Artist Dan Coe uses lidar data to create portraits of rivers and their past meanders. Used aerially, lidar produces high-resolution elevation data that provides a glimpse of features that are Keep reading
Filling Space
While not directly fluid dynamical, this video from Steve Mould uses water to illustrate mathematical concepts like fractals and space-filling curves. Water, it turns out, does a great job of Keep reading
Linking Size and Origin in Droplets
Respiratory diseases like measles, flu, tuberculosis, and COVID-19 are all transmitted by droplets. Some are tiny and airborne, capable of traveling long distances. Other drops are larger and only capable Keep reading
An August Arc
In summer, the fjords of Greenland are littered with ice, but in August 2023, satellites caught an odd interloper. See the thin white arc spanning the fjord in the photo Keep reading
A Better Ear Plug
Ear plugs can be wonderful at blocking outside noise, but they come with a downside: they typically amplify internal bodily sounds, like our heartbeat, breathing, and chewing. This effect, called Keep reading
Slumping Ceramics
Dripping, drooping pottery is artist Philip Kupferschmidt’s specialty. Covered in drips and drops, slumping as if half-melted, Kupferschmidt’s ceramics seem partially liquid. With their colorful glazes, these pieces ooze personality. Keep reading
Desalination in Action
Desalination — the removal of salt from water — is an important process for providing the fresh water we need, but it’s quite expensive in terms of energy. In this Keep reading
Understanding Cyanobacteria
Over 2 billion years ago, cyanobacteria emerged as Earth’s first photosynthesizing organisms. Today they are widespread and critical contributors to both carbon and nitrogen cycles. Colonies can form large mats, Keep reading
Shifting Sands
Qinghai Lake sits in western China, where a warmer and wetter climate has been raising the lake’s water level in recent years. These two satellite images, from 2010 and 2022, Keep reading
Swimming Through Mud
At the bottom of ponds, nematodes and other creatures swim in a world of mud. They squirm their way through a sediment of dirt particles suspended in water. Mud, of Keep reading