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.


Factors Determining Snowmelt in the Rocky Mountains

November 11, 2022

TomMC_EPOD.ColoradoRockiesSnowpack (004)

TomMC_EPOD.60.ColoradoRiverConditionsJuly2022 (003)

Photographer: Thomas McGuire

Summary Author: Thomas McGuire

Some 40 million people in the Southwestern United States depend, in a
large part, on the Colorado River for agricultural and municipal
water. About 90% of Colorado River water originates from melting
snowpacks in the Rocky Mountains, such as shown on the photo above at
Independence Pass, Colorado (taken in July 1977).

2021-2022 was a relatively decent year for snowfall in the Rockies, yet
both major reservoirs, Lake Powell and Lake Mead, are at
dangerous and historic low water levels. And they’re expected to
continue to go down in the coming year.

With warming of the climate in the Southwest, the tree line has
been creeping up mountain slopes. Trees lose water by transpiration
from leaves and needles. Snow surfaces lose water by the process known
as sublimation. Because trees absorb more sunlight than highly
reflective snow, an early snowmelt exposes the dark soil, which absorbs
more solar energy. Additionally, dust blown from the dry soil onto
the snow makes the snow surface darker, absorbing even more sunlight
and further contributing to earlier snowmelt -- see chart above. This
confluence of factors is a challenge for the inhabitants of the
Southwest. Fortunately, there are many alternatives allowing the
residents to adapt to the “new normal.”


Independence Pass, Colorado Coordinates: 39.1086, -106.5640


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Factors Determining Snowmelt in the Rocky Mountains Storm
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Preparing for Winter in Northern Illinois Archive - South
Atlantic Hurricane

Climatology Links

* Aerosols: Tiny Particles, Big Impact
* JetStream - An Online School for Weather
* Climate History
* National Centers for Environmental Information
* Global Climate Animations
* NOAA Climate Analysis Branch
* Vital Climate Graphics

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

https://epod.usra.edu

--- up 36 weeks, 4 days, 21 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.


Golden Cumulus Clouds over Mt Makiling at Sunrise

October 11, 2022

20220302_062614-01

Photographer: Paul Anton D. Mahinay
Summary Author: Paul Anton D. Mahinay

Shown above are eye-catching, cumulus clouds as observed at sunrise
over Mt Makiling, from a highway, near Batangas, Philippines. The
golden color of the clouds at right is due to the increased
pathlength of sunlight (greater scattering) as the Sun approaches
the horizon. Note that the cirrus clouds (lower left), attaining
higher altitudes than the cumulus clouds, show little coloring.
Additionally, airborne dust and haze act to further enhance
scattering.

Mt. Makiling is a dormant volcano. Its name is derived from Maria
Makiling, a guardian fairy of the mountains in Philippine Mythology.
Photo taken on March 3, 2022.


Batangas, Philippines Coordinates: 14.1364, 121.1944


Related EPODs

Golden Cumulus Clouds over Mt Makiling at Sunrise Thunderstorm
and Rainbow over Zagreb, Croatia Etna Volcano at Night
Crepuscular Rays Observed from Turin, Italy Sylvanshine
iridescent Pileus Cloud Observed from Ashburn, Virginia
More...

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 32 weeks, 1 day, 21 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.


Crystal Forms in Petrified Wood

December 09, 2022

TomMc_EPODImage2.WolverineLoopPetrifiedForest2022#2 (003)

TomMc_EPODImage1.PetrifiedWoodWolverineClose2022#1 (003)

Photographer: Thomas McGuire

Summary Author: Thomas McGuire


Grand Staircase National Monument is a spectacularly rich geologic
area in remote southern Utah. Within this monument, Wolverine
Petrified Forest, shown above at top, features silicified (petrified)
tree trunks and sections. The variety of colors is caused by iron
oxide and other oxide minerals.


In the bottom photo, the geometric forms at right are dark stained
quartz crystals that probably grew by groundwater deposition in
openings called “ vugs.” Quartz is extremely common, but visible
quartz crystals less so. When an igneous rock cools and
crystallizes, quartz is the last common mineral to harden, so it
usually fills in the irregular openings between previously formed
minerals including feldspar, mica, amphibole and pyroxene. What
surprised me was the texture on this exposed surface. The radial forms
at the bottom of the photo are new to me, and I have yet to understand
how they formed. Photos taken in July 2022.



Grand Staircase National Monument, Utah Coordinates: 37.799633,
-111.214906


Related EPODs

Crystal Forms in Petrified Wood Mt. Baker at Sunrise Fossil
Find in Sicily, Italy Arizona’s China Wall Fossil Lake’s Legacy
at Wyoming’s Fossil Butte Wagon Tracks from the Old West?
More...

Geology Links

* Earthquakes
* Geologic Time
* Geomagnetism
* General Dictionary of Geology
* Mineral and Locality Database
* Mohs Scale of Mineral Hardness
* This Dynamic Earth
* USGS
* MyShake - University of California, Berkeley
* 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 40 weeks, 6 days, 21 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (21:1/186)