Bizarre Natural Phenomena Vol.26 - The Rainbow Marshes ("Psychedelic" Swamp in Florida)

Welcome to a new bizarre phenomenon, steemians. When you think of marshes you usually picture a large area with stagnant waters, maybe some alligators munching on small sharks and toads croaking. But one guy in Florida, Michael Hussey, shattered the prejudice when he posted this photo on his Facebook profile page in February 2015.

(Image credits: Michael Hussey - facebook.com)

Even though this looks like Alice in Wonderland scenery, the image is very real and it's the astonishing effect of leaf decomposition (who would imagine death being so pretty?).

When can I see that?

You can witness this sight in many parts of Florida almost all year long, but it's when the leaf decomposition starts that the phenomenon is more often. Florida is abundant in wetlands and marshes, because of the frequent rainfall in combination with its mostly flat grounds. FIY: The swamps are inhabited by endemic species, like the Florida panther.

(Image source: wikipedia.org)

Other reports of the phenomenon?

There have been many hiking paths over the wetlands and lots of hikers have been lucky enough to see this magical view. The secret is to find the right angle on a bright sunny day, otherwise you're only gonna get a dirty swamp full of leaves and sticks (it's always the point of view, guys). Check FloridaHikes for a few more photos.

So, leaves rot and color the waters?

Pretty much! This happens because of the tannins, substances widely found in plants. They are some kind of security guards against predators (bugs), bacteria and fungi (disease). Tannins are insoluble and hard to decompose. They get absorbed by the ground and leak out to water deposits, giving them a brownish color, making them look like tea.

Lots of conifers can be found over the wetland areas. Cypress trees release tannins in the water which create some form of natural "oil slick". Tannins are also released by the leaves that "drown" in the marshes and gradually decompose over the winter. As sunlight finds its way through the dense tree trunks it gets refracted from the oily surface of the water presenting us with a vast array of pastel colors (Definitely the perfect setting for a tale with leprechauns and fairies, almost like "A Midsummer Night's Dream").

(Image source: Clinton Steeds - flickr.com)

What else do we know about tannins?

• There is high concentration of tannins in fruit. This serves to protect the fruit from being eaten by animals before the seeds are ready to fulfill their mission of continuing the species. Tannin levels drop as the fruit gets older and is finally ripe.
• We taste the tannins in coffee, tea, red wine and beer. 
• The wide range of colors in lots of flowers and tree leaves happens thanks to tannins as well.
• They are also used as coloring agents in tanning leather.
• We can use it as an anti-rust agent in anti-corrosive primers.
• They work as astringents (agents that stop leakage) in health and personal care industry.

Today's phenomenon was pretty short due to a lack of time, but I promise I'll try to get something more exciting for the next episode. Stay tuned!! ;)

References

wikipedia.org_1
wikipedia.org_2
fs.fed.us
onlyinyourstate.com
floridahikes.com

Thank you for stopping by and giving this post a read. I hope you enjoyed it! If it got your curiosity-radar on, you can check some of the previous articles on this series:
21 - St Elmo's Fire  
22 - Penitentes
23 - Explosive Lake Nyos
24 - Ball Lightning
25 - Moeraki Boulders

 If you please, feel free to pay a visit to my blog and check out my short stories along with plenty of educational posts and of course lots of doses of troll-physics!

     

Until my next post,
Steem on and keep smiling, people!