vanishing beauty
February 12, 2014 12:25 PM Subscribe
Joshua - a time-lapse tribute to the beauty of Joshua trees, native to southwestern U.S. Photographer Sungjin Ahn embarked on his project after learning that climate change could "eliminate Joshua trees from 90 percent of their current range in 60 to 90 years." via PetaPixel
That video is surreal and breathtaking.
I was just camping there at Indian Cove. It is a magical place, and Sungjin Ahn's work really addresses that quality. The climate change angle is a bit dopey, but the video stands on its own.
posted by carsonb at 12:51 PM on February 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
I was just camping there at Indian Cove. It is a magical place, and Sungjin Ahn's work really addresses that quality. The climate change angle is a bit dopey, but the video stands on its own.
posted by carsonb at 12:51 PM on February 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
Is that because they would freeze or because they would be drowned? What type of climate change are we talking here? Global Warming, or the generic Climate Change?
The relevant link explains the research pretty straightforwardly.
posted by yoink at 12:53 PM on February 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
The relevant link explains the research pretty straightforwardly.
posted by yoink at 12:53 PM on February 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
There's some more hopeful research suggesting that they may be adjusting to conditions in Nevada. It seems to depend partially on a certain kind of moth.
I kind of like them where they are now though. Maybe we need to get to work cloning Shasta ground sloths.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 1:31 PM on February 12, 2014 [3 favorites]
I kind of like them where they are now though. Maybe we need to get to work cloning Shasta ground sloths.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 1:31 PM on February 12, 2014 [3 favorites]
That was fantastic. Joshua trees are certainly beautiful, but the light on the moving clouds was surreal.
posted by Uncle Grumpy at 2:57 PM on February 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Uncle Grumpy at 2:57 PM on February 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
Can someone explain the bright flashes during the night scenes? Are they flashes from a camera, or heat lightnening? A beautiful video, thanks for posting!
posted by Bohemian Sailor at 3:10 PM on February 12, 2014
posted by Bohemian Sailor at 3:10 PM on February 12, 2014
My home for many years. I miss it every day. The middle part of the video is on the park's northwestern border, which was my daily hike.
The junipers and Joshua trees do well in higher elevations of the Mojave with enough snow to fill them up before springtime. There are areas not far from JTNP (like Pinon Hills, on the north side of the San Gabriel Mountains) where the trees are thriving, and they branch out earlier in multi-trunk clusters. You can see the pine forests retreating a bit, and the Joshua trees moving up.
Where I lived, a combination of wildfires fed by invasive weeds and drier/hotter conditions mean a lot less young Joshua Trees. A lot less pinions, too.
In the high elevations of Mojave National Park, which has the densest forest of Joshua trees in the world, it's cooler and wetter. The trees look different there, with thinner trunks. Here's something interesting that Chris Clarke wrote about the range and argued subspecies of the Joshua tree.
posted by kenlayne at 5:54 PM on February 12, 2014 [7 favorites]
The junipers and Joshua trees do well in higher elevations of the Mojave with enough snow to fill them up before springtime. There are areas not far from JTNP (like Pinon Hills, on the north side of the San Gabriel Mountains) where the trees are thriving, and they branch out earlier in multi-trunk clusters. You can see the pine forests retreating a bit, and the Joshua trees moving up.
Where I lived, a combination of wildfires fed by invasive weeds and drier/hotter conditions mean a lot less young Joshua Trees. A lot less pinions, too.
In the high elevations of Mojave National Park, which has the densest forest of Joshua trees in the world, it's cooler and wetter. The trees look different there, with thinner trunks. Here's something interesting that Chris Clarke wrote about the range and argued subspecies of the Joshua tree.
posted by kenlayne at 5:54 PM on February 12, 2014 [7 favorites]
If the rodents cannot move the tree population fast enough, why not have humans move them?
posted by RuvaBlue at 6:19 PM on February 12, 2014
posted by RuvaBlue at 6:19 PM on February 12, 2014
That was a beautiful few minutes. Thank you.
posted by missrachael at 7:36 PM on February 12, 2014
posted by missrachael at 7:36 PM on February 12, 2014
Chris Clarke! (MeFi's Own!) He's just started a monthly series of articles about the California high desert over at Beacon, and as a subscriber myself I will shamelessly encourage everyone to go subscribe. You'll get to read Chris's stuff as well as the entire rest of the magazine's output.
posted by carsonb at 8:22 PM on February 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by carsonb at 8:22 PM on February 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
Bohemian Sailor, some of the flashes seem to come from travelling/passing light sources. Could be they filmed near a road and the flashes are headlights from passing cars
posted by Hairy Lobster at 10:58 PM on February 12, 2014
posted by Hairy Lobster at 10:58 PM on February 12, 2014
Maybe we need to get to work cloning Shasta ground sloths.
Bring back the Shasta ground sloth
posted by homunculus at 11:27 PM on February 12, 2014
Bring back the Shasta ground sloth
posted by homunculus at 11:27 PM on February 12, 2014
That's another Chris Clarke article, jus sayin', he's good.
posted by carsonb at 10:05 AM on February 13, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by carsonb at 10:05 AM on February 13, 2014 [2 favorites]
Absolutely lovely, thanks!
posted by jeffburdges at 10:57 AM on February 13, 2014
posted by jeffburdges at 10:57 AM on February 13, 2014
The Bristlecone’s Fate, A Short Film About the World’s Oldest Living Trees, the Bristlecone Pine
posted by homunculus at 2:02 PM on February 15, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by homunculus at 2:02 PM on February 15, 2014 [1 favorite]
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posted by Gungho at 12:44 PM on February 12, 2014