SALAR DE UYUNI AFTER SOME RAIN
Photograph via Paean on Reddit
Salar de Uyuni (or Salar de Tunupa) is the world’s largest salt flat at 10,582 square kilometers (4,086 sq mi). It is located in the Potosi and Oruro departments in southwest Bolivia, near the crest of the Andes, and is elevated 3,656 meters (11,995 ft) above the mean sea level. The Salar was formed as a result of transformations between several prehistoric lakes. It is covered by a few meters of salt crust, which has an extraordinary flatness with the average altitude variations within one meter over the entire area of the Salar. The crust serves as a source of salt and covers a pool of brine, which is exceptionally rich in lithium. It contains 50 to 70% of the world’s lithium reserves, which is in the process of being extracted.
The large area, clear skies and exceptional surface flatness make the Salar an ideal object for calibrating the altimeters of the Earth observation satellites. The Salar serves as the major transport route across the Bolivian Altiplano and is a major breeding ground for several species of pink flamingos. Salar de Uyuni is also a climatological transitional zone, for towering tropical cumulus congestus and cumulus incus clouds that form in the eastern part of the massive salt flat during summer, cannot permeate beyond the salt flat’s considerably more arid western edges, near the Chilean border and the Atacama Desert.
A POD OF SLEEPING SPERM WHALES
Photograph by Wild Wonders of Europe [www.wild-wonders.com] via Business & Biodiversity Campaign
Spotted off the coast of the Azores in Portugal, this incredible image shows a pod of sleeping sperm whales. Back in 2008, Patrick Miller, a senior researcher fellow at the University of St. Andrews Gatty Marine Research Institute, and his colleagues affixed suction cups with data-logging tags onto 59 sperm whales at various open-water locations worldwide. The tags allowed the scientists to monitor the whales’ movements 24/7.
The researchers, whose study was published in Current Biology, noticed the whales performed the mesmerizing drift dives 7.1% of the time, usually between 6 p.m. and midnight. The scientists observed two types of drift dives. The first, head-up drift dives, happen when a whale’s rear end slowly sinks into the water from a horizontal posture. During the second type, head-down, the whale descends slowly with its head directed toward the ocean floor. It travels downward about one or two body lengths in depth before flipping back upward toward the water’s surface. The researchers think the whale’s internal buoyancy causes this natural upward motion, similar to how a sinking apple eventually bobs back to the surface.
“Because the drift dives are quite short (averaging around 12.7 minutes in duration) and are broken by the need for the whale to move to the surface to breathe, it seems that they sleep over short interrupted periods,” said Miller. [Source: Discovery News]
PIXEL PEOPLE PERFECTION
Artwork by Craig Alan via Artexpo (Eric Smith)
In this awesome artwork by Craig Alan, people are the pixels in this tribute to the iconic portrait of Audrey Hepburn. Why do the red lips cast red shadows? Probably because staying true and having black shadows would ruin the famous red lips. This work was featured at the International Art Expo in New York as a 48×60 print on canvas.
STRIKING ARTISTRY OF MULTIPLE TAKEOFFS AT HANNOVER AIRPORT
Photograph by HO-YEOL RYU
@flyingwithfish
has done a very intriguing analysis that proves this image is a work of art vs a multiple exposure, our apologies. From the actual planes/airlines seen in the picture, to the takeoff positioning relative to the airport; @flyingwithfish’s post is a worthwhile read.
A few additional reasons below (updated Feb. 22, 2012):
- The size of the planes are all relatively the same in the image but not in real life (e.g., Boeing 747s and 777s)
- Several of the airplanes/airlines do not serve Hannover (e.g., Air NZ Link ATR-72-500)
- An actual multiple exposure shot so many times for each aircraft shown
in this image would result in overblown white field (and things in background like cloud formation would likely have changed)
SAILING LIKE A BOSS
Photograph by ALEX THOMSON RACING
In this seemingly implausible photo we see Alex Thomson performing what he calls the ‘keel walk’, a stunt that has become infamous in the sailing world thanks to this photograph. As his 8-tonne carbon fibre yacht, Hugo Boss, sails on edge, Alex pulls up in a 255-horsepower ski jet and leaps onto the keel of the boat. Be sure to check out the embedded video below for proof of this epic feat. Alex Thomson, the Sifter salutes you.
BEAUTIFUL BERN FROM ABOVE
The city of Bern or Berne is the Bundesstadt (federal city, de facto capital) of Switzerland, and, with (as of December 2010) a population of 133,920, the fourth most populous city in Switzerland. The Bern agglomeration, which includes 43 municipalities, has a population of 349,000. The metropolitan area had a population of 660,000 in 2000. Bern is also the capital of the Canton of Bern, the second most populous of Switzerland’s cantons.
The official language of Bern is German, but the main spoken language is the Alemannic dialect called Bernese German.In 1983 the historic old town in the centre of Bern became a UNESCO
World Heritage Site, and Bern is ranked among the world’s top ten cities
for the best quality of life (2010).
OUTDOOR JACUZZI ON THE MATTERHORN
Photograph via Iglu-Dorf.com
This outdoor jacuzzi is part of the Igloo Village, ‘Iglu-Dorf‘, in Zermatt. Guests sleep at an altitude of 2,727 meters (8.946 ft) at the Gornergrat, right next to Switzerland’s most famous mountain, the mighty Matterhorn. The Igloo village typically opens up in December with accommodations for up to 40 overnight guests (although it can handle more for dining and partying during the evening). The coolest feature is surely the two outdoor jacuzzis set directly in the snow covered landscape. Imagine the views you could soak in!