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.


A Plant’s Strength Lies in its Roots

January 24, 2022


Menashe_dayflower roots

Menashe_dayflower roots2

Photographer: Menashe Davidson

Summary Author: Menashe Davidson

When I decided to “domesticate” the white-mouth dayflower
( Commelina erecta) from the wild and grow it in containers in my
home garden (Rishon LeZion, Israel), it was simply because I was
impressed with the plants above ground vitality and the beauty of its
blooms.

A few months back, I replaced the white-mouth dayflower plants with
other annual ornamentals that fit better with the winter season.
Immediately, I realized the strength of the dayflowers’ roots. It was
so securely anchored that I had difficulty extracting it from the soil
it was growing from (top photo). Experiencing this, I could easily
understand why this plant is able to thrive in places where other
plants struggle. Note that in some regions the white mouth dayflower is
considered invasive.

The dayflower’s rhizomes, plant stems that are modified to grow
horizontally beneath the surface, allow it to grow roots and shoots to
form new plants. As you can see, the underground portion of this plant
is a tangle of root systems -- several plants have grown together
(bottom photo). Since entire new plants can grow from rhizomes
fragments in the soil, once this species become established it’s very
hard to eradicate.
* Rishon LeZion, Israel Coordinates: 31.9730, 34.7925

Related EPODs

A Plant’s Strength Lies in its Roots El Drago Tree on the
Island of Tenerife Moonflower Water Drops on Leaves A
Many-Colored Fall in Blacksmith Fork Canyon Archive - Bountiful
Autumn
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 7 weeks, 1 day, 20 hours, 43 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)

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.


Meteors from Fragments of Chang Zheng 2F Rocket Launch

October 24, 2022


IMG_basura_cohete_chino_20-06-2022 (1 de 1)

Photographer: Ana García Suárez
Summary Author: Ana García Suárez
Near the summit of Mirador Infinito on the island of La Palma, a
group of stargazers were startled by a phenomenon they first thought to
be a meteor shower. Several aligned fireballs moved slowly crossing
the night sky leaving behind distinct trails. They later discover that
these meteors occurred as a result of one of the phases of the
Chang Zheng 2F rocket, launched on June 5 (2022), breaking up upon
re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere. White and orange lights formed a
row of fireballs from fragments of the rocket that became incandescent
as a result of friction with the upper atmosphere. Because at the
time these stargazers didn’t know the true explanation, it surely
looked like a scene from a dystopian movie. Photo taken on June 20,
2021.


La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain Coordinates: 28.7134, -17.9058


Related EPODs

Meteors from Fragments of Chang Zheng 2F Rocket Launch
iridescent Clouds Observed from Tuen Mun, Hong Kong Dew Drops
Golden Cumulus Clouds over Mt Makiling at Sunrise Thunderstorm
and Rainbow over Zagreb, Croatia Etna Volcano at Night
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 34 weeks, 20 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)

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.


Below the Wasatch Range’s Storm Mountain

November 24, 2022


RayB_bigcott832c_19oct22 (002)

RayB_bigcott837c_19oct22 (003)

Photographer: Ray Boren

Summary Author: Ray Boren

Geologic forces spanning millions of years — from estuarine
deposits and metamorphic pressures to mountain building and
never-ending erosion — are exposed in beautiful Big Cottonwood
Canyon, a cleft in the Wasatch Range southeast of Salt Lake City,
Utah. Accessible examples of these phenomena are found alongside a
graceful curve in the canyon highway below ominously named Storm
Mountain. Here, tinted in shades of oxidized red and darker black, are
layered Big Cottonwood Formation rocks, as illustrated in the first
photo, taken on October 19, 2022.

The eye-catching outcrops at Storm Mountain include quartzite,
a dense, quartz-rich sandstone, and argillite, a clay-rich
mudstone. The layers were originally laid down over 720 million years
ago, during the Neoproterozoic. They were subsequently uplifted,
folded and steeply tilted beginning about 75 million years ago,
creating this rugged landscape. The quartzites were originally
deposited in rivers and tidal channels, while the argillite comes from
calmer deposits — both evidence of an ancient, seaside estuary that
preceded the mountains themselves.

A second photograph, taken the same day from below an overhang in the
rocks and above the curving highway, partly shows Storm Mountain’s
steep, craggy face, to the left. The peak rises some 2,100 feet (700
meters) above the canyon, topping out at 9,528 feet (2,904 meters)
above sea level. The perspective also hints at the season under
way: The leaves of stream-side mountain maples, cottonwoods, oaks and
other deciduous trees and bushes have turned autumnal shades of red and
yellow, for their production of chlorophyll has ceased with the
arrival of fall’s cooler temperatures and shorter days.


Big Cottonwood Canyon, Utah Coordinates: 40.6373 -111.6330


Related EPODs

Below the Wasatch Range’s Storm Mountain Beautiful Alpine Lakes
in the Sierra Nevada Range Quechee Gorge in East Central Vermont
Limestone Stratification near Modica, Sicily Strawberry Moon
and Etna Exhaust Kodachrome Basin State Park, Utah
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 38 weeks, 3 days, 21 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)