Cool Place of the Week #9- Lake Vostok, Antartica

Picture from this article.

Lake Vostok is one of about 150  subglacial lakes located in Antarctica. It is covered by over 2 miles of ice. Scientists have been trying to drill through the ice to the lake since 1998- the project has been plagued by funding shortages, equipment failures and harsh environmental condtitions (we're talking temperatures hitting -128 degrees Fahrenheit). Another big issue that slowed the project was the possibility of contaminating Lake Vostok with drilling fluids (kerosene and Freon), which has been isolated for millions of years (between 15 and 34 million years).  It is quite possible that the lake contains new life forms unknown to science. On the other hand, it's possible that the lake is devoid of life, due to its super high oxygen levels. Even if that were the case, that would make Lake Vostok the first water body on Earth to contain no life.

Russian scientists have confirmed a few days ago that they have successfully reached the lake, just before being forced to pack up for the harsh Antarctic winter.

I am really excited to see what is found. This is ground breaking science here, having possible implications for extraterrestrial life It goes without saying that I will be sure to keep you posted on any developments!


Contributing articles from: The New York Times and The Week.

Cool Place of the Week #8- Valdez, Alaska

Valdez, Alaska, is considered to be the snowiest place in Alaska, and one of the snowiest places in the world. But even the residents of Valdez aren't used to the amount of snow they have received this winter. This winter has dumped an astonishing 322 inches of snow, or about 27 feet. This is about on par for the amount of snowfall for an entire season- and there are still many weeks left to go this winter- putting Valdez on track to break its seasonal snowfall record. This record snowfall is posing a big problem for the structures in town, as roofs are collapsing under the weight of the snow (which is reported to weigh about 112 pounds per square foot). Outside help has been brought in to help with snow removal.

- From the Anchorage Daily News

Cool Place of the Week #7- Mont Saint-Michel

The island of Mont Saint-Michel is located off the coast of Normandy, France, with a population of 41 as of 2006. It's claim to fame is that the unique location of the island is such that during high tide it is an island, but at low tide, is connected to the mainland via a land bridge. The land bridge is now permanent to cater to tourists.

Some of the buildings on the island date back to the 13th century, but the island had been used as a stronghold long before that, in ancient times. Its first monastery was built in the early 700s.

Cool Place of the Week #6 -Yellowstone National Park

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Photo taken by Takeya Meggett. 

Yellowstone National Park, located in northwestern Wyoming and parts of Idaho and Montana, is chock full of awesome things to see- waterfalls, a petrified forest, mountains, and diverse wildlife, to name a few. What makes it so unique is its location above a mantle hotspot supervolcano (the supervolcano gets its own blog post). As a result, there are a plethora of interesting geothermal features:  hot springs, geysers, fumaroles and mud pots. In fact, 2/3 of the geysers in the world are found in Yellowstone NP!  Even I'm not familiar with the differences between all of these geothermal features, so here is a breakdown, according to the National Park Service and this site:


Hot Springs  are where groundwater heated by geothermal energy emerges from the Earth's surface, They can have brilliant colors based on what minerals are dissolved in the water.

Grand Prismatic Spring is the largest hot spring in the US. The coloration is due to the  water itself (the blues) and pigmented bacteria in microbial mats around the edges (the other colors).

Bacterial mats of Grand Prismatic Spring. Photo taken by Takeya Meggett.

Geysers are hot springs that build up enough pressure to expel super-heated water into the air.

Old Faithful Geyser. Photo taken by Takeya Meggett.

Fumaroles, or steam vents, do not have as much water as hot springs and geysers. The water that is available turned to steam when it comes into contact with hot rocks underground. There is often a loud hiss  associated with fumaroles as the steam rushes up through the crack in the rock and out of the vent.

Black Growler Steam Vent (Fumarole)

Mudpots are formed when nearby rocks has been dissolved by groundwater and steam rises through the  groundwater.

Mud Volcano is one of the mud pots at Yellowstone. There is usually more mud, but it was cold and dry when this photo was taken, so the cracks formed. Photo taken by Takeya Meggett.

P.S.: A big thank you to my friend and colleague, Takeya, for sharing her wonderful photos with me! She is currently living out in Wyoming, working for Grand Teton National Park as an Interpretive Naturalist. I am really jealous!

Cool Place of the Week #5- The Crooked Forest in Poland

There is an odd forest of trees in the town of Gryfino, Poland. The tree trunks rise a few inches out of the ground before making a 90 degree turn and growing out, before curving back upward.

No one is quite sure how the trees got this way, though the prevailing theory is that they were manipulated by humans for furniture making.

Cool Place of the Week #4- The Canary Islands

The Canary Islands, though part of the continent of Africa, are actually part of Spain. There are two interesting things going on in the Canary Islands that make them notable.

There is currently an underwater volcanic eruption happening off the coast of the island of El Hierro. Scientists believe that the lava spewing out from the volcano will sooner or later break the surface of the ocean, and form a new island. Click here for an excellent article (with lots of awesome pictures!).

The other interesting thing about the Canary Islands is that they have the potential to create a giant super-tsunami. If the side of the volcano on the island of La Palma were to collapse into the ocean (it's already showing signs of instability), the volume of water displaced could create a huge tsunami hundreds of feet high. Even better (not) this potential tsunami would hit the east coast of the US. Click here for the scientific paper published on the model predictions.

Cool Place of the Week #3- Pyramid Mountain Natural Historic Area

Pyramid Mountain Natural Historic Area is located in Morris County, NJ; not too far from New York City (in fact you can see NYC from a few of the scenic outlooks).  It has a really nice trail system that I was lucky enough to try out for myself this past summer. There are tons (literally and figuratively) of glacial erratics, which are rocks that are not native to the area, transported to their current location via the movement of glaciers. The must see erratics at Pyramid Mountain are Bear Rock, and Tripod Rock.

Before setting out on my hike, I had an idea of what to expect. Tripod Rock is balanced on 3 smaller rocks, and Bear Rock is much larger than Tripod Rock. So, I knew I was going to see big rocks. I went to see Bear Rock first, and  I was still quite a ways down the trail when I first saw it- my jaw dropped because I was astonished at how damn big it was:

This is me standing in front of Bear Rock. Told you it was big. For reference, I'm 5 feet 4 inches tall.

Next I went to Tripod Rock, which is a big rock balanced on three much smaller rocks. It looks lopsided and like it should fall over, but it's been this way for thousands of years:

There are some other glacial erratics scattered around the area, but none are as magnificent as these.

Cool Place of the Week #2- Bioluminescent Bay in Vieques, Puerto Rico

Vieques is a small island 8 miles off the coast of Puerto Rico. Vieques is the home of Mosquito Bay (Puerto Mosquito), or as it's more commonly known as, Bioluminescent Bay

What's so special about this bay? There are MILLIONS of dinoflagellates living in the water. And when they are disturbed, they glow.

Bioluminescent creatures are found all over the world, but Bioluminescent Bay in Vieques is well known as a great spot to see it.


For more about Bioluminescent Bay and on bioluminescence, click here. 

Cool Place of the Week #1- Silfra Fissure, Iceland

I got the idea to feature an interesting place each week. So here we go- first up, the Silfra Fissure in Iceland!

Location of the Silfra Fissure. Thanks to Google Maps for the picture!

Located in Thingvellir National Park, the Silfra Fissure is truly a unique place. The Silfra Fissure is a part of the divergent tectonic boundary between the North American and Eurasian plates. So what's so special about this tectonic boundary? It's inundated with crystal clear (but very cold) water, making it possible to go snorkeling or even scuba diving! You can actually dive down into the fissure, and float between two tectonic plates!

This place is definitely on my bucket list. 


Click here for an awesome 360 degree view from above Silfra Fissure! 
This is a great site about the Silfra Fissure.