Events in Nature
May 17, 2012
River breakup, Earthquakes and Solar Eclipses....what’s next?
Last week, I visited Aniak and had the privilege to witness one of the most astounding events in nature that I have ever seen: breakup. The rate at which the ice moves down the river, the pressure of the water tossing massive chunks of ice around as if they weighed nothing...the creaking, crashing, and groaning sounds. My heart couldn’t help but race watching the Kuskokwim jam, and the water level rise along the dike. It was an experience I will not soon forget.
Here in Anchorage, we felt one of the more significant earthquakes in the recent past - news reports put the quake at a 4.6 magnitude, occurring approximately 8 miles southwest of Anchorage.
And finally, something to keep an eye out for - we should be able to view the first solar eclipse of 2012 - an annular solar eclipse, which occurs when the moon moves in front of the sun, but is so far from the Earth that it appears smaller than the sun, and cannot cover the Sun completely. News reports say it should be viewable from Alaska this Sunday, May 20th.
For more information on the solar eclipse, visit:
So what’s next? Summer! With the arrival of Summer for GTC, comes water sampling, recycling programs and more. We’ll be joining you out on the Kuskokwim a few weeks from now for our semi-annual water sampling; keep an eye out for information on that and the recycling program in upcoming blogs.