Lichens and Lichenology
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Lichen covers a flower budding twig. It does no harm. Lichen are a symbiotic combination of fungus and algae/cyanobacteria.
45 layer focus stack. Processed in HeliconFocus and Affinity Photo.
The Orange Mound Spring is one of my favorite geothermal wonders at Yellowstone's Mammoth Hot Springs.
"A thermophile is an organism—a type of extremophile—that thrives at relatively high temperatures, between 41 and 122 °C (106 and 252 °F).
The Orange Mound Spring is thermally cooler (~170˚F) than most springs in Yellowstone and at the Mammoth Hot Springs themselves, allowing the orange-tinted cyanobacteria to thrive and color the spring a darker shade of orange than the rest of the Mammoth Terraces. Depending on the nutrients that the bacteria receive, the color may change throughout the year.
Often in the Mammoth Hot Springs, flow will turn on and off, so on some days it may have no flow at all, and others it may have a lot." Wikipedia
Happy Friday!!
titles.....
The Midway Geyser Basin's Grand Prismatic Spring is one of the largest hot springs in the world, measuring approximately 370 feet in size and around 121 feet deep (higher than a 10-story building). Only Frying Pan Lake in New Zealand and Boiling Lake in Dominica are larger.
This shot was taken while we could still find our own perspective. Now have a viewing stand only. Understand why, but the view there isn't as good.
?4U
What living thing in Yellowstone has helped investigators solve crimes and NASA search for extraterrestrial life on seemingly inhospitable planets? Heat-loving microbes living in the Yellowstone’s thermal pools. In 1968, researcher Thomas Brock discovered a microbe living in one of Yellowstone’s extremely hot springs. In the years since, research on Yellowstone’s microbes has led to major medical and scientific advances, including the sequencing of the entire human genome."
yellowstonepark.com
Have a wonderful week!
Something different today. Found this thermal pool mat interesting and intriguing. Another example of the amazing colors and life-forms one finds at Yellowstone.
"The word "bacteria" is often associated with disease, but only a few kinds of bacteria cause problems for humans. The other thousands of bacteria, although all simple organisms, play a complex role in Earth's ecosystems. In fact, cyanobacteria made our oxygen-rich atmosphere possible. They were the first photosynthesizers, more than 3 billion years ago. Without bacteria, we would not be here." nps.gov
Isn't Nature fascinating!
Prowling earlier this week armed with a macro lens, I came across some insignificant looking pale green patches on the wooden handrail of a bridge crossing some water. Lichen. The individual growths were only maybe 3mm across at most but the macro lens showed them as delicately structured entities of a different world.
It's probably greenshield lichen, some living some gone. All lichen are a symbiotic (some say parasitic) combination of fungus and cyanobacteria.
Canary Springs, the largest spring at Mammoth Hot Springs. Canary Spring is named for its bright yellow colors.
The white sections are the travertine forms and the orange, yellowish, and brown colors are due to the cyanobacteria living in the springs. The water flowing down the face of the terrace has created multi-colored bands of algae and cyanobacteria.
Hope your weekend is off to a wonderful start!
The view from the new platform.
This wonder is deeper than a 10-Story building. Extremely hot water travels 121 feet from a crack in the Earth to reach the surface of the spring.
The third largest spring in the world, the Grand Prismatic is bigger than a football field at 370 feet in diameter.
Thanks for taking a look!
Happy Friday!
Of all the stunning sights that Yellowstone has to offer, by far and away (IMHO) the most amazing and awe-inspiring is this 3rd largest hot spring in the world.
"The Grand Prismatic Spring really is rainbow colored, following the spectrum of white light through a prism (red to blue). The spring was first officially described, and named, by the Hayden Expedition in 1871, which was the first federally-funded exploration of what became Yellowstone. The expedition's leader, Ferdinand Hayden, wrote:
"Nothing ever conceived by human art could equal the peculiar vividness and delicacy of color of these remarkable prismatic springs. Life becomes a privilege and a blessing after one has seen and thoroughly felt these incomparable types of nature's cunning skill."
This is the view from the new mandatory viewing platform taken at sunset.
Have a wonderful Wednesday!
A view of Yellowstone's impressive Grand Prismatic Spring at sunset.
"What Makes the Grand Prismatic so Grand?
Deeper than a 10-Story Building
Extremely hot water travels 121 feet from a crack in the Earth to reach the surface of the spring.
Football Field on Steroids
The third largest spring in the world, the Grand Prismatic is bigger than a football field at 370 feet in diameter. A gridiron is 360 feet long and 160 feet wide.
Rainbow of Colors
The hot spring has bright bands of orange, yellow, and green ring the deep blue waters in the spring. The multicolored layers get their hues from different species of thermophile (heat-loving) bacteria living in the progressively cooler water around the spring. And the deep blue center? That’s because water scatters the blue wavelengths of light more than others, reflecting blues back to our eyes.
A Living Thermometer
What living thing in Yellowstone has helped investigators solve crimes and NASA search for extraterrestrial life on seemingly inhospitable planets? Heat-loving microbes living in the Yellowstone’s thermal pools. In 1968, researcher Thomas Brock discovered a microbe living in one of Yellowstone’s extremely hot springs. In the years since, research on Yellowstone’s microbes has led to major medical and scientific advances, including the sequencing of the entire human genome. These microbes even led to the development of the PCR test, which has been instrumental in creating COVID-19 rapid test to slow the spread of the virus." yellowstonepark.com
Have a wonderful Sunday!
Mammoth Hot Spring's Orange Mound Spring is a sight to see. Colors were nice and rich on this rainy afternoon. Dimensions are 48'x25'x25'. It is quite tall and impressive.
The Orange Mound Spring is thermally cooler (~170˚F) than most springs in Yellowstone and at the Mammoth Hot Springs themselves, allowing the orange-tinted cyanobacteria to thrive and color the spring a darker shade of orange than the rest of the Mammoth Terraces. Depending on the nutrients that the bacteria receive, the color may change throughout the year.
The Spring is said to be very old due to the shape and size of the mound as well as how little water flows out of the spring itself. It has created other nearby cone-shaped springs from itself due to the travertine deposits wearing away.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Some fellow nature lovers enjoying the amazing sight of Grand Prismatic Spring from the treacherous hill behind it.
The Park now limits us to a designated viewing platform.
It was quite challenging to get up to this spot with the steep crumbly soft surface and many dead falls to climb over. I heard others had been injured. Plus would increase erosion and damage so no longer an option. The Park is literally being loved to death. Did prefer this view tho.
Enjoy this last week of June. 2022 is whizzing bye mighty fast.
One of the gorgeous thermal hot pools in Yellowstone's Midway Geyser Basin.
Though usually active as a hot spring, Opal Pool is also considered a fountain-type geyser, going off infrequently.
Have a wonderful week!
Purnululu National Park is a national park in the north east of Western Australia. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Bungle Bungle Range, lying fully within the park, has elevations as high as 578 metres (1,896 ft) above sea level. It is famous for the sandstone domes, unusual and visually striking with their striping in alternating orange and grey bands. The banding of the domes is due to differences in clay content and porosity of the sandstone layers: the orange bands consist of oxidised iron compounds in layers that dry out too quickly for cyanobacteria to multiply; the grey bands are composed of cyanobacteria growing on the surface of layers of sandstone where moisture accumulates.
Tucked away in Western Australia’s Yalgorup National Park, within the quiet shallows of Lake Clifton, lies something truly extraordinary — almost more science fiction than fact. These knobbly, unassuming formations are **thrombolites**: living, rock-like structures built by ancient microbial communities.
What makes them so special? Thrombolites are incredibly rare! They’re among the few surviving examples on Earth of life forms similar to those that began oxygenating our planet billions of years ago. According to wiki, unlike the more well-known stromatolites, which grow in tidy layers, thrombolites have a "clotted, chaotic internal structure" — a bit like my brain on most days! They’re messy, ancient, and utterly fascinating.
As we stood on the boardwalk, watching the sun filter through the nutrient-rich waters, which is just the way these microorganisms like it, we felt small. I was staring at the descendants of the planet’s earliest architects of breathable air, still quietly persisting in a world that has changed beyond recognition.
They’ve survived for millennia, but they’re fragile — vulnerable to rising salinity, pollution, and, sadly, careless human behaviour. Just last year, they suffered significant damage after many visitors, in pursuit of the aurora australis, wandered into restricted areas. The result? Extensive harm to the thrombolites and their delicate microbial mats. Makes you almost ashamed to be a photographer! I’ll be polite and refrain from calling them what I really think of them ..... *deep breaths*
I consider ourselves lucky, truly lucky, to see them still hanging on, whispering stories from the origins of life - rare, ancient & alive. I hope more people come to understand their importance, and that these incredible rare living fossils not only survive but thrive.
Sorry for the rant. Have a great end to the week! Thanks kindly for any likes/comments, they are always appreciated.
Waterscape 38/100 in 2025
Western Australia - Kimberley, Bungle Bungle range
in Purnululu National Park.
The orange and black striped domes of the Bungle Bungle Range in Purnululu National Park are as beautiful as they are bizarre – an unmissable icon of Western Australia’s Kimberley region.
The World Heritage-listed Bungle Bungle Range in Purnululu National Park is one of the most famous symbols of the Kimberley. From the air, giant rocky domes rise abruptly from dusty savannah plains, appearing like beehives, striped with cyanobacteria. Ancient palm trees seem incongruous, and isolated waterholes persist into a searing dry season. This is perhaps Australia’s most striking and surreal landscape.
This large 25 foot high geothermal wonder is one of my favorites at Mammoth Hot Springs. Easy to see how it got it's name. It can be found on the Upper Terrace Drive.
Thanks for taking a look!
Have a wonderful week!
Son estructuras minerales formadas por cianobacterias en aguas tranquilas y poco profundas, estas estructuras se forman por la precipitación de partículas carbonatadas provocada por la fotosíntesis de estas cianobacterias.
Estas formaciones nos remiten al inicio de la vida en la tierra, y son uno de los más antiguos indicios fósiles de la vida en la Tierra, el rio Tinto es como un reactor generador de extrañas y extremas formas de vida.
They are mineral structures formed by cyanobacteria in calm and shallow waters, these structures are formed by the precipitation of carbonate particles caused by the photosynthesis of these cyanobacteria.
These formations refer us to the beginning of life on Earth, and are one of the oldest fossil indications of life on Earth. The Rio Tinto is like a reactor that generates strange and extreme forms of life.
A view of the colorful thermal runoff flowing from Mammoth Hot Spring's Grassy Spring.
"Grassy Spring bubbles above the boardwalk and spills down a surface of rippled orange travertine deposits. Thermophiles, microorganisms that love heat, are responsible for the rich color of Grassy Spring and other hydrothermal features in Yellowstone. Yellow marks extremely hot water while greens and blues typically mark pools cooler than 140 degrees Fahrenheit."
re: hikespeak.com
Another closer view of the spring in comments.
Friday's here! Have a wonderful day and weekend!
Saw this by the hedgerows on walk.
A lichen is a composite
organisn that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a multualistic relationship.
Lichens have properties different from those of their
component organisns.
A side view of the multilevel terraces that flow under Canary Springs, the largest spring at Mammoth Hot Springs. Canary Spring is named for its bright yellow colors.
The white sections are the travertine forms and the orange, yellowish, and brown colors are due to the cyanobacteria living in the springs. The water flowing down the face of the terrace has created multi-colored bands of algae and cyanobacteria.
My favorite painter: Nature.
Have a wonderful weekend!
A hot spring in the West Thumb Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park.
Before 1991 cyanobacteria thrived in the pool making the water appear dark green to almost black, hence the name 'Black Pool.' The water has heat up much more since 1991 killing off the cyanobacteria and turning the pool to a rich teal blue color.
… this blue-green algae proliferation – the result of consistently high temperatures – makes for interesting photography, but is actually rather toxic: it deprives water of oxygen, causing suffocation in the underlying fauna and flora. Drinking this swamp-like water is definitely not recommended :-)
Upon further research, it appears this proliferation is not blue-green algae but simple duckweed. Although it does deprive the water ecosystem from oxygen when proliferating like this, it is not toxic in itself. As a matter of fact, its protein content is astonishing, way above soja. It’s even about to become a trendy superfood, although harvesting it from the canal is not recommended for obvious reasons :-)
When I think of Yellowstone the B words I think of are Bison, Bears and "Bacteria." The mix of patterns, textures and colors at the thermal pools is amazing. The overflow from the Black Pool is an excellent home for thermophilic cyanobacteria to prosper and flourish. The varied colors in Yellowstone are fascinating and quite beautiful.
"Black Pool is a hot spring in the West Thumb Geyser Basin.
The pool was cool enough up until 1991 for dark orange-brown cyanobacteria to grow throughout the pool. When combined with the blue of the water, the pool appeared to be an exceptionally dark green to almost black, hence the name.
An exchange of function took place in 1991, shifting thermal energy to Black Pool. Black Pool's temperature became hot enough to kill all the cyanobacteria in the pool, turning the pool a rich teal blue color. Black Pool remains extremely hot, and is now one of Yellowstone's most beautiful and intensely blue pools. The name of the pool however remains "Black Pool." Wikipedia
1 week till Christmas! May your gift shopping be nearly done.
Have a wonderful Wednesday!
Runoff at Yellowstone's Firehole Spring on it's way to the Firehole River. The mix of colors and textures fascinate and captivate me. I spent a few years as a microbiologist/chemist long ago. The small world is a mind bender.
More examples in comments.
"The hydrothermal features of Yellowstone are magnificent evidence of Earth’s volcanic activity. Amazingly, they are also habitats in which microscopic organisms called thermophiles—“thermo” for heat, “phile” for lover—survive and thrive."
ps: I like it when you call me Phil.
"Species, unseen to the human eye, thrive in waters as acidic as the liquid in your car battery and hot enough to blister your skin. Some create layers that look like molten wax on the surface of steaming alkaline pools. Still others, apparent to us through the odors they create, exist only in murky, sulfuric caldrons that stink worse than rotten eggs.
Today, many scientists study Yellowstone’s thermophiles. Some of these microbes are similar to the first life forms capable of photosynthesis—the process of using sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide to oxygen, sugars, and other by-products. These life forms, called cyanobacteria, began to create an atmosphere that would eventually support human life. Cyanobacteria are found in some of the colorful mats and streamers of Yellowstone’s hot springs." nps.gov
Thanks for your visit. Always appreciated!
Mammoth Hot Spring's Canary Spring as seen from Yellowstone's Grand Loop Road. The alkaline flow feeds cyanobacteria which thrive in such environments, creating the mix of colors.
In case you wondered, Mammoth Hot Springs deposits about 2 tons of calcium carbonate or travertine limestone per day.
A couple more perspectives of this fascinating place in comments.
Thanks for taking a look. Always appreciated!
In other words, colorful fungi, cyanobacteria, and other organisms living on a granite rock together in our back yard. Rocky Mountain Front Range, Colorado, American West
Vie bactérienne autour d’un geyser
Les sources chaudes peuvent abriter des archéobactéries résistantes à la chaleur et au manque d'oxygène. Les couleurs rouge, jaune, bleue et verte des bassins thermaux, les filaments blancs ou les structures brunes et gluantes entourant la mare d'eau chaude d'un geyser sont constitués d'organismes thermophiles ou de cyanobactéries, vivant dans l'eau soufrée et surchauffée.
C'est dans les années 1960 que les scientifiques purent démontrer l'existence de ces archéobactéries : Thermus aquaticus par exemple, décrite par Thomas Brock en 1969. Cette découverte a démontré le rôle joué par les cyanobactéries dans l'apparition de l'atmosphère terrestre.
Bacterial life around a geyser
Hot springs can harbor archaebacteria resistant to heat and lack of oxygen. The red, yellow, blue and green colors of the thermal pools, the white filaments or the brown and sticky structures surrounding the pool of hot water of a geyser are made up of thermophilic organisms or cyanobacteria, living in sulfur water and overheated.
It was in the 1960s that scientists were able to demonstrate the existence of these archaeobacteria: Thermus aquaticus for example, described by Thomas Brock in 1969. This discovery demonstrated the role played by cyanobacteria in the appearance of the Earth's atmosphere. .
One of the many different kinds (four) of geological features in Yellowstone, due the volcano underground, is a spring. This super heated water bubbles up to the surface. Within these rings live different organisms, including cyanobacteria, a type of bacteria that obtain their energy through photosynthesis. Blue is the hottest, so the true deep blue areas are the hottest.
I have seen many images of this spring, most taken from the hill to the south of the spring. I wanted to go for something different. The South view is classic and shows other springs in the distance. Cool, yes. But the boardwalk gets lost. I think the man made features (boardwalk) are interesting too. Man's interaction with this spring is also historic. So my buddy Tom and I scrambled up the opposite hillside, the North hillside. Using a 600MM lens I grabbed this image. This is actually a series of 6 images, stitched together. More on this adventure in another post, many more to come...
Read more: www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/science-behind-yellowstones...
Back to Western Australia - Kimberley, Bungle Bungles range
in Purnululu National Park
The orange and black striped domes of the Bungle Bungle Range in Purnululu National Park are as beautiful as they are bizarre – an unmissable icon of Western Australia’s Kimberley region.
The World Heritage-listed Bungle Bungle Range in Purnululu National Park is one of the most famous symbols of the Kimberley. From the air, giant rocky domes rise abruptly from dusty savannah plains, appearing like beehives, striped with cyanobacteria. Ancient palm trees seem incongruous, and isolated waterholes persist into a searing dry season. This is perhaps Australia’s most striking and surreal landscape.
Yellowstone's Mammoth Hot Spring's Orange Spring Mound is a fascinating colorful natural wonder. Dimensions are ~ 48'x25'x25' so it is good sized. Colors were nice and rich on this rainy afternoon. It is quite tall and impressive.
More angles in comments.
Friday's here! Enjoy!
AKA Jäkälä (FIN).
According to Wikipedia, lichen is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.
Taken with Chinon 125mm F2.8 / Full Frame Sensor / Natural Light / Lightroom.
Le stromatoliti di Hamelin Pool
Queste non sono comuni rocce sommerse ma i diretti discendenti delle forme di vita più antiche del pianeta. Sono infatti il primo esempio di strutture viventi costruite dai cianobatteri, gli organismi che hanno reso la nostra atmosfera respirabile, 3.500 milioni di anni fa!
May 15, 2009 #316
Well, once again into the unknown. We thought about staying out here, but the camps in the backcountry here sell out months in advance, and we were informed that while we were allowed to do astro photography anywhere in the park, falling asleep while doing it is strictly prohibited unless sanctioned and paid for. This is some of the most remote desert in the southwest if you get deep enough, however, given the biological soil crusts (which can actually be seen on the left hand side of the photo in the light) the more people that walk around here off trail, essentially destroy desert habitat that took ages to build. Whenever I'm walking in the back country, I'm always aware of this face, as I'm often in a sensitive habitat. The biological soil is made of #cyanobacteria and often look like areas of dirty dirt, they also include the lichens, mosses, algae, microfungi, and bacteria (some of which is seen on the rocks in the foreground). What inspired this tree to reach so far with one of it's branches is beyond me... it clearly didn't work out. But despite the failure, this tree lives on in a formidable landscape environment, through epic storms, winter snow, and searing heat.
At temperatures of 161°F, this spring and terrace is considered one of the most colorful and ornate terraces at Mammoth. Minerva has had periods of inactivity throughout its recorded history, but when it is active terraces of porous travertine form rapidly. During the building of a single terrace, travertine precipitates around the edge of a small pool, and can accumulate at a rate of as much as 8.5 inches a year. As the water cascades from terrace to terrace the water cools, allowing algae to grow. Blue-green algae and cyanobacteria, in colors of green, yellow, orange and red.
A lichen is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria (or both) living among filaments of a fungus in a symbiotic relationship.
Telephoto view of a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) rock-hopping, Zion National Park, Utah. This lovely bird may be in trouble: it's looking for a meal in a highly polluted river. There are signs (in English) all about describing the fact that the waters of the Virgin River are polluted with a cyanobacteria and therefore one should avoid even touching the water and that dogs should avoid the water because it can be deadly. Luckily, I didn't see any fish in the water, nor did the heron catch anything.
Anastomosed runoff channels flow near the Back Basin Trail south of Porkchop Geyser in Norris Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. This runoff drains into Tantalus Creek which is the outlet for most of the hot springs outflow at Norris. The green and brown colors are due to organism like cyanobacteria that grow in the warm, acidic, hot springs runoff.
Purnululu National Park is a national park in the north east of Western Australia. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Bungle Bungle Range, lying fully within the park, has elevations as high as 578 metres (1,896 ft) above sea level. It is famous for the sandstone domes, unusual and visually striking with their striping in alternating orange and grey bands. The banding of the domes is due to differences in clay content and porosity of the sandstone layers: the orange bands consist of oxidised iron compounds in layers that dry out too quickly for cyanobacteria to multiply; the grey bands are composed of cyanobacteria growing on the surface of layers of sandstone where moisture accumulates.
I took this shot (and many others) from a doorless helicopter flying over the ranges. With only a seat belt to keep me from falling to my death, this was in equal measure, an awesome sight and a challenging experience.
(137/365) we grow Yellow-stemmed Dogwood ((Cornus sericea) along the fence in our chicken pen. It is covered in this yellow lichen, especially this dead branch. For 115 pictures in 2015 #101 Mellow yellow & Happy Textural Tuesday!
Lichens are such amazingly beautiful structures comprising 2 separate organisms combining to create a new organism. I could never tire of admiring them & photographing them (see my Album below). Each disc shape in the photograph is probably 1mm across.
Google explains it well "A lichen is a composite organism that emerges from algae or cyanobacteria (or both) living among filaments of a fungus in a mutually beneficial (symbiotic) relationship. The whole combined life form has properties that are very different from properties of its component organisms".
Nature's textures fascinate me. Here is a small slice of the colors created by cyanobacteria at Mammoth Hot Springs. Another example of the amazing colors and life-forms one finds at Yellowstone.
A few more examples below:
"The word "bacteria" is often associated with disease, but only a few kinds of bacteria cause problems for humans. The other thousands of bacteria, although all simple organisms, play a complex role in Earth's ecosystems. In fact, cyanobacteria made our oxygen-rich atmosphere possible. They were the first photosynthesizers, more than 3 billion years ago. Without bacteria, we would not be here." nps.gov
Have a terrific Tuesday!
For me Lichens are such amazingly beautiful structures comprising 2 separate organisms combining to create a new organism. I could never tire of admiring them & photographing them. Each large cup shape in the photograph is probably 1mm across
Google explains it well "A lichen is a composite organism that emerges from algae or cyanobacteria (or both) living among filaments of a fungus in a mutually beneficial (symbiotic) relationship. The whole combined life form has properties that are very different from properties of its component organisms".
At Yellowstone Hot Springs
Bacteria and other thermophiles (heat loving microorganisms) usually form the ribbons of color you see here. The green, brown, and orange mats are cyanobacteria, which can live in waters as hot as 167 F (73 C). At this temperature they are usually yellow-green. They become orange, rust, or brown as the water cools.
www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/otherlifeforms.htm
Thanks for your visits, comments and favs!!
Have a great weekend!!
Unfortunately, the boardwalk was closed off due to parts of it being wash away during a storm.
Stromatolites or stromatoliths are layered sedimentary formations that are created mainly by photosynthetic microorganisms such as cyanobacteria, sulfate-reducing bacteria and proteobacteria. These microorganisms produce adhesive compounds that cement sand and other rocky materials to form mineral "microbial mats".