Painter: Renoir Pierre-Auguste - Part 7 - Naturalezas muertas - Life style - Links
sábado, 30 de marzo de 2013
Painter: Renoir Pierre-Auguste - Part 7 - Naturalezas muertas - Life style - Links
NASA: Nanib Desert - Rössing Uranium Mine - 30.03.13
acquired March 8, 2013
acquired March 8, 2013
download large image (342 KB, JPEG, 1632x1632)
Editor’s Note: Today’s caption is the answer to Earth Observatory’s March Puzzler.
The Namib Desert in southwestern Africa is one of the most inhospitable places on the planet. It rarely rains, unless you count the fog that often blankets the coastal area. There are no lakes or ponds. There’s almost no surface water at all, save for ephemeral streams that emerge when scattered storms bring rain in the winter. Even those streams flow for just a few days or weeks each year, and they disappear into the ground or evaporate into the air long before they reach the sea.
Given the scarcity of water, it’s not surprising that Namibia has the second lowest population density in the world, trailing only Mongolia. And the Namib Desert is one of the most sparsely-populated parts of Namibia. But despite the harsh environment, there is still something that draws people deep into the desert: uranium. Namibia is among the top five uranium-exporting countries in the world.
The Erongo region is home to Rössing mine, the oldest and third-largest producer of uranium in the world. Situated about 70 kilometers (40 miles) northeast of the coastal city of Swakopmund, the mine is located near the ephemeral Khan River. The Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite acquired this image of the mine and surrounding landscape on March 8, 2013.
Roessing’s 400-meter (1,300-foot) deep pit and a large processing facility north of it are the dominant features in the bottom image. The pit taps into layers of metasedimentary rock that contain intrusions of a type of coarse-grained igneous rock called pegmatite. Pegmatite often contains rare minerals and forms when magma slowly cools and hardens beneath the surface.
The mine sustains the small satellite town (population 7,600) of Arandis, which is visible near the top of the image. Roads and rail connect Arandis to Swakopmond, and there is a small airport south of Arandis. The dried channel of the Khan River is visible near the bottom of the image. While the surrounding landscape is largely devoid of vegetation, groundwater beneath the channel sustains some shrubs, trees, and grasses. The patches of green within and around the river channel in the top image are vegetation.
Some Namibians and environmental groups have raised concerns that water samples from the Khan River channel showed elevated uranium levels. Uranium carried in wastewater from the mine may be reaching groundwater and increasing uranium levels near the river. However, a study led by Michael Schubert, a scientist from the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research, found that uranium also occurs naturally in the channel sediments. His team found no evidence that water contaminated by the mine had seeped into the groundwater.
The Namib Desert in southwestern Africa is one of the most inhospitable places on the planet. It rarely rains, unless you count the fog that often blankets the coastal area. There are no lakes or ponds. There’s almost no surface water at all, save for ephemeral streams that emerge when scattered storms bring rain in the winter. Even those streams flow for just a few days or weeks each year, and they disappear into the ground or evaporate into the air long before they reach the sea.
Given the scarcity of water, it’s not surprising that Namibia has the second lowest population density in the world, trailing only Mongolia. And the Namib Desert is one of the most sparsely-populated parts of Namibia. But despite the harsh environment, there is still something that draws people deep into the desert: uranium. Namibia is among the top five uranium-exporting countries in the world.
The Erongo region is home to Rössing mine, the oldest and third-largest producer of uranium in the world. Situated about 70 kilometers (40 miles) northeast of the coastal city of Swakopmund, the mine is located near the ephemeral Khan River. The Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite acquired this image of the mine and surrounding landscape on March 8, 2013.
Roessing’s 400-meter (1,300-foot) deep pit and a large processing facility north of it are the dominant features in the bottom image. The pit taps into layers of metasedimentary rock that contain intrusions of a type of coarse-grained igneous rock called pegmatite. Pegmatite often contains rare minerals and forms when magma slowly cools and hardens beneath the surface.
The mine sustains the small satellite town (population 7,600) of Arandis, which is visible near the top of the image. Roads and rail connect Arandis to Swakopmond, and there is a small airport south of Arandis. The dried channel of the Khan River is visible near the bottom of the image. While the surrounding landscape is largely devoid of vegetation, groundwater beneath the channel sustains some shrubs, trees, and grasses. The patches of green within and around the river channel in the top image are vegetation.
Some Namibians and environmental groups have raised concerns that water samples from the Khan River channel showed elevated uranium levels. Uranium carried in wastewater from the mine may be reaching groundwater and increasing uranium levels near the river. However, a study led by Michael Schubert, a scientist from the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research, found that uranium also occurs naturally in the channel sediments. His team found no evidence that water contaminated by the mine had seeped into the groundwater.
References
- All Africa (2012, April 23) Radiation Report Needs ‘Significant’ Work. Accessed March 21, 2013.
- BGR (2011, August) Geogenic Background Concentration of Dissolved Uranium in Groundwaters of the Ephemeral Khan- and Swakop River. Accessed March 21, 2013.
- Rio Tinto History and location of Rossing. Accessed March 21, 2013.
- Muller, S. (2003) A New Approach to Water Management and Pollution Control at Rössing Uranium Mine. Uranium in the Aquatic Environment, 653-658.
- New Era (2012, April 12). Concerns over uranium mining. Accessed March 21, 2013.
- World Nuclear Association (2012, May) Uranium Mining Overview. Accessed March 21, 2013.
- World Nuclear Association (2012, August) World Uranium Mining Production. Accessed March 21, 2013.
- Zhang, J. et al.(2011, October 26). High resolution remote sensing information identification for characterizing uranium mineralization setting in Namibia. Proceeding SPIE, 77 (1-2), 85-96.
- Instrument:
- EO-1 - ALI
NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using EO-1 ALI data. Caption by Adam Voiland. Congratulations to Angie Connelley for being the first person to solve the puzzler.
NASA: Nanib Desert - Rössing Uranium Mine - 30.03.13
Poesie - Poesia: Paul Verlaine - Ballade de la vie en rouge - Balada de la vida en rojo - Française - Español
Ballade de la vie en rouge
L'un toujours vit la vie en rose,
Jeunesse qui n'en finit plus,
Seconde enfance moins morose,
Ni voeux, ni regrets superflus.
Ignorant tout flux et reflux,
Ce sage pour qui rien ne bouge
Règne instinctif: tel un phallus.
Mais moi je vois la vie en rouge.
L'autre ratiocine et glose
Sur des modes irrésolus,
Soupesant, pesant chaque chose
De mains gourdes aux lourds calus.
Lui faudrait du temps tant et plus
Pour se risquer hors de son bouge.
Le monde est gris à ce reclus.
Mais moi je vois la vie en rouge.
Lui, cet autre, alentour il ose
Jeter des regards bien voulus,
Mais, sur quoi que son oeil se pose,
Il s'exaspère où tu te plus,
Oeil des philanthropes joufflus;
Tout lui semble noir, vierge ou gouge,
Les hommes, vins bus, livres lus.
Mais moi je vois la vie en rouge.
Balada de la vida en rojo
El uno siempre vive la vida en rosa,
la juventud que no acaba nunca,
segunda infancia menos taciturna,
ni deseos ni lamentos superfluos.
Ignorante de todo flujo y reflujo,
este sabio para quien nada se mueve
reina instintivo: como un falo.
Pero yo, yo veo la vida en rojo.
El otro razona y glosa
en tonos irresolutos,
sopesando, pesando cada cosa
con manos entumecidas y pesados callos.
Le haría falta mucho tiempo de su tabuco.
El mundo es gris para este recluso.
Pero yo, yo veo la vida en rojo.
El, este otro, en derredor se atreve
A echar miradas llenas de deseos,
Pero donde su mirada se posa,
Él se exaspera donde tu te places,
Mirada de filántropos mofletudos;
Todo le parece negro, virgen o gubia,
Los hombres, vinos bebidos, libros leídos.
Pero yo, yo veo la vida en rojo.
Paul Verlaine (1844-1896)
Poesie - Poesia: Paul Verlaine - Ballade de la vie en rouge - Balada de la vida en rojo - Française - Español
Poesia: Olga Orozco - Aqui estan tus recuerdos... - Aunque se borren todos nuestros rastros igual que las bujías en el amanecer... - Links
Aquí están tus recuerdos...
Aquí están tus recuerdos:
este leve polvillo de violetas
cayendo inútilmente sobre las olvidadas fechas;
tu nombre,
el persistente nombre que abandonó tu mano entre las piedras;
el árbol familiar, su rumor siempre verde contra el vidrio;
mi infancia, tan cercana,
en el mismo jardín donde la hierba canta todavía
y donde tantas veces tu cabeza reposaba de pronto junto a mí,
entre los matorrales de la sombra.
Todo siempre es igual.
Cuando otra vez llamamos como ahora en el lejano muro:
todo siempre es igual.
Aquí están tus dominios, pálido adolescente:
la húmeda llanura para tus pies furtivos,
la aspereza del cardo, la recordada escarcha del amanecer,
las antiguas leyendas,
la tierra en que nacimos con idéntica niebla sobre el llanto.
-¿Recuerdas la nevada? ¡Hace ya tanto tiempo!
¡Cómo han crecido desde entonces tus cabellos!
Sin embargo, llevas aún sus efímeras flores sobre el pecho
y tu frente se inclina bajo ese mismo cielo
tan deslumbrante y claro.
¿Por qué habrás de volver acompañado, como un dios a su mundo,
por algún paisaje que he querido?
¿Recuerdas todavía la nevada?
¡Qué sola estará hoy, detrás de las inútiles paredes,
tu morada de hierros y de flores!
Abandonada, su juventud que tiene la forma de tu cuerpo,
extrañará ahora tus silencios demasiado obstinados,
tu piel, tan desolada como un país al que sólo visitaran cenicientos pétalos
después de haber mirado pasar, ¡tanto tiempo!,
la paciencia inacabable de la hormiga entre sus solitarias ruinas.
Espera, espera, corazón mío:
no es el semblante frío de la temida nieve ni el del sueño reciente.
Otra vez, otra vez, corazón mío:
el roce inconfundible de la arena en la verja,
el grito de la abuela,
la misma soledad, la no mentida,
y este largo destino de mirarse las manos hasta envejecer.
Aunque se borren todos nuestros rastros igual que las bujías en el amanecer...
Aunque se borren todos nuestros rastros igual que las bujías en el amanecer
y no puedas recordar hacia atrás, como la Reina Blanca, déjame en el aire la sonrisa.
Tal vez seas ahora tan inmensa como todos mis muertos
y cubras con tu piel noche tras noche la desbordada noche del adiós:
un ojo en Achernar, el otro en Sirio,
las orejas pegadas al muro ensordecedor de otros planetas,
tu inabarcable cuerpo sumergido en su hirviente ablución, en su Jordán de estrellas.
Tal vez sea imposible mi cabeza, ni un vacío mi voz,
algo menos que harapos de un idioma irrisorio mis palabras.
Pero déjame en el aire la sonrisa:
la leve vibración que azogue un trozo de este cristal de ausencia,
la pequeña vigilia tatuada en llama viva en un rincón,
una tierna señal que horade una por una las hojas de este duro calendario de nieve.
Déjame tu sonrisa a manera de perpetua guardiana, Berenice.
Poesia: Olga Orozco - Aqui estan tus recuerdos... - Aunque se borren todos nuestros rastros igual que las bujías en el amanecer... - Links
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