Emma's Earth Explorations

  New England feels...this is what the great 17th & 18th century poets and writers engraved in stone and ink saw in their worlds Acadia National Park. Nestled in the crook of Acadia, Maine, established in 1917, and known for its sweater vibes and autumnal beauty seemingly year round, this national park is known for its stunning scenery above all else. Wintery mountains, teeming forests, and pink granite shorelines are sights to behold on their own. But as the eastern-most National Park in the US, Acadia is also the first National Park to greet dawn every day. Imagine...the light spilling up over ocean salt breeze, pouring over the trees and rocks and sea. A striking world illuminated from the inside out.  Some of these places just don't seem real sometimes. But they are, and besides having great lighting for a Instagram photo shoot, the National Parks' beauty and meaning and history means something to us. These parks, surreal little worlds that offer more than escape,...

  New Year, new explorations. I have to be honest; I haven't visited one of our 63 National Parks yet. Bing has this great catalogue of the National Parks and hotel/flight prices for each. Don't get too distracted by the beautiful photos of each park. It's too damn expensive for a college student to visit, well anywhere, right now.  So instead, I'm writing about the parks from my cozy-already-expensive enough dorm. The previous series on this blog have covered rainforests, oceans, and the ecosystems in between. Here, the National Parks are their own unique ecosystems, far more complex than being simply described as just a grassland or just  a desert. There's a reason why each park was designated as a government protected piece of land. Every park has history, distinct flora and fauna, and some beautiful crazy fun fact-esque aspect that makes these parks feel like other worlds.   Before we dive into some of the spotlights on the National Parks, I want t...

Saving Nemo: Pixar's 2003 hit minus the fun animation Saving Nemo  Director:  yours truly Leading Actor:  nemo & his many relatives Leading Actress:  the great barrier reef as a whole Producer:  none, because I'm not getting paid here, am I? Well, it's been a busy few months, but I'm back to wrap up this exploration of the Great Barrier Reef with none other than the reef's mascot itself: Nemo .  Everyone knows the childhood classic, Finding Nemo , an animated adventure starring a clown fish trying to find his way home. An underwater adventure, colorful fishies, talented voice actors, and of course, amazing animation, what isn't there to love? This is Saving Nemo , your favorite clown fish's story part II. Or is it part III? I've never seen Finding Dory so I wouldn't know. Essentially, this is  Finding Nemo without all the awesome qualities I listed above, because it you wanted those things, there's a 90% chance that either Netflix, Hulu, or A...

     Not something you'd find in the Meg  movies...because it's actually accurate.  The Whale Shark:   Rhincodon typus Description : As one of the members in the order, Orectolobiformes, the Whale Shark has the signature two dorsal fins and small flat head. Also known as Carpet Sharks, Orectolobiformes get their names from their decorative carpet appearance, hence, the Whale Shark's ornately patterned back of white dots and lines on its dark gray back. This species is the largest fish in the world and can measure up to 30 feet and weigh up to 20 tons. Unlike other species, female Whale Sharks are typically larger than males. The biggest Whale Shark known had a length of more than 60 feet! Habitat : The Whale Shark is one of the most popular sharks in the Great Barrier Reef but typically spend time away from shore in depths lower than 150 feet.  Found anywhere in temperate and tropical regions, the Whale Shark is rarely found in temperatures below ...

    Once again not something you'd find at your local buffet. Unless you live in Japan.  The Peacock Mantis Shrimp:   Odontodactylus scyllarus Description : There are over 450 species of Mantis Shrimp in the world; the Peacock Mantis Shrimp is one of the largest and most colorful amongst these hundreds of different species.  All members of this species have three pairs of legs to hold prey and another three pairs to walk. Other  main features include two claws, 360 degree seeing eyes, and colorful body armor.  However, males are often larger and more vibrant than females; this species' signature peacock coloration is a sexually dimorphic trait. Additionally, sizes of the Peacock Mantis Shrimp range from two to seven inches with females occupying the lower end of this size spectrum.  Habitat : The Peacock Mantis Shrimp is the most common species of Mantis Shrimp found in the Great Barrier Reef.  These Mantis Shrimp are commonly found in t...

   Not something you'd find at your local buffet.  The Giant Clam:   Tridacna gigas Description : As the largest mollusks in the world, Giant Clams can reach a size of four feet long and weight of 500 pounds. A Giant Clam's main feature, its shell, is made up of two halves that can open and close through use of a hinge. Although their shells range in various sizes, colors, and patterns, all Giant Clams have a fleshy interior mantel that can weigh up to a quarter of the clam's weight! Habitat : These mollusks are primarily found in waters of down to 20 meters in depth in the Indo-Pacific region and other tropical and subtropical areas. Because of their shallow environment, Giant Clams thrive in coral reefs where they embed themselves into the sand. In particular, they thrive in habitats with high calcium carbonate levels that strengthen their shells.  Diet : Through the filter feeding process, Giant Clams gain energy from their main diet of phytoplankton. However...

   The gardens of the oceans... The Great Barrier reef is the world's largest coral reef system, boasting over 600 different species of corals in its waters. Although coral reefs may seem more sculpted from stone rather than life, corals are much like the flora of the earth—living organisms.  One of the famed bragging points of this reef system is that it can be seen from outer space, an impressive feat considering that our manmade sculptures of metal and glass can't even be seen without extensive light * cough POLLUTION* illuminating the atmosphere. Additionally, this ecosystem is the largest to be created out of living organisms. Everything here is alive, and as fascinating as the fauna of the Great Barrier are, I think the flora deserve a spotlight too.  Here are some of the most impactful, influential, and interesting corals I've learned in my Great Barrier Reef exploration.  The Staghorn Coral  ( Acropora cervicornis)   Staghorn coral can b...

  Mermaids & Manatees Part II The Dugong:   Dugong dugon Description : Although Dugongs have similar appearances with manatees , these are two entirely different species. Both species have similar gray-brown colorations, however, the Dugong's body is more torpedo-shaped. An easily distinguishable aspect of this species is its flat, shovel-like snout. These downturned snouts assist in foraging for seagrass, the Dugong's main food source. Dugongs are also smaller; they can reach up to nine feet in length and one ton in weight. Lacking dorsal fins, the Dugong instead utilizes flippers and its forked tail to maneuver through the water.  Habitat : These creatures are distributed all over the world, although most of their range is concentrated near the tropical coastal waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans near the equator. A majority of the Dugong population lives near Australia, and all Dugongs typically live areas with seagrass beds.  Diet : Dugongs feed exclusiv...

This fish is one of the most recognizable species in both the Great Barrier Reef and Gen Z's childhoods.    The Yellow Tang:   Zebrasoma flavescens Description : The Yellow Tang's bright full-body yellow coloration is what makes distinguishes it from other Tangs. They can grow up to around 8 inches in the wild and have a white barb used for defense and attack on each side of the base of their caudal fin; these barbs are considered to be modified scales of the Tang.  Habitat : A Yellow Tang lives in saltwater reefs all over the world, however, they are most commonly found near Hawaii; about 70% of the Yellow Tang population lives in these waters. This species is native to the Pacific Ocean but may also be found in the Atlantic Ocean.  Diet : As herbivores, Yellow Tangs feed exclusively on plants. Algae is their preferred food source, and Yellow Tangs may even eat the algae off of turtles as part of a symbiotic relationship.  Behavior : Although they do toler...

  This post only exists because of a critical error I made in the last post. Cheers to fact checking. Ok, I know I said that there would be two Blanket Octopus posts, but I changed my mind (see here ). All the info is now in one post. Anyways, while I was reading back on the Blanket Octopus, I realized that I said the Portuguese Man-of-War was a jellyfish.  Which is wrong. It's actually a siphonophore.  Which looks exactly like a jellyfish.  Which is why I wanted to create this post. There are over 200 different species of jellyfish in the world, and around half of those species have been found in the Great Barrier Reef. These beautiful, ethereal creatures have always seemed to come from a different world to me. Glowing orbs of light, floating serenely at bottomless depths—like the ocean's angels. Except these angles are quite dangerous and quite capable of killing. Here, I'm going to spotlight some of what I think are the Great Barrier Reef's most fascinating specie...

  The ocean is this queen's runway, and we're just lucky to witness her glide down it.    Blanket Octopus :   Tremoctopus  Finally we find an animal where DNA determines females get the flashy traits and not  the males. When it comes to survival, it happens to be that males typically have brighter feathers or a red balloon under his neck or some other supposedly attractive trait to guarantee his flashy traits get passed down. I mean, even humans make the list. Why is it that every single guy I know has better eyelashes than me? Blanket Octopuses are found in the coral reefs of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans' sub-tropical and tropical waters.  There are four kinds of Blanket  Octopuses, which I'll cover in this post, and in all four species, it's the females who have the sunset-colored, billowing capes that give Blanket Octopuses their name.  What's even more shocking than the fact that the ladies finally get to stand out from the crowd is th...

Known by many names, including the Humphead Wrasse and Napolean Wrasse, this fish is known as a king of the coral reefs.    The Maori Wrasse :   Cheilinus undulatus Description : Reaching up to 2 meters in length and 180 kg in weight, t he Maori Wrasse is the largest species in the Wrasse family. They are easily distinguishable by the hump on their foreheads, which become more prominent with age, as well as their puffy lips. Based on the age and gender of a Maori Wrasse, its color patterns vary from red and orange to yellow and green and blues.  Habitat :  Found in the Indo-Pacific's tropical waters, the Maori Wrasse tends to cling to the temperate-coastal habitats of Australia. Maori Wrasse can inhabit all types of reefs, from rocky reefs by the shore to off-shore reefs reaching depths of 60 meters.  Diet : Maori Wrasse are carnivorous creatures that feed primarily on crustaceans, mollusks, and other benthic creatures. They may even eat smaller fish! Maori...

  Here is a place where life collides into the unknown  Let's be honest, you only had like two oceans to guess from in the last post. It was not that hard to guess where the subject was going.  After an admittedly few but efficient five minutes on learning about this blog's next stop, I've decided that one of the most fascinating and defining traits of the Pacific Ocean is its sheer size.  As our largest and deepest ocean, the Pacific Ocean's 63,800,000 sq miles of surface blue lays over an average depth of 13,000 feet. That's about 12 Eiffel Towers speared under the surface pointing to some lightless, yet not lifeless, land we know very little about.  What does this all mean? Well, one is that I'm too lazy to find the calculated volume of the Pacific Ocean using the stats *1 above. Two is far more thought-provoking. The mystery volume I didn't calculate from above is insanely large. Considering that only around 5% of the oceans have been explored and that ...