WATERSHED+

Pancake ice on the Rimouski River in Quebec.
Pancake ice is predominantly circular pieces of ice 30 cm to 3 m in diameter, up to 10 cm in thickness, with raised rims due to the pieces striking against one another. It may form on a slight swell from grease ice, shuga or slush or as a result of the breaking of ice rind, nilas or, under severe conditions of swell or waves, of grey ice. It also sometimes forms at some depth at an interface between water bodies of different physical characteristics where it floats to the surface. It may rapidly form over wide areas of water. (description from the Canadian Ice Service)

Thanks to Margaret for forwarding these images.

Hutt Lagoon is a salt lake in Western Australia with a large population of Dunaliella salina algae giving the distinctive red and pink coloration. To survive, these organisms have high concentrations of β-carotene to protect against the intense light, and high concentrations of glycerol to provide protection against osmotic pressure. This salt lake is currently used as a Dunaliella salina algae farm for use in cosmetics and dietary supplements.

Photographs by Steve Back
From fastcodesign.com

Copenhagen’s harbour, one of the few in the world to be clean enough to swim in, is in the process of undergoing a change that will be expected to transform the marina into a recreational, educational and ecologically friendly area.
The “blue Plan” (by tredje natur and PK3) focuses on establishing a unique relationship between the user, the harbor, and an activity. It will include the construction of five artificial islands off the docks: the house of water, fugleøen (bird island), krøyers pøl, sportsøen (sports sea) and operaparken (opera park).
The house of water, based on the idea of educating the public on global water challenges and solutions, is made up of soft rounded concrete hills with several pools and baths, heated inlet pools and sauna caves.

From Design Boom

An ice storage building in Chicago’s Fulton Market District is being redesigned for use as bike component manufacturer SRAM’s headquarters. Up until last October the space was part of ten stories of cold storage for the meat and fish market. After decades of use, the building literally had to be defrosted like an old freezer, with the assistance of large propane heaters to accelerate the melting process. See the Time Lapse Video here.

Read more at ediblegeography.com via Perkins + Will

Artwork of the week

Turning the Place Over, 2007-2011
Richard Wilson

Turning the Place Over consisted of an 8 metres diameter ovoid cut from the façade of a disused building in Liverpool, England, and made to oscillate in three dimensions.
The revolving part of the façade rested on a specially designed giant rotator, usually used in the shipping and nuclear industries. When at rest the ovoid section of façade would fit flush into the rest of the building. As it rotates, the facade will not only become completely inverted but will also oscillate into the building and out into the street, revealing the interior of the building, and only being flush with the building at one point during its rotation.

Expected to be exhibited only into 2008 it stayed until 2011.

Co-commissioned by the Liverpool Culture Company and Liverpool Biennial

The cistern in the Portuguese fortification of Mazagan, now part of the city of El Jadida, Morocco. A former warehouse converted into a cistern in the 16th century.

More on Mazagan on the unesco site

Loughareema, “the Vanishing Lake”, near Ballycastle in Northern Ireland, is a chalk sinkhole that occasionally gets blocked up when peat washes into it. A stream and water run off from the surrounding hills then fill the lake up and once the blockage is cleared,or the aquifer beneath can accept more water, the water slowly drains away.

From Atlas Obscura

Abandonned power plant cooling tower

The Jet d’Eau (water jet) in Geneva, Swizerland, is one of the city’s most famous landmarks. At 140 metres (459 feet) it is one of the largest fountains in the world.
Originally it was a safety valve for a hydraulic power network and could reach a height of about 30 metres (98 feet). In 1891, its aesthetic value was recognised and a new version was built to celebrate the Federal Gymnastics Festival and the 600th anniversary of the Swiss Confederation. The present Jet d’Eau was installed in 1951 in a partially submerged pumping station to pump lake water instead of city water.
More here

The tank of Montsouris was constructed in the south of Paris in 1874. At the time it was the biggest tank in the world and to this day, still supplies 1/5 of the Parisian population with water. At the time trouts were used in the reservoir itself to monitor the water quality.

More at MyParisNet.com