'Jellyfish Central'

Gliding globes of golden jellies. Gobs of them! That’s what you’ll find in Ongeim’l Tketau. This tiny lake on a tiny island in the Pacific Ocean is known as "Jellyfish Central."

Over thousands of years, these jellies have lost their sting. But if you swim here, be prepared. These jellies are busy. They float from east to west to follow the sunlight. Why? They get their energy from algae in their bodies. Where do the algae get their energy? From sunlight, of course!

What's Cooking?

Everyone likes nice warm water. But Boiling Lake on the island of Dominica, is extreme. It boils, like soup on a stove.

Dominica is formed by volcanoes. And volcanoes often have fumaroles: searing hot holes where heat and gas escape. Boiling Lake fills a fumarole. No wonder it’s boiling. There’s melted rock underneath! Getting there means hiking up a slippery trail. The air is filled with steam and a gas that smells like rotten eggs. Yuck!

a view from above of Boiling Lake

Boiling Lake,
Dominica

a meltwater lake in Greenland

These meltwater lakes formed on an iceberg in Greenland.

Down the Drain

It’s summer on Greenland’s ice sheet. Lakes of meltwater dot the frozen surface like blue jewels. The darker the blue, the deeper the lake.

Some of these meltwater lakes play a disappearing act. One year, all 45 billion liters (12 billion gallons) of water in a single lake disappeared in two hours! What happened? As the air warms in summer, the ice melts and cracks. Water leaks through the cracks. It drains the lake. It's just like bathwater going down a drain! Scientists wonder. If temperatures keep getting higher, can all of Greenland just slip away?

03/08/2021 12:47:13