Nuclear Ninety North
Eclipse of the Midnight Sun
August 1st, 2008
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Nuclear Ninety NorthEclipse of the Midnight SunAugust 1st, 2008 |
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| 2008-07-29 07:14 UTC | Click images for enlargements. | 80°18.89'N 52°47.89'E |
Situated on the coast of Hooker Island in Franz Josef Land, Rubini Rock is one of the most abundant habitats for cliff-nesting birds in the Arctic. Formed of hexagonal columnar basalt, the rock fractures into niches in which the multitude of birds make their nests.
| 2008-07-29 07:14 UTC | 80°18.89'N 52°47.88'E |
| 2008-07-29 07:15 UTC | 80°18.89'N 52°47.86'E |
Every little speck of white is a bird. Birds of a feather flock together, and kittiwakes, guillemots, and little auks all stake out their own turf (or, more precisely, rocky niche) on the cliff.
| 2008-07-29 07:15 UTC | 80°18.89'N 52°47.82'E |
Orange and green lichen adorn the rock. The top predator here is the glaucous gull (Larus hyperboreus), which feeds on the eggs of cliff nesting birds. As predators, they hatch their own chicks earlier than those of the species whose eggs they plunder to feed them.
| 2008-07-29 07:16 UTC | 80°18.89'N 52°47.75'E |
| 2008-07-29 07:17 UTC | 80°18.89'N 52°47.72'E |
| 2008-07-29 07:18 UTC | 80°18.90'N 52°47.70'E |
Why do the birds always nest in the white areas? See cause and effect, inversion.
| 2008-07-29 07:30 UTC | 80°18.96'N 52°47.39'E |
This close-up shows the columnar structure of the basalt rock extruded from the volcanic vent which formed this singular geological feature.
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by John Walker August 20th, 2008 |
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This document is in the public domain.