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Bass Rock Bass Rock is an island off the east coast of Scotland home to a large number of gannets and a few abandoned buildings. While the occasional human has made for the shore, the island is currently uninhabited allowing the gannets to run riot. The white colouring seen in the photo is not due to snow but is actually a thick layer of gannet poo that coats the island.
The Icelandic tale of Hvítserkur
This imposing monolith is called Hvítserkur, also known as Troll Rock. Hvítserkur means “white shirt” in Icelandic and derives its name from the smattering of bird guano left behind by roosting sea birds. The 15 metre tall basaltic stack is located off of the Vatnsnes Peninsula in north-western Iceland and is likely the remnants of an old volcanic plug. Erosion by the sea has worn away the surrounding rock, as well as rock its the base, leaving behind two arches. To prevent the monolith toppling over, Icelandic authorities have reinforced the base with concrete.
In Icelandic folklore, Hvítserkur was a giant troll who lived at Mount Bæjarfell with his family. One night, he was awoken from his sleep by a loud ringing noise. Hvítserkur knew that humans were making this sound - men who had moved to Iceland and no longer believed in the deities Odin and Frey.
As the nights went by, the sound only got worse. It was particularly bad around winter, the Giants’ favourite time of year. Hvítserkur had had enough! He realized that the sound was being made by a bell hanging in a house on the other side of Húnaflói. To stop the awful noise, Hvítserkur would travel to that house and destroy the bell once and for all.
Trolls despised the light of day, turning to stone upon its arrival. Hvítserkur was no exception. He decided to make the journey one evening, believing that he would make it to the bell before the following dawn. As the Hvítserkur began his preparations, his son, Bárdur, insisted on going with him so that he might see the world. He also argued that he would be able to assist his father should the work prove too difficult to do alone. Hvítserkur had serious reservations; the fjords were very deep. After arguing for a good portion of the night, Hvítserkur relented and Bárdur accompanied him on the journey.
Unfortunately, the fjords were indeed very difficult for Bárdur to cross and they made very slow progress. As the duo approached the Vatnsnes Peninsula, day was quickly looming. Hvítserkur was sure they could still get to the house on time and break the bell before daybreak. As he stepped over the mountain and into the sea, he looked eastward, just in time to see the sun rising. Instantly, he began turning to stone. Hvítserkur felt this happening, and gave a last ditch attempt to destroy the bell by throwing his hammer at the building that housed it. However, he failed, and it is believed that the hammer can seen today at the eastern part of Þingeyrarsand (Thingeyrarsand).
Image credit: ‘hvitserkur’ by Martin Secombe, 2013 (https://flic.kr/p/fHCUmK). Used under creative commons licensing.
Further reading: More great photos: https://www.flickr.com/groups/hvitserkur/pool/ A great guide to Hvitserkur, including travel info:https://guidetoiceland.is/connect-with-locals/regina/hvitserkur-up-north
Guano Gwales
The white patch on the island of Grassholm (Welsh: Ynys Gwales or Gwales) is not snow, limestone, or any type of rock for that matter. In springtime, half the island is covered in gannets and their associated guano (also known as bird shit). About 12% (equivalent to 40,000 birds) of the world’s population of gannets live on Gwales; the other 78% can be found nearby on the islands of St. Kilda and Bass Rock off the coast of Scotland. A big problem for these birds nowadays are floating islands of plastic. Instead of seaweed, the gannets now use fishing nets and all sorts of plastic rubbish for nesting. Around 65 birds die annually from plastic entanglement. Like the islands of Skomer and Skokholm, Gwales is of volcanic origin. Basalt dominates, with sporadic occurrences of felsite, mugearite, and rhyolite dating from the Silurian (around 440 million years ago). The sediments and rocks on these small islands can be related to mainland Wales. It is believed that at least Skomer was separated from the mainland by erosio during the last Ice Age.
Gwales is mentioned in the Mabinogion, a collection of medieval Welsh manuscripts drawing back from Celtic and Iron Age mythology. In one of the stories the severed head of Bran the Blessed is brought to the magnificent castle that stand high above the ocean on Gwales. Bran’s head is kept alive for a mere 8 years, while his seven companions feast non-stop in the great hall of the castle. In 1972 archaeological research revealed field boundaries and a small settlement with round houses and rectangular buildings in the middle of the island. Interestingly the blanket of gannet guano had killed the grass which in turn revealed the archaeological remains. The remains are believed to date from the Middle Ages and thus could represent the mythological feasting hall.
-OW-
Image: Courtesy of S. Murray. Aerial photo of Grassholm.
References and further reading: http://bit.ly/UwOSvY http://bbc.in/1q8XJxH http://bit.ly/UwM4yH http://bit.ly/1qGV8Qw http://bit.ly/1qGVaI5
Penguin poop from space
How do you track a missing group of penguins? That’s a question scientists like Michelle LaRue at the Polar Geospatial Center in Minneapolis work on, and it turns out there’s a rather interesting answer. As climate changes, ocean currents, food supplies, and ice cover around Antarctica are changing rapidly. As a consequence, every now and then, a large group of penguins finds that its current habitat can no longer support them. In 1970, for example, a large group of emperor penguins suddenly shrank in half. Where did they go? Did they die? How do you track penguins across a vast ice sheet?
The answer turns out to be, um, excrement. Penguin waste is brown, a sharply different color from the mostly-white ice sheets. When penguin populations move to a new location, satellites can detect the ice changing color.
One particular group that Dr. LaRue was tracking dealt with the loss of ice in its breeding ground by packing up and moving about 200 kilometers away, and the signature that they were in this new location was a change in ice color.
She was even able to use this technique to track possible locations where the group that vanished in 1970 might have migrated. Satellite data isn’t nearly as good from those days, but this technique will be a useful way to keep track of penguins as their habitats shift over the next few years.
-JBB
Image credit: Digital Globe http://www.livescience.com/46475-penguin-poop-satellite-tracking.html
Stac Lee
This is Stack Lee, a small sea stack that is part of the St. Kilda Archipelago, found off the Northwest Coast of Scotland. The white specks at the top of this island are a huge colony of gannets, and the white streaks down the side are bird poo. This rock, like many in this archipelago, is an igneous rock. It formed about 60 million years ago as the far northern part of the Atlantic opened; volcanic rocks poured out across many parts of northern Scotland and Ireland in the process. The hard rocks at this site are resistant enough against erosion that they stand up as a series of steep islands, and as you can see, they are home to huge colonies of birds as a consequence.
These islands are an interesting geomorphological story. They are exposed to the full fury of storms that come through the North Atlantic, but still stand tall. Beneath the waves, there are several terraces 40 and 80 meters down. These terraces were cut when sea level was lower; as the ice sheets melted to end the last great ice age, sea level must have stopped at a few points for long enough to allow erosion of terraces that are now hidden beneath the waves.
-JBB
Image credit: https://flic.kr/p/29hkhPk
Dragon rock Hivitserkur is a 15 metre high volcanic plug, the eroded remains of magma frozen on its way up a volcanic conduit towards the vent at the surface. Located in Iceland's Gulf of Hunafloui, it resembles a grazing dragon or dinosaur. The local legend says that it is a frozen troll, caught by the rising sun on its way to raid a nearby abbey. The name means white shirt, and comes from the guano stains from fishing birds running down it. The foundations were whored up with concrete to save the monument from the Atlantic ocean. Loz Image credit: Stephan Rebernik http://ourworldinpictures.net/world/223-icelandic-dinosaur-hvtserkur.html http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/hvitserkur-dinosaur-rock
Dragon rock Hivitserkur is a 15 metre high volcanic plug, the eroded remains of magma frozen on its way up a volcanic conduit towards the vent at the surface. Located in Iceland's Gulf of Hunafloui, it resembles a grazing dragon or dinosaur. The local legend says that it is a frozen troll, caught by the rising sun on its way to raid a nearby abbey. The name means white shirt, and comes from the guano stains from fishing birds running down it. The foundations were shored up with concrete to save the monument from the Atlantic ocean. Loz Image credit: Stephan Rebernik http://ourworldinpictures.net/world/223-icelandic-dinosaur-hvtserkur.html http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/hvitserkur-dinosaur-rock http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/hvitserkur
Moolooite
This peculiar mineral that sounds as though it was given its name by a cow was discovered in 1977 in Western Australia. It was found not far from Mooloo Downs Station, hence the name Moolooite. Since its discovery this very rare mineral has been spotted in some other locations, including France, Germany, the U.S. and Norway.
Moolooite has not only got a funny name, it was also formed in a strange way. Solutions derived from bird guano (bird droppings) interact with weathering copper sulphides which then forms the mineral.
It typically occurs in small cracks and is composed of aggregates of very small crystals. Its color is usually turquoise but can also vary from blue to green. According to the International Mineralogical Association (IMA) Moolooite belongs to the group of “Organic Compounds”.
Xandi
Image credit: http://bit.ly/1IGHf8N
Sources: http://bit.ly/1HITiHZ http://bit.ly/1Q3tety http://bit.ly/1N65hMy
Hvítserkur
Once 15 m Hvítserkur was the plug of a volcano. However, with time the violent sea eroded its flanks leaving only a small monolith. According to Icelandic legend on the other hand, Hvítserkur was a troll who forgot to retreat from the light (presumably because he was busy tearing down a convent) and thus turned into stone. Interestingly in present day people still ‘create’ trolls in Iceland by piling up rocks along the side of the road. Other stories claim that Hvítserkur is actually a drinking dragon or dinosaur. Hvítserkur would have disappeared long ago had it not been for its base being filled up with concrete. At present it has two large holes with a third one quickly on its way. It seems very likely that eventually it will collapse. Its name literally means ‘white shirt’ in Icelandic and is due to the fact that its top is covered in guano (bird shit). Thus a large number of birds, mostly fulmar and gulls, live on its rocks. -OW- Image: Courtesy of Alexandre Buisse (http://bit.ly/1JQag0M) References: http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/hvitserkur http://bit.ly/1FV1aF7
Bass Rock
Bass Rock is an island off the east coast of Scotland home to a large number of gannets and a few abandoned buildings. While the occasional human has made for the shore, the island is currently uninhabited allowing the gannets to run riot. The white colouring seen in the photo is not due to snow but is actually a thick layer of gannet poo that coats the island.
Bass Rock is a volcanic plug, the remnants of a carboniferous volcano long gone extinct. While the volcanoes outer layers of ash and lava have been eroded away, the magma that became solidified just beneath the vent has remained, giving the island its rounded appearance. Bass Rock was part of the same volcanic chain as Arthur’s Seat and Castle Rock, two large edifices famous in Edinburgh with the latter hosting the capital’s long standing castle.
While Scotland no longer has any active volcanoes, it has a long history of volcanic events with the most recent ending only 35ma ago.
Reference and Further Reading: http://bit.ly/1HZMm2c
Image Credit: http://bit.ly/1MD33qq
Nishinoshima is still growing
In November of 2013, an underwater volcanic eruption gave birth to a tiny island off the eastern coast of Japan. The island rapidly grew in size and eventually fused with the nearby island of Nishinoshima, just a month after the volcano’s eruption. Today, the island stands at almost 2.5 square kilometers, with volcanic activity showing no signs of slowing down. This false-color image, which was captured by the Operational Land Imager on Landsat 8, shows plumes of steam and sulfur dioxide wafting from the mouth of the volcano. The white and blue represent the plumes and ocean respectively, while the drops of red on Nishinoshima are hot spots of lava. Besides than the volcano’s mouth, the satellite has only been able to detect hot spots at the southeastern region of the island. Fresh molten rock has been flowing through hollow tubes of solidified lava, which have been keeping the flowing lava hidden until appearing at the island’s edge.
Meanwhile, geologists aren’t the only scientists keeping a close eye on Nishinoshima; biologists and ecologists are also excited to observe how life will eventually colonize Nishinoshima. Old Nishinoshima, before it was unwittingly fused to the new island, was home to various bird species before they were driven away by the ongoing eruption. Researchers believe the potential of a new ecosystem lies with local seabirds that could turn Nishinoshima into their nesting ground. In a potentially great illustration of the cycle of life, the birds’ waste products — poop, vomit, and their eventual decomposing corpses — will become fertile soil that will be ideal for vegetation, to be grown from the seeds potentially transported to the island by wind, water, or the droppings of overflying birds. Until the island stops spewing lava, however, geologists and biologists will need to be content making further off-site observations and hypotheses as to what might happen to Nishinoshima in the near future.
-DC
Photo credit: http://1.usa.gov/1QWxw7k
More reading: http://bit.ly/1LCm4tZ http://bit.ly/1CBOgVr http://bit.ly/1FHX6Bb http://wxch.nl/1GEx6aw
When Nishinoshima turned a year old last November: http://on.fb.me/1Km5Btv
The Icelandic tale of Hvítserkur This imposing monolith is called Hvítserkur, also known as Troll Rock. Hvítserkur means “white shirt” in Icelandic and derives its name from the smattering of bird guano left behind by roosting sea birds. The 15 metre tall basaltic stack is located off of the Vatnsnes Peninsula in north-western Iceland and is likely the remnants of an old volcanic plug. Erosion by the sea has worn away the surrounding rock, as well as rock its the base, leaving behind two arches. To prevent the monolith toppling over, Icelandic authorities have reinforced the base with concrete. In Icelandic folklore, Hvítserkur was a giant troll who lived at Mount Bæjarfell with his family. One night, he was awoken from his sleep by a loud ringing noise. Hvítserkur knew that humans were making this sound - men who had moved to Iceland and no longer believed in the deities Odin and Frey. As the nights went by, the sound only got worse. It was particularly bad around winter, the Giants’ favourite time of year. Hvítserkur had had enough! He realized that the sound was being made by a bell hanging in a house on the other side of Húnaflói. To stop the awful noise, Hvítserkur would travel to that house and destroy the bell once and for all. Trolls despised the light of day, turning to stone upon its arrival. Hvítserkur was no exception. He decided to make the journey one evening, believing that he would make it to the bell before the following dawn. As the Hvítserkur began his preparations, his son, Bárdur, insisted on going with him so that he might see the world. He also argued that he would be able to assist his father should the work prove too difficult to do alone. Hvítserkur had serious reservations; the fjords were very deep. After arguing for a good portion of the night, Hvítserkur relented and Bárdur accompanied him on the journey. Unfortunately, the fjords were indeed very difficult for Bárdur to cross and they made very slow progress. As the duo approached the Vatnsnes Peninsula, day was quickly looming. Hvítserkur was sure they could still get to the house on time and break the bell before daybreak. As he stepped over the mountain and into the sea, he looked eastward, just in time to see the sun rising. Instantly, he began turning to stone. Hvítserkur felt this happening, and gave a last ditch attempt to destroy the bell by throwing his hammer at the building that housed it. However, he failed, and it is believed that the hammer can seen today at the eastern part of Þingeyrarsand (Thingeyrarsand). - YK Image credit: ‘hvitserkur’ by Martin Secombe, 2013 (https://flic.kr/p/fHCUmK). Used under creative commons licensing. Further reading: More great photos: https://www.flickr.com/groups/hvitserkur/pool/ A great guide to Hvitserkur, including travel info: https://guidetoiceland.is/connect-with-locals/regina/hvitserkur-up-north
Guano Gwales The white patch on the island of Grassholm (Welsh: Ynys Gwales or Gwales) is not snow, limestone, or any type of rock for that matter. In springtime, half the island is covered in gannets and their associated guano (also known as bird shit). About 12% (equivalent to 40,000 birds) of the world’s population of gannets live on Gwales; the other 78% can be found nearby on the islands of St. Kilda and Bass Rock off the coast of Scotland. A big problem for these birds nowadays are floating islands of plastic. Instead of seaweed, the gannets now use fishing nets and all sorts of plastic rubbish for nesting. Around 65 birds die annually from plastic entanglement. Like the islands of Skomer and Skokholm, Gwales is of volcanic origin. Basalt dominates, with sporadic occurrences of felsite, mugearite, and rhyolite dating from the Silurian (around 440 million years ago). The sediments and rocks on these small islands can be related to mainland Wales. It is believed that at least Skomer got loose from the mainland during the last Ice Age. Gwales is mentioned in the Mabinogion, a collection of medieval Welsh manuscripts drawing back from Celtic and Iron Age mythology. In one of the stories the severed head of Bran the Blessed is brought to the magnificent castle that stand high above the ocean on Gwales. Bran’s head is kept alive for a mere 8 years, while his seven companions feast non-stop in the great hall of the castle. In 1972 archaeological research revealed field boundaries and a small settlement with round houses and rectangular buildings in the middle of the island. Interestingly the blanket of gannet guano had killed the grass which in turn revealed the archaeological remains. The remains are believed to date from the Middle Ages and thus could represent the mythological feasting hall. -OW- Image: Courtesy of S. Murray. Aerial photo of Grassholm. References and further reading: http://bit.ly/UwOSvY http://bbc.in/1q8XJxH http://bit.ly/UwM4yH http://bit.ly/1qGV8Qw http://bit.ly/1qGVaI5
