Wow, those are really cool. posted by tkolar at 8:52 AM on March 21
Cool indeed. I'd really like some kind of futuristic hover-RV to cruise around Siberia in. It has the reputation of being a wasteland, but there is so much amazing scenery (during the summer) there that is basically untouched. posted by Burhanistan at 9:03 AM on March 21
Really beautiful. Clicking out to the original set posted by the group who did the exploring really added to my appreciation.
Cave ecology shares a lot of visual similarity with the sea floor, delightfully.
Hurrah for the intrepid! posted by batmonkey at 9:05 AM on March 21
In this case, it's mine ecology. Those are icicles and ice crystals, not stalactites and calcite. The mushrooms and fungus would also grow in a cave, but only on organic material brought in from outside, as the timbers in the mine were. (That does happen in caves that take flood water, or when bats die in a cave.)
You can see a pretty good selection of unusual cave formations at this site. Don't miss the snottites. posted by Kirth Gerson at 10:09 AM on March 21
True, Kirth Gerson, true - it's definitely a mine.
The ponder was started by the crystalline forms, fungi, algae, and the way it subsumes foreign objects, so I can be even more stoked by the similarities between the three environments. posted by batmonkey at 3:18 PM on March 21
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posted by tkolar at 8:52 AM on March 21