Latest news with #HumpbackWhale
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Rare Black Iceberg Goes Viral – So What Is Going on Here?
A fisherman at sea off the coast of Canada recorded something that few humans have ever seen. Floating serenely amid the pale ice chunks in the Labrador Sea was one iceberg that appeared as black as soot. Hallur Antoniussen, aboard the fishing trawler Saputi in mid-May, was gobsmacked – but fortunately not too gobsmacked to capture the strange sight and post it to social media. "I have seen icebergs that are rolled, what they say have rolled in the beach with some rocks in it. This one here is completely different. It's not only that he is all black. He is almost … in a diamond shape," he later told CBC Radio. When you think of an iceberg, you probably imagine white boulders of ice floating in sub-zero waters, perhaps tinged in a spectrum of subtle hues in pale blue or blue-green. The truth is, however, that icebergs can get quite dark. White icebergs appear so because they are filled with tiny trapped pockets of air that scatter all wavelengths of light. As a chunk of ice ages, however, it becomes more compressed, pushing out air, allowing more light to penetrate, and becoming clear, like glass. Redder wavelengths are absorbed, but blue wavelengths are scattered, resulting in a bluer appearance. Icebergs are not always just frozen water. Other materials can get mixed up in the ice as it forms. Greener icebergs, for example, contain iron oxides. These have a yellow hue; when they are mixed with the blue ice, they appear green. And yes, other icebergs can have a black or dark grayish tint. This is often the result of dirt or other dark material that becomes bound up in the ice, sometimes as it rolls over a dark surface. As Antoniussen says, these icebergs look very different from the black chunk he saw in the Labrador Sea. Another explanation, according to glaciologist Lev Tarasov of Memorial University in Canada, is that the black berg was once part of a larger glacier that broke off and fell into the ocean. Glaciers grind along the ground as they move towards the ocean, stirring up a lot of debris that becomes mixed in with the ice. Tarasov saw smaller chunks of ice that exhibited this in Greenland. It would take a long time for this debris to become as uniformly mixed through as it appears to be in Antoniussen's berg, suggesting that the chunk of ice is quite old – from 1,000 up to 100,000 years old, Tarasov told CBC. Another possibility is that the ice became mixed with soot from a huge volcanic outburst, or even that the dark coloration is the result of debris from a meteorite strike. We'll probably never know for sure, unless another, similar iceberg shows up – and a scientist is close enough to study it. Fingers crossed. Humpback Whale Bubble Rings May Be an Attempt to Communicate With Us New Tyrannosaur Species Could Be a Missing Link to The Giants The World's Largest Organism Is Slowly Being Eaten
The Sun
22-04-2025
- The Sun
Stunning ‘British Maldives' are one of the warmest places in the UK – with deserted islands and shipwrecks
The Isles of Scilly regularly get compared to the exotic Maldives, thanks to its incredible sandy coastlines, resident dolphins and deserted islands. The islands are the warmest place in the British Isles, with temperatures rarely dropping below 8C, even in winter. 8 8 Summer temperatures range from 15 to 21 degrees, and it's one of the sunniest areas in the southwest with an average of seven hours of sunshine per day in May. There are five inhabited islands on the Isles of Scilly, which is off the Cornish coast, but there are over 140 inlets in total. The five inhabited islands are St. Mary's, Tresco, St. Martin's, Bryher, and St. Agnes. The biggest of the Scilly islands is St Mary's, which covers six square miles and has a population of 1,800. Hugh Town is the central hub, and there are three popular beaches; Porthcressa, Town Beach and Porthmellon. The beaches across the Isles are so impressive that the archipelago has been dubbed a "mini-Maldives" by many who visit. St Agnes is the southernmost populated island where visitors can discover amazing beaches and diverse wildlife. There is even lost treasure from the 17th century to be discovered. On the island is a small cove called Beady Pool where visitors search for Venetian glass beads. They have been washing up on the shores from a nearby shipwreck that went down in the 17th century. Over time fewer and fewer beads have been washing up, but it's said that there are still some to be found. Isles of Scilly's Tresco Island offers dramatic rocky outcrops, romantic castles and secluded sandy beaches 8 8 On Tresco is the Abbey Garden, which is home to subtropical plants and has been described as a "perennial Kew without the glass". It's home to 20,000 plants from more than 80 countries. Tresco also has an AA rosette kitchen at The New Inn which is found next to New Grimsby quay. You can enjoy lobster, beef burgers, and fish too. The "best fresh crab sandwiches" are a hit with visitors which you can enjoy with a potato salad for £19. Tresco has also been a popular holiday spot for the royal family. In 2020, Prince William, Princess Kate and their children, George, Charlotte and Louis were spotted biking on the island. For anyone who's a fan of watersports, all of the islands offer kayaking, paddleboarding and sailing. On St Agnes, you can hop onboard the wildlife safari boat where you have a good chance of spotting puffins and other sea birds, dolphins and porpoises. Sometimes whales are spotted too. On Christmas Eve in 2020, a Humpback Whale was spotted between St Mary's and Tresco. 8 St Martin's is home to some of the "finest beaches in the British Isles" according to Visit Isles of Scilly. It is also very easy to spot because of its red and white daymark, which was built in 1683. It stands at 40 feet high and was used to help sailors navigate ships during daylight hours - you can even see it from the mainland of Cornwall. Eighty people live on Bryher, which was the setting of the film"When the Whales Came," based on the Michael Morpurgo novel. On the island is the Hell Bay Hotel, which is the most westerly hotel in England, and has a 3 AA Rosette Culinary Award and 4 Red Star Inspector's Choice Award. It was also included on The Times' list of 100 Best Places to Stay in the UK, and it was described as "otherworldly". Inside are 25 suites, a lounge bar, spa, and garden yoga studio. During the summer months, the hideaway welcomes pop-up dining experience, The Crab Shack, in its old barn. Rooms start at £135 per night. 8 Some of the 140 uninhabited islands are now a haven for wildlife with some never visited by people at all. There are a few which used to be inhabited which is proven by the ruins that still stand, like on Tean and St Helen's where you'll find remains of Christian chapels. The isle of Samson still has remains of granite houses and barns, from when it was inhabited until the mid-1800s. The low lying island of Annet is closed to the public as its a bird sanctuary. But from certain boat trips you can spot some if you take binoculars with you. You can easily visit more than one island thanks to the boat services which are advertised on local blackboards on the quayside, as well as online. There are frequent tripper boats from St Mary's as well as other services like the Seaquest Glass Bottom Boat. There are hundreds of services per week, that offer full day and half day trips to a plethora of islands. As well as the inhabited islands, there are also trips to Bishop Rock Lighthouse where you can seal spot. "Supper boats" travel from St Mary's to St Agnes where hungry travellers can visit the pubs and restaurants. To reach the Isles of Scilly from the UK, you can make your way over to Penzance and then fly or sail to the islands. You can also get a Skybus flight to St. Mary's from Land's End, Newquay, and Exeter. And the Isles of Scilly are getting even more flights this summer. The World's 50 Best Beaches The World's Best Beaches consulted more than 750 judges including travel journalists, influencers, and beach ambassadors to rank the beaches. Lucky Bay, Australia Source D'Argent, Seychelles Hidden, Philippines Whitehaven, Australia One Foot, Cook Islands Trunk, US Virgin Islands Honopu, Hawaii Reynisfjara Beach, Iceland Navagio Beach, Greece Balandra, Mexico Cala Goloritze, Italy Pipe Creek, Bahamas Pink, Indonesia Grace, Turks & Caicos Gardner, Ecuador Mcway, California Turquoise, Australia Le Morne, Mauritius Sancho, Brazil Seven Mile, Cayman Islands Lanikai, Hawaii Maya, Thailand Moro, Spain Kelingking, Indonesia Meads, Anguilla Flamenco, Puerto Rico Arena, Dominican Republic Little Hellfire, Australia Lazio, Seychelles Vaeroy, Norway Horseshoe, Bermuda Myrtos, Greece Hidden, Mexico Grand Anse, Grenada Xpu Ha, Mexico San Josef, Canada Matira, French Polynesia Capriccioli, Italy Pasjaca, Croatia Boulders, South Africa Salines, Martinique Champagne, Vanuatu Marinha, Portugal Balos, Greece Achmelvich, Scotland Kaputas, Turkey Radhangar, India Varadero, Cuba Piha, New Zealand Pink Sand, Bahamas
