I’ll be posting again soon, including a long one on the Finkielkraut debate. In the meantime, here’s a photo of the sandstorm that just hit the Israeli Negev from Sinai at a speed of about 60 kph (40 mph). These photos were taken from an altitude of 8,000 ft. the sand wall was about 4,000 ft high moving from the west to the east. (Hattip: Eviathar ben Zedeff)
Symbol of the oncoming assault of the West by Islamism? Symbol of an impressive-seeming power which nonetheless passes with minimal damage primarily caused to those who do not heed the warnings? Awesome demonstration of the wonders of nature? Your opinion is as good as mine.
Do you have a link for the photos?
Comment by Yehudit — May 13, 2007 @ 3:28 pm
Sometimes a sandstorm is just a sandstorm…
but how much semiotic fun is that? - rl
Comment by Joe Donkey — May 13, 2007 @ 7:06 pm
Here’s another one:
The Morning Glory cloud sweeps in over the Gulf coast of northern Queensland
Library > Reference > Wikipedia
Morning glory cloud
The Morning Glory cloud in Australia’s Gulf of Carpentaria is one of the most spectacular meteorological phenomena in the world. One kilometre high and stretching from horizon to horizon it is a massive pressure wave in the atmosphere that is still not well understood despite many research projects. The scientific term for the Glory is a Soliton.
In 1989 Rob Thompson and Russell White first soared a glider on the Morning Glory, riding it just like a surfboard rider does on an ocean wave. Since then they have been back many times and have been able, on occasions to surf along the cloud for hundreds of kilometres.
Rob works in the film and television industry and over the years has accumulated many hours of stock library video footage of the Morning Glory and the Gulf region. Samples of this film are available for download at www.aerialvideo.com.au and Russell has a collection of excellent still images at his web site
The best vantage point to see Australia’s Morning Glory is from Burketown in the remote Far North Queensland around September and October. Towns in this part of the world are small and a long way apart and Burketown has an influx of glider and hang-glider pilots at this time of year so it can be difficult to get accommodation if you don’t have your own camping gear. www.aerialvideo.com.au has a page with tourist links.
Similar spectacular Morning Glory type roll clouds have also been reported to occasionally happen off the Mexican coast in the Sea of Cortez. The phenomenon has also been observed from Sable Island, a small Canadian island located 180 km southwest of Nova Scotia. In contrast to Australia’s Gulf of Carpentaria where the Morning Glory cloud is visible in the morning, the cloud has a predilection to hit the island in the early evening.
External links
* Aerial Video Australia has downloadable video of the Morning Glory
* DropBears.com on the Morning Glory phenomenon, with aerial photos of the cloud.
* hang glider soaring hang gliding on the Morning Glory phenomenon, with aerial photos and videos of the cloud.
* ABC Australia with images of soaring the Morning Glory.
* Cloud Appreciation Society Article on the Morning Glory, images, and video.
* Sable Island Green Horse Society Sable Island: Morning Glory Cloud
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Comment by Dillweed — May 13, 2007 @ 9:36 pm
Israel’s mechanistic storm of the soul
Dust storm (Hamsin) approaching, Ein Gedi, Israel [Click for larger image]
Judith a…
Trackback by Exit Zero — May 14, 2007 @ 8:19 am
[…] et, Strange Things to See by JB
This is a photo of a sandstorm that recentl […]
Pingback by This Is A Sandstorm, And It Will Make You Pee In Your Pants : SKIRMISHER — May 14, 2007 @ 8:22 am
Islamism? i dont think so. I mean…first of all true Islam has nothing to do with the idea of Islamism.
Speaking simply about nature, sandstorms are a fantastic example of cleansing. Heres an interesting idea for you. Muslims perform a cleansing every time they pray called wudu. They use water wash hands and face etc. When there is a water shortage. They use dust, and its called Tayamum. Its proven the dust also cleanses skin. So maybe a sandstorm is Tayamum on a large scale…either way, its breathtaking.
Comment by Anon — January 25, 2008 @ 4:01 pm
I’ve never seen any photographs like that before! Very interesting! Thanks for sharing : ]
Comment by Jenna — August 7, 2008 @ 8:35 am