/sci/ - Science & Math

>>3839467
bacteria and minerals.

photoshop

>>3839474
>he's never been to yellowstone!
laughingwhores.jpg

>>3839473
what causes those? I mean lots of water has bacteria and minerals, how do we go from that to rainbow springs.

>>3839480
You're looking at bacteria and their shit.

God showing us a sign that he still loves us.

>>3839473
The vivid colors in the springs are the result of pigmented bacteria in the microbial mats that grow around the edges of the mineral-rich water. The bacteria produce colors ranging from green to red; the amount of color in the microbial mats depends on the ratio of chlorophyll to carotenoids and on the temperature of the water which favors one bacterium over another. In the summer, the mats tend to be orange and red, whereas in the winter the mats are usually dark green.[7] The center of the pool is sterile due to extreme heat.

The deep blue color of the water in the center of the pool results from the intrinsic blue color of water, itself the result of water's selective absorption of red wavelengths of visible light. Though this effect is responsible for making all large bodies of water blue, it is particularly intense in Grand Prismatic Spring because of the high purity and depth of the water in the middle of the spring.

>>3839480
The hotsprings at yellowstone are pretty geologically unique, compared to other pools of water; they have minerals and temperatures that most don't, which is why those bacteria grow there and not most places.

its where they make the rainbows? o_0

woah, thats beautiful. Like shockingly staggeringly pretty.

Will the bacteria kill you sooner or the heat?

>>3839494
I dunna about the prismatic springs, but an example of this is Mammoth Hot Springs.
These badass terraces have been formed from the very high amounts of calcium carbonate in the water.
The hot water forms pools, and that which leaks over the side eventually cools and leaves the calcium carbonate behind as sediment, which creates these fascinating structures.

Or something. Fuck if I know, lol.

>>3839503
It really is. It doesn't do justice to the real thing, though.
Yellowstone is fucking FULL of incredible shit like that.

It's something everyone should see in their lifetimes, I think.

>>3839505
Most of the springs aren't hot enough to kill you, although I'm pretty sure the center of the one in OP's picture is hot enough to cook you dead.

The most lethal thing other than that is the sulfur fumes and whatnot.
I think the bacteria themselves are harmless.

bumping because this is a better yellowstone thread than the others.