very remote area and on positive feedbacks very few of us get to see and is not normally in the mind of those who live further South. Excellent short and focused work.
The placement of the ambient music tracks to score the video seemed more nuanced than in the videos of previous years. This should help subconsciously sway the subset of viewers who know nothing of science but are willing to accept a message that is embedded in a media product with a similar level of production quality to that of the Hollywood/advertizing model.
WordPress keeps eating my reply; let my try breaking it up:
I did see some conventional drilling for thick crude along I-40, between Vernal, Utah, through Roosevelt, and Salt Lake City. This article – ‘Giant operation in Utah gives rise to oil boom, though challenges loom.’ – summarizes it better my quick peeks out the car window:
I also noticed that there was a lot of wind in the undeveloped region between Rock Springs, WY and Vernal, UT. There was even a main grid line next to highway 191 that traveled down to Flaming Gorge Reservoir, where there is a hydroelectric dam we drove over. And there was too a lot of wind between Vernal and SLC. I’ll have to pull up a wind map later and see if my discrete experience was representative of the area.
In Vernal, at the Morrison Formation (a particular strata), i saw 140 million year old dinosaur fossils (late Jurassic); mostly diplotocus and allosaurus.
Oh, and coming down the mountain from Rock Springs we drove over different strata, where a few minutes of driving would push us along millions of years – even saw some Precambrian rock, i believe (later, at a natural history museum, i got a close up look at a 1.2 billion year old rock!).
I didn’t see any strip mines (I think most of that is the Powder River Basin), but saw some other large mining operation near Vernal.
As far as WY goes, here is what I saw (I was in Yellowstone Natl. Park, and at the Grand Tetons Natl. Park):
I saw lots of fire destruction and perhaps lots of pine beetle or other disease destruction (dead lodgepole trees with no signs of fire). But 98% of what I saw was a healthy, intact ecosystem.
I did get a few photos of some unidentified mating beetles on some dead pines, but I think I was too late for pine beetle season, according to this: [Beetle Devastates Yellowstone Whitebark Pine Forests]
I learned the wolf population was only n=90 for Yellowstone and that they were all genetically similar (compared against the remains of the natives) transplants from Canada; the ranchers having killed all the native wolves in the first half of the twentieth century. About 10 years ago, n= ~175 and that looked like peak-wolf for the area (could have been a population overshoot as there were an unnatural amount of elk hanging around until the wolves’ effects started to kick in). But for whatever reason, it seems as though the carrying capacity is around n=80 to ~175, by my untrained eye, examining a recent time series.
I snapped a few pictures of a lone coyote hunting in some grassland behind a gas station, but i didn’t get to see any wolves. I did see plenty of bison, a couple moose, a couple elk, a few herds of pronghorn antelope, a mountain goat from far away, and thankfully no bears. We had a canister of bear repellent, but it felt quite inadequate in comparison to a 30-06.
I walked down an open metal staircase that was nailed into the cliff-side of Yellowstone Canyon to get a picture of the upper falls. It was a moderately tough pull going back up with the thin air and the adrenaline from the dangerous heights (felt almost like watching one of those Russian daredevil videos, where they walk around on the outsides of skyscrapers or cranes attached to such). I think it was about 1000 feet in height.
At the Tetons, I hiked up a mountain to get a few photos of a glacial lake – Jenny Lake – and hiked along part of Jackson Lake; did some walking around Yellowstone Lake as well.
I watched some geysers erupt and breathed in a lot of nasty H2S trying to get close-up pictures of such.
Of all the rivers and lakes I saw, everything looked like there was plenty of water. The contrast was stark against the dried up California lakes where recently exposed beds/water-lines are apparent. I think Yellowstone was even expecting some snow the day or so after we left. Ranching and irrigated agriculture were in full effect outside the parks. Huge amounts of hay were everywhere. Wheat, alfalfa, corn, etc. seemed untouched by the dry spell. In the woods, there were lush green cover plants. And there were yellow and purple wildflowers everywhere, along the prairie-based roadways.
Welp, there was lots more, but it’s getting late here….
As far as WY goes, here is what I saw (I was in Yellowstone Natl. Park, and at the Grand Tetons Natl. Park):
I saw lots of fire destruction and perhaps lots of pine beetle or other disease destruction (dead lodgepole trees with no signs of fire). But 98% of what I saw was a healthy, intact ecosystem.
I did get a few photos of some unidentified mating beetles on some dead pines, but I think I was too late for pine beetle season, according to this: [Beetle Devastates Yellowstone Whitebark Pine Forests]
I learned the wolf population was only n=90 for Yellowstone and that they were all genetically similar (compared against the remains of the natives) transplants from Canada; the ranchers having killed all the native wolves in the first half of the twentieth century. About 10 years ago, n= ~175 and that looked like peak-wolf for the area (could have been a population overshoot as there were an unnatural amount of elk hanging around until the wolves’ effects started to kick in). But for whatever reason, it seems as though the carrying capacity is around n=80 to ~175, by my untrained eye, examining a recent time series.
I snapped a few pictures of a lone coyote hunting in some grassland behind a gas station, but i didn’t get to see any wolves. I did see plenty of bison, a couple moose, a couple elk, a few herds of pronghorn antelope, a mountain goat from far away, and thankfully no bears. We had a canister of bear repellent, but it felt quite inadequate in comparison to a 30-06.
I walked down an open metal staircase that was nailed into the cliff-side of Yellowstone Canyon to get a picture of the upper falls. It was a moderately tough pull going back up with the thin air and the adrenaline from the dangerous heights (felt almost like watching one of those Russian daredevil videos, where they walk around on the outsides of skyscrapers or cranes attached to such). I think it was about 1000 feet in height.
At the Tetons, I hiked up a mountain to get a few photos of a glacial lake – Jenny Lake – and hiked along part of Jackson Lake; did some walking around Yellowstone Lake as well.
I watched some geysers erupt and breathed in a lot of nasty H2S trying to get close-up pictures of such.
Of all the rivers and lakes I saw, everything looked like there was plenty of water. The contrast was stark against the dried up California lakes where recently exposed beds/water-lines are apparent. I think Yellowstone was even expecting some snow the day or so after we left. Ranching and irrigated agriculture were in full effect outside the parks. Huge amounts of hay were everywhere. Wheat, alfalfa, corn, etc. seemed untouched by the dry spell. In the woods, there were lush green cover plants. And there were yellow and purple wildflowers everywhere, along the prairie-based roadways.
Welp, there was lots more, but it’s getting late here….
I walked down an open metal staircase that was nailed into the cliff-side of Yellowstone Canyon to get a picture of the upper falls. It was a moderately tough pull going back up with the thin air and the adrenaline from the dangerous heights (felt almost like watching one of those Russian daredevil videos, where they walk around on the outsides of skyscrapers or cranes attached to such). I think it was about 1000 feet in height.
At the Tetons, I hiked up a mountain to get a few photos of a glacial lake – Jenny Lake – and hiked along part of Jackson Lake; did some walking around Yellowstone Lake as well.
I watched some geysers erupt and breathed in a lot of nasty H2S trying to get close-up pictures of such.
Of all the rivers and lakes I saw, everything looked like there was plenty of water. The contrast was stark against the dried up California lakes where recently exposed beds/water-lines are apparent. I think Yellowstone was even expecting some snow the day or so after we left. Ranching and irrigated agriculture were in full effect outside the parks. Huge amounts of hay were everywhere. Wheat, alfalfa, corn, etc. seemed untouched by the dry spell. In the woods, there were lush green cover plants. And there were yellow and purple wildflowers everywhere, along the prairie-based roadways.
Of all the rivers and lakes I saw, everything looked like there was plenty of water. The contrast was stark against the dried up California lakes where recently exposed beds/water-lines are apparent. I think Yellowstone was even expecting some snow the day or so after we left.
Ranching and irrigated agriculture were in full effect outside the parks. Huge amounts of hay were everywhere. Wheat, alfalfa, corn, etc. seemed untouched by the dry spell. In the woods, there were lush green cover plants. And there were yellow and purple wildflowers everywhere, along the prairie-based roadways.
Another interesting research project from Norway, two researchers from University of Bergen/Nansen (one 72 years old) use a hovercraft and drift with the ice flow.
Hi Charles, yes I usually put them up on a local on-line trading/auction site a month before Christmas, as I find it is the peak time of the year, regards Bob
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A comment (my email address) is in your wordpress account awaiting moderation. Please send a link to the auction site when your work is available. I like it.
Excellent! From time-lapse closeups of water melting and freezing, to iceberg calving, to aerial shots of ponds forming and water flowing and draining down moulins, to that scary dirty snow, to great explanatory animation—-well done, informative, and even “artsy” in spots. An info-packed and visually appealing piece of work, and only 7 minutes long—-many thumbs up!
I agree with DOG.
Focusing attention on a very remote area and on positive feedbacks very few of us get to see and is not normally in the mind of those who live further South. Excellent short and focused work.
Well, I’m back from WY….
The placement of the ambient music tracks to score the video seemed more nuanced than in the videos of previous years. This should help subconsciously sway the subset of viewers who know nothing of science but are willing to accept a message that is embedded in a media product with a similar level of production quality to that of the Hollywood/advertizing model.
How was WY——-where did you go,what did you do? Haven’t been there for 20 years.
See any fracking? Strip mining of coal? Was it dry?:
WordPress keeps eating my reply; let my try breaking it up:
I did see some conventional drilling for thick crude along I-40, between Vernal, Utah, through Roosevelt, and Salt Lake City. This article – ‘Giant operation in Utah gives rise to oil boom, though challenges loom.’ – summarizes it better my quick peeks out the car window:
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/money/54641000-79/oil-newfield-utah-basin.html.csp
I also noticed that there was a lot of wind in the undeveloped region between Rock Springs, WY and Vernal, UT. There was even a main grid line next to highway 191 that traveled down to Flaming Gorge Reservoir, where there is a hydroelectric dam we drove over. And there was too a lot of wind between Vernal and SLC. I’ll have to pull up a wind map later and see if my discrete experience was representative of the area.
In Vernal, at the Morrison Formation (a particular strata), i saw 140 million year old dinosaur fossils (late Jurassic); mostly diplotocus and allosaurus.
Oh, and coming down the mountain from Rock Springs we drove over different strata, where a few minutes of driving would push us along millions of years – even saw some Precambrian rock, i believe (later, at a natural history museum, i got a close up look at a 1.2 billion year old rock!).
I didn’t see any strip mines (I think most of that is the Powder River Basin), but saw some other large mining operation near Vernal.
As far as WY goes, here is what I saw (I was in Yellowstone Natl. Park, and at the Grand Tetons Natl. Park):
I saw lots of fire destruction and perhaps lots of pine beetle or other disease destruction (dead lodgepole trees with no signs of fire). But 98% of what I saw was a healthy, intact ecosystem.
I did get a few photos of some unidentified mating beetles on some dead pines, but I think I was too late for pine beetle season, according to this: [Beetle Devastates Yellowstone Whitebark Pine Forests]
http://www.actionbioscience.org/environment/loganmacfarlane.html
I learned the wolf population was only n=90 for Yellowstone and that they were all genetically similar (compared against the remains of the natives) transplants from Canada; the ranchers having killed all the native wolves in the first half of the twentieth century. About 10 years ago, n= ~175 and that looked like peak-wolf for the area (could have been a population overshoot as there were an unnatural amount of elk hanging around until the wolves’ effects started to kick in). But for whatever reason, it seems as though the carrying capacity is around n=80 to ~175, by my untrained eye, examining a recent time series.
I snapped a few pictures of a lone coyote hunting in some grassland behind a gas station, but i didn’t get to see any wolves. I did see plenty of bison, a couple moose, a couple elk, a few herds of pronghorn antelope, a mountain goat from far away, and thankfully no bears. We had a canister of bear repellent, but it felt quite inadequate in comparison to a 30-06.
I walked down an open metal staircase that was nailed into the cliff-side of Yellowstone Canyon to get a picture of the upper falls. It was a moderately tough pull going back up with the thin air and the adrenaline from the dangerous heights (felt almost like watching one of those Russian daredevil videos, where they walk around on the outsides of skyscrapers or cranes attached to such). I think it was about 1000 feet in height.
At the Tetons, I hiked up a mountain to get a few photos of a glacial lake – Jenny Lake – and hiked along part of Jackson Lake; did some walking around Yellowstone Lake as well.
I watched some geysers erupt and breathed in a lot of nasty H2S trying to get close-up pictures of such.
Of all the rivers and lakes I saw, everything looked like there was plenty of water. The contrast was stark against the dried up California lakes where recently exposed beds/water-lines are apparent. I think Yellowstone was even expecting some snow the day or so after we left. Ranching and irrigated agriculture were in full effect outside the parks. Huge amounts of hay were everywhere. Wheat, alfalfa, corn, etc. seemed untouched by the dry spell. In the woods, there were lush green cover plants. And there were yellow and purple wildflowers everywhere, along the prairie-based roadways.
Welp, there was lots more, but it’s getting late here….
As far as WY goes, here is what I saw (I was in Yellowstone Natl. Park, and at the Grand Tetons Natl. Park):
I saw lots of fire destruction and perhaps lots of pine beetle or other disease destruction (dead lodgepole trees with no signs of fire). But 98% of what I saw was a healthy, intact ecosystem.
I did get a few photos of some unidentified mating beetles on some dead pines, but I think I was too late for pine beetle season, according to this: [Beetle Devastates Yellowstone Whitebark Pine Forests]
http://www.actionbioscience.org/environment/loganmacfarlane.html
I learned the wolf population was only n=90 for Yellowstone and that they were all genetically similar (compared against the remains of the natives) transplants from Canada; the ranchers having killed all the native wolves in the first half of the twentieth century. About 10 years ago, n= ~175 and that looked like peak-wolf for the area (could have been a population overshoot as there were an unnatural amount of elk hanging around until the wolves’ effects started to kick in). But for whatever reason, it seems as though the carrying capacity is around n=80 to ~175, by my untrained eye, examining a recent time series.
I snapped a few pictures of a lone coyote hunting in some grassland behind a gas station, but i didn’t get to see any wolves. I did see plenty of bison, a couple moose, a couple elk, a few herds of pronghorn antelope, a mountain goat from far away, and thankfully no bears. We had a canister of bear repellent, but it felt quite inadequate in comparison to a 30-06.
I walked down an open metal staircase that was nailed into the cliff-side of Yellowstone Canyon to get a picture of the upper falls. It was a moderately tough pull going back up with the thin air and the adrenaline from the dangerous heights (felt almost like watching one of those Russian daredevil videos, where they walk around on the outsides of skyscrapers or cranes attached to such). I think it was about 1000 feet in height.
At the Tetons, I hiked up a mountain to get a few photos of a glacial lake – Jenny Lake – and hiked along part of Jackson Lake; did some walking around Yellowstone Lake as well.
I watched some geysers erupt and breathed in a lot of nasty H2S trying to get close-up pictures of such.
Of all the rivers and lakes I saw, everything looked like there was plenty of water. The contrast was stark against the dried up California lakes where recently exposed beds/water-lines are apparent. I think Yellowstone was even expecting some snow the day or so after we left. Ranching and irrigated agriculture were in full effect outside the parks. Huge amounts of hay were everywhere. Wheat, alfalfa, corn, etc. seemed untouched by the dry spell. In the woods, there were lush green cover plants. And there were yellow and purple wildflowers everywhere, along the prairie-based roadways.
Welp, there was lots more, but it’s getting late here….
I walked down an open metal staircase that was nailed into the cliff-side of Yellowstone Canyon to get a picture of the upper falls. It was a moderately tough pull going back up with the thin air and the adrenaline from the dangerous heights (felt almost like watching one of those Russian daredevil videos, where they walk around on the outsides of skyscrapers or cranes attached to such). I think it was about 1000 feet in height.
At the Tetons, I hiked up a mountain to get a few photos of a glacial lake – Jenny Lake – and hiked along part of Jackson Lake; did some walking around Yellowstone Lake as well.
I watched some geysers erupt and breathed in a lot of nasty H2S trying to get close-up pictures of such.
Of all the rivers and lakes I saw, everything looked like there was plenty of water. The contrast was stark against the dried up California lakes where recently exposed beds/water-lines are apparent. I think Yellowstone was even expecting some snow the day or so after we left. Ranching and irrigated agriculture were in full effect outside the parks. Huge amounts of hay were everywhere. Wheat, alfalfa, corn, etc. seemed untouched by the dry spell. In the woods, there were lush green cover plants. And there were yellow and purple wildflowers everywhere, along the prairie-based roadways.
Of all the rivers and lakes I saw, everything looked like there was plenty of water. The contrast was stark against the dried up California lakes where recently exposed beds/water-lines are apparent. I think Yellowstone was even expecting some snow the day or so after we left.
Welp, wordpress doesn’t like my last few sentences – sorry Greenman – probably looks crazy on the administrator’s end….
Ranching and irrigated agriculture were in full effect outside the parks. Huge amounts of hay were everywhere. Wheat, alfalfa, corn, etc. seemed untouched by the dry spell. In the woods, there were lush green cover plants. And there were yellow and purple wildflowers everywhere, along the prairie-based roadways.
Another interesting research project from Norway, two researchers from University of Bergen/Nansen (one 72 years old) use a hovercraft and drift with the ice flow.
http://news.sciencemag.org/earth/2014/09/alone-arctic-ice-floe-hovercraft
http://www.polarhovercraft.no/
Bob, Do you sell your paintings?
Hi Charles, yes I usually put them up on a local on-line trading/auction site a month before Christmas, as I find it is the peak time of the year, regards Bob
A comment (my email address) is in your wordpress account awaiting moderation. Please send a link to the auction site when your work is available. I like it.