In the article, “Lake That Turns Animals to Stone? Not Quite,” the author, Marc Lallanilla exposes this serene lake in Tanzania that is the source of some of the most fantastic photographs ever taken. In these photos, it looks as though living animals have summarily turned into stone, however, that is not the case. The alkaline water in Lake Natron has pH as high as 10.5 and is so caustic it can burn the skin and eyes of animals that aren’t adapted to it. The water’s alkalinity comes from the sodium carbonate and other minerals that flow into the lake form the surrounding mountains. Despite these deceiving photographs, the animal didn’t turn into stone and die after coming into contact with the lake’s water. This lake can actually support a complex ecosystem of salt marshes, freshwater wetlands, flamingos and other wetland birds, tilapia and the algae on which large flocks of flamingoes feed.
The photographer, Brandt, who is famous for capturing these wonderful photos claims, “I unexpectedly found the creatures washed up along the shoreline of Lake Natron
No one knows for certain exactly how they die, but the water has an extremely high soda and salt content, so high that it would strip the ink off my Kodak film boxes within a few seconds.” This photographer took these dead animals and repositioned them to make them look as if they were living. He claims that he made them “reanimated, alive again in death.” Sadly, the serenity of Lake Natron and its flamingo population are threatened by a proposed hydroelectric power plant on the Ewaso Ngiro River.
Although I found this article to be very interesting and different to learn about, it was not informative enough. For instance, the author never exposed to the reader what the real cause of the animals’ death was, and that left a very big gap in the overall story.
http://www.livescience.com/40135-photographer-rick-brandt-lake-natron.html
Lake That Turns Animals to Stone? Not Quite." LiveScience.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.
I read the review of the article posted by Mr. Ippolito on behalf of a current student. The article, titled “Lake That Turns Animals to Stone? Not Quite,” about a lake in Tanzania that has a very high pH content. I really liked how the reviewer summarized the content of the article. Even though I did not actually read the article, I understood the topic from just reading the review. I also liked how the reviewer criticized the author of the article about the lack of information given about how the animals die. Another good aspect of this review was that the reviewer included details about the possible environmental problems that this lake would face in the coming years.
ReplyDeleteOne part that I did not like was that the reviewer did not do more research on his own as to why the animals died. He does mention that the animals died, and he does not know why. However, the reviewer did not do further independent research on the root cause of the death. Another slightly negative part of the review was the photos of the stone animals are described in depth, but there is no picture accompanying the review which would definitely add to the assignment.
I am very interested in the types of animals that can survive in such an intense habitat. What domain are they in? And what enables them to survive where other organisms cannot?
I read the review of the article “Lake that Turns Animals to Stone? Not Quite.”, posted by Mr. Ippolito on behalf of another student. I found this review very interesting and well written. Most of the review was very well presented and informative. First, the author of this review describes the chemical aspect behind the mysteries of this lake. I found this very interesting because I took AP Chemistry last year, and unfortunately, chemistry in nature was not something we focused on. The reviewer did a great job of incorporating the chemical aspect of this lake into the summary of the article as a whole. In addition, the reviewer incorporated interesting and fun examples of the lake that sparked the readers’ interest. For example, the reviewer states “No one knows for certain exactly how they die, but the water has an extremely high soda and salt content, so high that it would strip the ink off my Kodak film boxes within a few seconds.” This ‘fun fact’ about Kodak film boxes helps keep the reader alert and focused, and makes the article more relatable and allows us to put chemical and biological ideas into perspective. Lastly, the reviewer discusses the photographical aspect that this lake offers. Even though this article focuses mostly on biology and chemistry, there is a presence of artistic influence when the reviewer discusses the photos that accompanied the article. I found this to be extremely interesting because it gives the reader a visual to pair with the chemical and biological information.
ReplyDeleteEven though this review had great structure and content, there are two specific places that I feel could have been improved. First, the reviewer mentions the photographer positioning dead animals and taking pictures of them, but it is not prompted by anything and not followed by any explanation. We are never told how these animals die and we are never told why the photographer is doing such a bazaar thing. I think that the reviewer should have elaborated on this because it left the readers feeling confused and lost. Secondly, the reviewer did not explain the significance of the title, as I would have liked. The title states that the animals turned to stone, when really, throughout the review, the writer does not mention any animals turning to stone or really explain why the title says this. I think that the review should have explained this strange title and described why it was logically used in this context.
One thing that surprised me about this article was that the water’s alkalinity comes from the sodium carbonate and other minerals that flow into the lake form the surrounding mountains. I was unaware that sodium carbonate could cause a body of water to become so basic prior to reading this review. Overall, this review was very informative and interesting to read.