Welcome to The Sciku Project – the latest scientific and mathematical discoveries, thoughts and ideas as scientific haiku.
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Volcanoes Transforming Dark Depths by Douglas J. Lanzo
plate tectonics
by Douglas J. Lanzo
plumes of fire, sulfur and ash
erupting undersea
Magma erupts through ocean floors from the earth’s mantle when oceanic plates collide with, or tear away from, each other, with staggering force. This results in spectacular undersea volcanic activity that forges massive sea mounts from plumes of magma that thrust toward the ocean’s surface with incredible heat, speed and fury. Yellow-orange magma turns red and then further glassy black as it cools so quickly that crystals do not have time to form, spewing plumes of sulfur and billowing ash into surrounding waters.
While this activity brings death to some sea creatures, others thrive off of it, with aptly named Pompeii worms, vent shrimp, yeti crabs and giant tube worms thriving off the bacteria and superheated minerals found in abundance by these smoking-hot hydrothermal vents.
This activity is on such a massive scale that over time it can produce entire volcanic island chains, such as the Hawaiian Islands. Even when a sea mount does not become a “Mauna Kea” and pierce the ocean’s surface, it can rise for thousands of meters and form one of the highest mountains on earth. Just for the record, Hawaii’s now dormant volcano, Mauna Kea is over 10,000 meters in height when measured from its base on the Pacific Ocean’s floor, which dwarfs Mount Everest’s mere 8,849-meter height.
Further reading:
To learn more about this awe-inspiring undersea tectonic activity, I highly recommend the breathtaking 2017 BBC Blue Planet II (2017) Episode 2 “The Deep” documentary narrated by Sir David Attenborough and the 2006 BBC Planet Earth Episode 11 “Ocean Deep”.
For some good reading on it, check out the Underwater Volcanoes webpage published by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution under its Ocean Learning Hub at https://www.whoi.edu/ocean-learning-hub/ocean-topics/how-the-ocean-works/seafloor-below/volcanoes/.
Author bio:
Doug is an award-winning American author and poet of over 560 internationally published poems whose debut novel The Year of the Bear won the Ames Award for YA Books and whose second book I Have Lived was named American Book Fest Novella of the Year. His Author’s website is www.douglaslanzo.com.
Soulful synchrony by Douglas J. Lanzo
perfect synchrony
by Douglas J. Lanzo
of two soulmates
the mating dance of grebes
Grebes embody soulful love, beauty and grace with their elaborate courtship dances. Endowed with striking eyes, chestnut-colored ruffs, regal black crests, and slender flowing necks, great-crested grebes take your breath away with an enchanting courtship dance.
As synchronized as a scene from the Nutcracker Suite ballet, they dip their heads underwater in synchronous movement before shaking them side to side as soon as they resurface as a pair. Their theatrical paired head-bobs, dips and weaves culminate in a spectacular, coordinated twenty-step-per-second dash across the surface of the lake with upright necks, arched backs and wings spread, dignified and adorable at the same time.
Their larger cousins, Western and Clark grebes, are the largest vertebrates on earth with the capability to walk, or shall we say, run, on water!
Further information:
To learn more about this remarkable and entrancing behavior, check out Boyd Huppert’s Land of 10,000 Stories video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMT9ym3Ug3I&t=153s or enjoy numerous BBC nature videos, including BBC Life (Birds) featuring Clark’s Grebes performing rushing dances on Oregon lakes, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, and Iolo’s Secret Life of Birds (BBC One) starring Great Crested Grebes in full courtship displays.
For online reading enjoy ‘All About Birds’ by Cornell Lab of Ornithology at https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Western_Grebe/lifehistory#behavior which features an informative “Life History” page describing the awe-spiring rushing ceremony and touchingly humorous weeds ceremony of the Western Grebe.
Author bio:
Doug is an award-winning American author and poet of over 560 internationally published poems whose debut novel The Year of the Bear won the Ames Award for YA Books and whose second book I Have Lived was named American Book Fest Novella of the Year. His Author’s website is www.douglaslanzo.com.
Tuning in… by Tony Williams
radio waves—
by Tony Williams
I roll over
and try not to think
Have you ever wondered if radio waves are harmful? Maybe not lose sleep over it! There are many interesting articles to read about the subject, and research is ongoing, as it should be. The long and the short(wave) of it, according to expert opinions is yes, radio waves can affect us, but under normal circumstances the effect is believed to be slight – perhaps warming us by less than 0.2°C. On balance, I think it is advisable to reduce our overall exposure and, if possible, try to persuade our kids to limit phone use. Good luck with that!
Further reading:
‘Radiofrequencies and health : where are we ?’, 2025, Encyclopedia of the Environment, available: https://www.encyclopedie-environnement.org/en/health/radiofrequencies-health/
‘Radiowave Effects on Humans’, 1980, Davis, N., Geophysical Institute, available: https://www.gi.alaska.edu/alaska-science-forum/radiowave-effects-humans
Author bio:
Tony Williams from Scotland, UK, started writing haiku and senryu in 2020. Since then he has been published widely in many fine journals and picked up some awards. Tony takes inspiration from spending time in nature. He is not unhappily retired.
Read other sciku by Tony here: ‘Spooky Action’ and ‘ToE…’.
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