lens culture
Colors of the Earth
Bernhard Edmaier

Colors of the Earth

The colours of the Earth do not only touch our senses, but also tell us something about the creation and texture of the surface of our planet, the Earth’s crust and the ground under our feet. —Bernhard Edmaier

Photos
26
Status
Public
Created
Sep 01, 2015
Updated
Jan 14, 2023
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Photos (26)

BLUE. Ari Atoll, Maldives. Coral reefs encircle lagoons – in the center of the large Ari Atoll, there are many ring structures of this type. As the tropical sea is very clear in this region, the water absorbs a large part of the light spectrum and therefore reflects mainly the colour blue, which we perceive with our eyes.
File: 02_Ari Atoll_Maldives_aerial.jpg
Tidal flat, Australia.
File: 03_Tidal flat_Australia_aerial.jpg
Bering Glacier, Alaska.
File: 06_Bering Glacier_Alaska_aerial.jpg
Cover
Sea Ice, Liverpooland, East Greenland. In summer, the thick ice sheet covering Greenland’s sea in winter, gradually breaks up. Tightly packed ice floes drift in the sea. The sunlight which is reflected by the ice below the water surface makes the shimmering ice islands glow turquoise blue.
File: 01_Sea ice_Arctic_aerial.jpg
Tidal gully, Bahamas.
File: 04_Tidal gully_Bahamas_aerial.jpg
Grand Prismatic Spring, USA.
File: 05_Grand Prismatic Spring_USA_aerial.jpg
GREEN-YELLOW. Alligator River, Kakadu National Park, Australia.
File: 09_Alligator River_Australia_aerial.jpg
Lena Delta, Siberia, Russia. In the few weeks of Siberian summer, the permafrost ground in the Arctic Lena Delta thaws. A mosaic of lakes is built and the tundra vegetation around explodes into life.
File: 12_Permafrost soil_Russia_aerial.jpg
Laguna, Venice, Italy.
File: 13_Laguna Venice_Italy_aerial.jpg
Scoresbysund, Greenland.
File: 08_Scoresbysund_Greenland_aerial.jpg
Morbihan, France.
File: 10_Morbihan_France_aerial.jpg
Maelifellsander, Iceland.
File: 11_Maelifellsander_Iceland_aerial.jpg
River Thjorsa, Iceland—the largest river in the country.
File: 14_River Thjorsa_Iceland_aerial.jpg
John Day National Monument, Oregon, USA. The ash masses that today form the yellow hills of the John Day National Monument were spat out long ago by volcanoes that have since disappeared. The hot discharge settled layer by layer. These layers owe their bright yellowish colours to weathered volcanic minerals. Rivers have cut deeply into this soft rock material.
File: 15_John Day National Monument_USA_aerial.jpg
Isluga, Chile.
File: 16_Isluga_Chile_aerial.jpg
Landeyjarsander, Iceland.
File: 17_Landeyjarsander_Iceland_aerial.jpg
Cerro Colores, Chile.
File: 18_Cerro Colores_Chile_aerial.jpg
Laguna Roja, Chile. It looks as if a giant had emptied a bucket of red paint on this plateau in the unpopulated mountains of the Parinacota volcano region in northern Chile.The blood-red water that collects in the Laguna Roja has a temperature of 40–500 C (104–1220 F). The vivid colour is due to thermophilic red algae that thrive at these high temperatures.
File: 19_Laguna Roja_Chile_aerial.jpg
ORANGE-RED. Searles Lake, USA
File: 20_Salt lake_USA_aerial.jpg
Comb Ridge, Utah, USA. These sandstone layers whichhave been tilted and then erodedby runoff water contain weathered iron compounds. They look orange, purple or bright yellow depending on the light.
File: 22_Comb Ridge_USA_aerial.jpg
Namib Desert, Namibia. The countless grains of sand that make up the dunes have long been exposed to weathering.As a result, they are coated with iron oxide and are orange-red in appearance.
File: 21_Namib Desert 01_Namibia_aerial.jpg
BROWN. Namib Desert, Namibia.
File: 23_Namib Desert 02_Namibia_aerial.jpg
Nizina Glacier, Alaska, USA. Huge chunks of ice interspersed with moraine rubble float in the muddy meltwater lake at the front of Nizina Glacier. The colour of the water depends on the rock which the glacier ice ‚has planed’ while flowing.
File: 24_Icebergs_Alaska_aerial.jpg
WHITE-GREY-BLACK. Huns Mountains, Namibia.
File: 25_Huns Mountains_Namibia_aerial.jpg
Sidu Glacier, Iceland.
File: 26_Sidu Glacier_Iceland_aerial.jpg
Lake Silvaplana, Switzerland. During very cold periods in wintertime when there is no wind and snowfall,a crystal clear ice sheet can grow on lakes. It is called “black ice“, because one can see through it into the deep dark water. Air bubbles gather beneath the ice sheet and form round white fields. Tensions in the ice surface create flaws, which appear as white lines.
File: 27_Black ice_Switzerland_aerial.jpg