The Columbia Icefield

The Columbia Icefield is an icefield located in the Canadian Rockies, astride the Continental Divide of North America. The icefield lies partly in the northwestern tip of Banff and the southern end of Jasper National Park. It is about 325 km² in area, 100 to 365 metres (328' to 1,197') in depth and receives up to seven metres (23 ft) of snowfall per year.

The icefield feeds eight major glaciers, including:
[1] Athabasca Glacier
[2] Castleguard Glacier
[3] Columbia Glacier
[4] Dome Glacier
[5] Stutfield Glacier
[6] Saskatchewan Glacier

Part of the icefield, the Athabasca Glacier, is visible from the Icefields Parkway. The Athabasca Glacier has receded significantly since its greatest modern-era extent in 1844. During the summer months visitors to the area can travel onto the glacier in the comfort of large "snowcoaches".

The icefield was first reported in 1898 by J. Norman Collie and Hermann Woolley after they had completed the first ascent of Mount Athabasca.

The Athabasca River and the North Saskatchewan River originate in the Columbia Icefield, as do tributary headwaters of the Columbia River. As the icefield is atop a triple Continental Divide these waters flow ultimately north to the Arctic Ocean east to Hudson Bay (and thence to the North Atlantic Ocean), and south and west to the Pacific Ocean respectively. Hudson Bay, in some watershed divisions, is considered to be in the Arctic watershed, in which case this would arguably not be a triple continental divide point.

Since some places of this icefield are more than 1000 feet deep, it can even cover up the Eiffel Tower in Paris with its ice. Apart from the icefields in the Arctic Circle and Antarctica, Columbia Icefield is the largest inland. The water melted from its glaciers is one of our water sources. It is only open to tourists from April to October each year.

Recent Snapshots of Abby

Abby likes fruit drinks very much. In the top photo, she was drinking a packet of wild-berry juice. The juice had already satisfied her and might increase her appetite at lunch or dinner.

For myself, I have not heard or tasted this kind of drinks. Maybe I shall try it when I arrive at Canada this September.

The second and third photos were taken during the time when Abby was singing a Children’s song.

Have a Drink!

This is NOT an advertisement.

The ice-water in the top photo comes from the swift-flowing stream of melting ice at Columbia Icefield.










The water is cold, refreshing and free from contamination.










Maple Sugar on ice is another good taste to our tongues.

To Columbia Icefield

What kind of craft is that with such big tyres?

It is actually a big coach carrying tourists for access to Columbia Icefield on Canadian Rockies, the largest in North America. The coaches that run on rocky roads or on icefield must have bigger and wider tyres to secure safety and avoid skiing. People called them as Ice Explorers (冰原雪車).





















Although the red Ice Explorer looks like a big strange monster on ice, it is relatively small when compared with the icefield. There are altogether 16 such coaches in the world, but those in Alaska are used as transportation of materials only.

魚尾葵 (Fish Tail Palm)

魚尾葵(Caryota ochlandra)是常見的園林植物，屬棕櫚科：
[1] 纖長的樹幹可達高度：3至5米，聚生數枝。

[2] 葉極大，屬二回羽狀複葉，葉的裂片互生，而每一裂片的基部帶黃色及腫脹；裂片偏斜或成不規則扇狀或魚尾形；舊葉凋謝仍會懸掛在樹上。

[3] 春天開花，花單性，雌雄同株，綠色或紫色成序，分枝。有趣的是同株但異花。

[4] 果實呈紫紅色，成渾圓球形。

今次照片所見是有趣的果實及像魚尾的葉。

其特別之處是:
[1] 大堆頭的生長。
[2] 果實長成一串串珠仔一樣。
[3] 這些一串串果實合攏在一起，外型像一些非洲女仕的辮子髮型。
[4] 同株果實可以不同時間成熟 (照片所見，綠色的果實是初生，它們成熟時變紫紅色)。
[5] 像街燈似的掛著，可高可低。

日食之五階段

以下是天文台、HKTVB 及 PChome 提供的資料或照片:

日全食可分為五個階段：

1. 月球圓面剛剛和太陽圓面相接觸時稱為初虧，這時日偏食開始
2. 初虧以後，月球和太陽兩圓面相內切稱為食既，這時日全食開始
3. 月球圓面中心和太陽圓面中心最近時稱為食甚
4. 月球圓面和太陽圓面第二次內切稱為生光，這時日全食結束
5. 生光以後，月球圓面和太陽圓面第二次外切稱為復圓，日偏食結束

這些照片是本世紀最長一次的日全食全部可見到的！


























日環食沒有食既和生光，而有環食始和環食終。

日偏食只有初虧、食甚和復圓。

另外日冕是太陽大氣的最外層，厚度達到幾百萬公里以上。日冕溫度有100萬攝氏度，粒子數密度為1015m-3。在高溫下，氫、氦等原子已經被電離成帶正電的質子、氦原子核和帶負電的自由電子等。這些帶電粒子運動速度極快，以致不斷有帶電的粒子掙脫太陽的重力束縛，射向太陽的外圍。形成太陽風。日冕發出的光比色球層的還要弱。

日冕可人為地分為內冕、中冕和外冕3層。內冕從色球頂部延伸到1.3倍太陽半徑處；中冕從1.3倍太陽半徑到2.3倍太陽半徑，也有人把2.3倍太陽半徑以內統稱內冕。大於2.3倍太陽半徑處稱為外冕（以上距離均從日心算起）。廣義的日冕可包括地球軌道以內的範圍。

根據中國國家空間天氣監測預警中心指出，「貝利珠」會出現兩次，第一次為「食既」，第二次為「生光」。「食既」就是月影剛剛遮住整個太陽，日全食開始，這時有一兩秒鐘的時間可以看到太陽邊緣有一串亮點，這串亮點被稱為「貝利珠」，形成的原因是月亮邊緣凹凸不平的山峰對陽光的散射而形成的。至於生光就是月影剛劃出太陽，這時日全食結束，又開始呈現日偏食，「貝利珠」在這時會再次出現。

銅陵市

中國安徽省銅陵市位於東經線 117 度 50 分 17 秒、北緯線 30 度 56 分 07 秒 交匯點上，在2009年7月22日當天太陽經過的中心線上，所以被選為最佳觀測日全食城市之一。









該市用了一千四百萬人民幣興建仿古的太陽曆廣場，擺放日晷等古代天文儀，可以容納三千人同時觀日食。市玫政府招募了千多名志願工作者去協助市民及遊客。








這件天文盛事令很多中國人民包括香港人湧往日全食帶上的城市，他們其中有參加旅行社安排的觀日團往華東地區如安徽的黃山市和桐城市，當然不少得銅陵市，還有追日族登上武漢遊輪觀賞日食，團費由二千至六千港元都有。去到機場乘飛機往觀日食的大大小小都興奮不已。

日全食帶

昨天我從電視知道有幾個國家的人民如天氣晴朗的話，可以看見今次世紀日全食。

日全食帶由印度開始向西面伸展經過尼泊爾、不丹、孟加拉、緬甸，之後中國西藏、四川、重慶、湖北、浙江、上海等省市。在日本的奄美大島的居民都可以見證這五百年一遇的日全食。

近在咫尺

一直以來，我以為要飛去澳洲才可以見到天堂鳥花。昨天早上經過屋苑樓下花園，突然眼睛帶給我一個開心大發現──唯一一支美艷的天堂鳥花竟然出現在一個圓形花槽上面，這簡直令我難以置信。

今次我不單只可以近距離接觸，甚至可以親自拍攝，更可以用鼻子去嗅嗅它。

這朵花活像一隻有黃色長耳朵，紫色角，綠色長咀一樣的鳥。以上所述等等都不約而同地走成近乎幾何上的直角，奇怪奇怪！

Brunch at Yoshinoya

I alone took a brunch (breakfast + lunch) at a Yoshinoya (吉野家) today. I chose a “small” sized bowl of chicken with rice instead of its famous beef with rice.

It costs only $17 for a bowl with green tea. It is cheap only at breakfast time till 11 a.m. Starting from 11, for the same bowl of rice and cup of tea, the price rises to $27.5. It is just the “lunch and dinner time” business that makes the rice dearer by $10.5. After two o’clock in the afternoon till six, the price goes down again. The price rises again after six during dinner time.

There are usually around five to six pieces of chicken, some carrot slices and broccoli, medium portion of rice with dark sweet sauce. The size of rice together with the vegetable and meat is good enough to feed me to over half-full. I think that is the right amount because I will not feel hungry nor I will feel uncomfortable at my stomach.

Today I heard some soft music played inside the air-conditioned shop. I enjoyed eating in a cool and musical environment. Although I did not understand what the song sung by a Japanese girl was about, the tunes and beats of music could have made me eat with ease of mind. The “free” packet of sour ginger that I asked from the saleslady added much satisfaction to my brunch.

To Feel the Strong Winds of a typhoon

During typhoon signal number “8” or “9”, watching and feeling the strength of gusty winds might be a good thing to these people at Tsimshatsui Star Ferry Pier yesterday.

[1] The strong winds brought sea waves to a great height over the “transparent” railings at the waterfront.

[2] This man stood in a slanting manner, but still he did not fall.

[3] The foreigner in a blue shirt was holding onto a lamp-post to keep himself in position under very strong winds. He was so skilful in keeping the bottle of beer upright in his right hand.

[4] A lady took photos of the man who was holding a “turn-over” umbrella.

[5] Two university students arrived at the waterfront to record the speed of the winds there with their mini wind-speedometer.

[6] Three young men walked against the winds, intentionally fell and rolled themselves in the puddles of water on the ground. They had had great fun in the winds and wetted themselves with rain.