the great bear rainforest in british columbia is one of the largest coastal temperate rain forests in the world, with twenty five thousand square miles of mist shrouded fjords and densely forested islands that are home to white furred black bears.
neither albino nor polar bear, these rare black bears (there are fewer than five hundred) are known as kermode bears, or what the gitga’at first nation call mooksgm’ol, the spirit bear — a word they did not speak to european fur traders lest the bears be discovered and hunted. to this day, it remains taboo to hunt a spirit bear, or to mention them to outsiders.
the white fur in these bears is triggered by a recessive mutation of the same gene associated with red hair and fair skin in humans. though it remains unclear as to how the trait arose (or disappeared), it is especially pronounced on certain islands.
photos by (click pic) paul nicklen x, fabrice simon, denis binda, kyle breckenridge, and paul burwell
Rime-rimmed rocks
Looking a bit like white moss, these cairn stones on Mountbenger Law in Scotland (at an elevation of 543 m) are covered in a special type of ice known as rime.
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Took a walk around the strange and remote ice age features of Brimham Rocks in Yorkshire today. It’s a surreal landscape and it must have been just as strange to our prehistoric ancestors.
Brimham Rocks Photoset 1, Yorkshire, 27.5.19.
it is starting to bloom outside!!! smell like earth and worms!! the grass is tall and awake!!! flowers are here and scattered everywhere!!! it’s raining and humid and fresh!!! i know i say this every other day!!! i love!!! spring!!!
Sauropod Ceiling
Imagine being on a caving trip, looking up at the ceiling, and seeing something fascinating on the roof of the cave you’re in. Apparently that happened to one of the geoscientists who authored a paper on this set of enormous dinosaur tracks found in a cave in southern France.
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Putting your life’s work on top of a rocket may seem like a daunting task, but that’s exactly what scientists have been doing for decades as they launch their research to the International Space Station.
This season on #NASAExplorers, we’re exploring why we send science to space, and what it takes to get it there!
Watch this week’s episode to meet a team of researchers who are launching an experiment to space for the first time.
Follow NASA Explorers on Facebook to catch new episodes of season 4 every Wednesday!
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com
I now have some availability for illustration work! 🖌 My focus is Earth sciences, but I also take design and personal commissions. If you are interested, dm or visit my website: cameron-brideoake.com
Watercolour and gouache fossil study and life reconstruction - Elrathia kingii, a very common trilobite from the Wheeler Shale Formation, Utah. Excited to be starting a short course in natural history illustration with @newcastlexnhi this week!
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