I really can’t get a handle on the devastation, so let the graphics, photos, and videos collected by Greg Storey on his blog, Airbag, describe the tragedy.

I was browsing the the archives of the Earth Science Picture of the Day site, and discovered a picture of a Carolina bay. I had seen similar pictures of these mysterious geologic formations, and assumed that they were caused by some as-yet unknown terrestrial mechanism. To me, they do look like elongated impact craters, but there seem to be too many of them (10,000 to 20,000 according to the US Geological Survey). In doing some searching on the internet, I found one only a short drive from my home.

Grand Bay in Lowndes County Georgia
Courtesy Valdosta State University

I followed one link in the image description to George Howard’s page on Carolina bays and discovered some fascinating bits of information. First, the elliptical bays’ long axes all converge in one area near the Ohio-Kentuky-West Virginia border. Could this indicate a Tunguska-like air-burst which rained debris over the eastern US? There is no evidence of meteor fragments in any of the bays, but neither are there in the Tunguska impact area. One idea put forth to explain the lack of comet or meteor fragments is that the heat from the from the air-burst, not direct impacts, vaporized sub-surface water. The resulting steam explosions carved out the Carolina bays.

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Yeah, that pretty much sums up how this Okefenokee-lover feels. Read more at Sherpa Guides.

I recently came across a couple more sites that might be useful to amateur scientists:

Science Lab is a provider of chemicals and laboratory supplies, including test equipment and glassware. I could not find any sales policy information on the site, so I recommend that you contact them regarding sales to amateurs before placing an order.

ScienCentral is a production company that provides content to ABC and NBC affiliates, web-based news, and educational products. Their web site reports on timely science news, research, and eduction.

Both of these sites have been added to my link list on the main page.

Yahoo! News is carrying an Associated Press story about interesting changes happening in Yellowstone’s Norris Geyser Basin. Via Ankh’s Mostly Science weblog.

Nature reports on a new periodic table arranged by ion distribution in nature. A fascinating approach that brings more understanding of the elements.

In an article in the Annals of Improbable Research, three geographers used geodetic techniques to answer the pressing question, “Is Kansas as flat as a pancake?” This one made CNN, among others. This may be mostly humorous, but I actually learned a few things I had no idea about in this article. Note to science teachers: use stuff like this to get your students interested in science!