Entries tagged "Arctic"
2012-08-03
The perfect antidote to the cabin fever that comes from being cooped up writing about the Arctic, it turns out, is to go for a walk to investigate the wildflowers. Which reminds me, would you like know what the perfect antidote for seasickness is?
To stand under a tree.
There are many good websites that will tell you about the preferences of garden flowers, their love of direct sun or tolerance of full shade (the RHS website is one of them), but predictably few resources for the preferences of wildflowers. Which leaves it to natural…
2012-07-30
In the desert of western Peru there are the remnants of a civilization that still holds many mysteries.
Archaeoastromomers are able to deduce a few things about the ancient complex at Chankillo, from the alignment of 13 towers.
The towers form a north-south line, but this is not that unusual in ancient buildings. The thing that sets these towers apart is the fact that they span the annual range of sunrise, from winter or June solstice (northernmost tower) to summer or December solstice (southern tower), when viewed from a certain point.
There is a good view…
2012-07-05
Yesterday I arrived back home after sailing north from Scotland via the Faroe Islands into the Arctic, finishing at Reykjavik. I used the trip to study the relationship between the environment, the distance to land and other factors like depth.
I'd like to thank my Mate and only crewmember, John Pahl, for volunteering for such an unlikely voyage and for being such an invaluable help throughout the trip.
There's lots to report both here and in the articles I will be writing, but in the meantime I've just got time to share what felt like a great…
2011-01-10
I'm just back from six days in Cairngorms in the Scottish Highlands.
In the foreground of the first picture you can probably make out some indentations in the snow and ice. On first glance these impressions can look like footprints, but they are actually grooves and 'tongues' that have been carved and sculpted by the prevailing local winds.
In the the second photo, you can see that in this case they are giving a reliable indication of west/east.
In the book I explain how these tongues are used by indigenous Arctic people, like the Inuit,…
