#dneiper

Abstract Art

Astronaut Thomas Pesquet captured this photo of the floodplain of the Dneiper River north of Kiev from the viewing station in the International Space Station in early February with the waters partially covered by snow and ice. The main, largest channel hosts the river that in normal years migrates back and forth by eroding away at its channels, forming a path that becomes gradually more sinuous. Eventually, the channel becomes so sinuous that it breaks through the channel walls and finds a shorter, path, abandoning the arcing meander it formed off to the side. Several of these abandoned, sinuous meanders can be spotted in this photograph – when they are still filled with water they become stagnant and form lakes called “oxbow lakes” (another of my favorite terms).

Interestingly, there’s a pattern of linear streaks from the upper left to the lower right in this image that seems defined only by the white of the snow. I can’t tell if that is an artifact of the motion of the Space Station or of a strong wind direction moving the snow and ice around.

-JBB

Image credit: https://flic.kr/p/QVpSfp