Signs & Science: glacier

Showing posts with label glacier. Show all posts

Thursday, September 5, 2024

The Colour of Water

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The Beginning

1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

The First Day: Light

3And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

The Second Day: Firmament

6And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. 8And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

The Third Day: Dry Ground

9And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. 10And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. ...

[The Bible, Genesis 1 1-10, Translation: KJV]

According to The Torah, it is Allah who separated the waters, such that the water above forms the sky, and the water below form the seas. The waters of the sky are above a firmament, a barrier that prevents them from falling upon the Earth.

أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ سَخَّرَ لَكُم مَّا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَالْفُلْكَ تَجْرِي فِي الْبَحْرِ بِأَمْرِهِ وَيُمْسِكُ السَّمَاءَ أَن تَقَعَ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِالنَّاسِ لَرَءُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ

Hast thou not considered that God caused to be subservient to you what is in and on the earth? And the boats run through the sea by His command. And He holds back the heaven so that it not fall on the earth, but by His permission. Truly, to humanity God is Gentle, Compassionate.

[Al-Quran 22:65, Translator: Dr. Laleh Bakhtiar]

According to The Quran, it is Allah who is holding up the sky, so that it doesn't fall upon the Earth.

There is a space between Earth and Sky, the lowest of which is our atmosphere containing gases and clouds, then the Sun, Moon and planets and stars, and then beyond that galaxies, etc. till the firmament, which the scriptures inform us are impassable for humans, without permission (Q55:33).

The colour of the sky during the day appears blue, and the colour of the sea is also blue.

Scientists explain that the sky appears blue due to polarisation of light, while the sea appears blue because water is actually a faint blue, which appears colourless when in small quantities, but the colour darkens when seen in larger, deeper quantities.

The deep blue sea at the Marshall Islands

Attribution: By Christopher Michel - the deep blue sea, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24811686

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Glacial rock flour makes New Zealand's Lake Pukaki a lighter turquoise than its neighbors.

Attribution: By Lake_Pukaki_-_STS088-721-15.JPG: Johnson Space Centerderivative work: Avenue (talk) - Lake_Pukaki_-_STS088-721-15.JPG, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9458252

Clouds appear white, and icebergs appear white, but the strongly compressed icebergs are a shade of blue.

Iceberg on Jökulsárlón, Iceland

Attribution: By Andreas Tille - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2466265

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Icebergs in Disko Bay in Baffin Bay, off the coast of the city of Ilulissat, Greenland

Attribution:By Buiobuione - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=113977830

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During twilight Blue Hour, the sky and water are shades of blue:

Praia da Ursa, Cabo da Roca, Portugal. A wide-angle view of the seascape during the blue hour

Attribution: By Rnbc, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3621257

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Zug, Switzerland during the blue hour

Attribution: By Roy Egloff - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=113399927

So, until the darkness of the night doesn't completely veil the light of the sun, the sky and the sea appear in shades of blue.

Links to posts about Water in this blog: https://signsandscience.blogspot.com/p/water.html

External Links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_ice_(glacial)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_of_water

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue

From Art to Science: The Anatomy of Glaciers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5mgFnMx4_M

For more spectacular photos: https://www.rogerfishman.com

Last updated on: September 13, 2024

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Pairs of Glaciers

Creation in Pairs

Origins of Water

The First Humans

When the Seas Boil
Coloured Mountains

Water Disappearing Underground

Abstract

Expressing wonder at pairs of glaciers in parallel rows, their ability to grow, and the local wisdom of growing artificial glaciers by pairing male and female glaciers.

Full Text

The Bible mentions Living Water in Jeremiah 2:13 and 17:13, Zechariah 14:8 and John 4:10.

The Qur’an claims that God created everything on Earth in pairs:

سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْأَزْوَاجَ كُلَّهَا مِمَّا تُنبِتُ الْأَرْضُ وَمِنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ وَمِمَّا لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

Glory be (to) the One Who created (in) pairs all of what grows the earth and of themselves, and of what not they know.

[Al-Quran 36:36 , Translation: Literal (Word by Word)]

Everything in Pairs

The ayahs preceding Q36:36 present examples from what we classify as living things:

[Al-Quran 36:33-35, Translation: Literal (Word by Word)]And a Sign for them (is) the earth dead. We give it life and We bring forth from it grain, and from it they eat. And We placed therein gardens of date-palms and grapevines, and We caused to gush in it of the springs, That they may eat of its fruit. And not made it their hands. So will not they be grateful?

Water is essential for all life forms. After drawing attention to the central role of water to life forms, and stressing the need for gratitude, Q36:36 goes on to state:

[Al-Quran 36:36 , Translation: Literal (Word by Word)] Glory be (to) the One Who created (in) pairs all of what grows the earth and of themselves, and of what not they know.

The ayahs following Q36:36 present examples of pairs of what we classify as non-living:

[Al-Quran 36:37-40, Translation: Literal (Word by Word)] And a Sign for them (is) the night. We withdraw from it the day. Then behold! They (are) those in darkness. And the sun runs to a term appointed for it. That (is the) Decree (of) the All-Mighty, the All-Knowing. And the moon - We have ordained for it phases until, it returns like the date stalk, the old. Not the sun is permitted for it - that it overtakes the moon, and not the night (can) outstrip the day, but all in an orbit they are floating.

Pairs of Glaciers

[Al-Quran 35:27, Translation: Literal (Word by Word)] Do not you see that Allah sends down from the sky water, then We bring forth therewith fruits (of) various [their] colors? And in the mountains (are) tracts, white and red (of) various [their] colors, and intensely black (some photos at the bottom).

I used to think that Q35:27 referred only to the shades of minerals and stones in the mountains. In the photo below, parallel rows of two types of glaciers can be seen in the foreground: pure white glaciers and brownish mud-covered glaciers. Both co-exist side by side.

Near the North Face of Nanga Parbat, Himalayas

Photo courtesy: Usman Yacoob

Dated: August 18-20, 2016

وَجَعَلْنَا فِيهَا رَوَاسِيَ شَامِخَاتٍ وَأَسْقَيْنَاكُم مَّاءً فُرَاتًا

And We made therein firmly set mountains lofty, and We gave you to drink water - sweet?
[Al-Quran 77:27, Translation: Literal (Word by Word)]

Male & Female Glaciers

وَنَزَّلْنَا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً مُّبَارَكًا فَأَنبَتْنَا بِهِ جَنَّاتٍ وَحَبَّ الْحَصِيدِ
And We have sent down from the sky water blessed, then thereby gardens and grain (for) the harvest,
[Al-Quran 50:9, Translation: Literal (Word by Word)]

The triliteral root bā rā kāf (ب ر ك) occurs 32 times in the Quran, and is generally translated as blessed or blessings. As discussed in Water Disappearing Underground:

Interestingly, Surah Al-Mulk (Sovereignity, chapter 67) which begins with the words: 'Tabaraka allathee' meaning 'He who causes to grow meaningfully' i.e. from the present to a better future, also poses the same question at the very end:

قُلْ أَرَأَيْتُمْ إِنْ أَصْبَحَ مَاؤُكُمْ غَوْرًا فَمَن يَأْتِيكُم بِمَاءٍ مَّعِينٍ

[Pickthall 67:30] Say: Have ye thought: If (all) your water were to disappear into the earth, who then could bring you gushing water?

The local people say that the pure white glaciers (centre row in above image) are female, while the mud/debris covered brownish glaciers are male.

Growing Artificial Glaciers

Many areas of the HinduKush, Karakoram and Himalayas do not have flowing water several months of the year, such as in Gilgit-Baltistan and Ladakh. This has led to the practice of growing artificial glaciers.

Interestingly, where there is only one type of glacier, the glacier does not grow. To grow a glacier, both kinds of glaciers are needed in equal amounts.

Though much more research is needed before scientists may even be willing to consider assigning a gender to ice or water, the following links present an interesting insight into what the indigenous people ‘know’ since centuries:

Glacier Growing - A Local Response to Water Scarcity in Baltistan and Gilgit, Pakistan by Ingvar Nørstegård Tveiten

Chewang Norphel (built twelve artificial glaciers in Ladakh)

Growing Glaciers

Water

Water, the basis of all life forms, is a wondrous substance, and the world is just beginning to discover the amazing properties of water.

[Al-Quran 21:30, Translation: Literal (Word by Word)] Do not see those who disbelieved that the heavens and the earth were a joined entity, then We parted them and We made from [the] water every living thing? Then will not they believe?

[Al-Quran 18:45, Translation: Literal (Word by Word)] And present to them the example (of) the life (of) the world, like water which We send down from the sky, then mingles with it (the) vegetation (of) the earth then becomes dry stalks, it (is) scattered (by) the winds. And Allah over every thing (is) All Able.

I think that similar to the way we use electricity to code, record and transfer, water serves the same purpose in creation. There is emerging research on the properties of water, such as memory. This field of study is termed Digital Biology. I think our understanding will be radically changed once we begin to understand water and what all can be done with water.

Electricity and related gadgets have already been assigned gender roles in Electrical and Mechanical trades.

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Photos
Compare the photos of the rocks, the glaciers and the mountain range - how similar the diversity of colours is across all photos!

Photos of a Rock