Some 700 million years ago, #Earth would have looked like a blinding white #snowball.
During the #Cryogenian period, from 720 million to 635 million years ago, the Earth was buried by massive ice sheets that marched from the poles to the tropics.
Surface temperatures were as low as -50°C.
Because the bright, white surface of the #planet reflected the Sun’s energy – a phenomenon known as the albedo effect – the Earth remained locked in this extreme climate state for tens of millions of years.
This seems an unlikely cradle for #life, yet new evidence suggests the frozen #ocean featured restricted ice-free oases that provided a lifeline for our earliest complex ancestors.
A Moroccan flag, with a green star on a red background, waves in the wind at dusk on a beach, beside a wooden lifeguard tower and under a blue and purple sky.
Marokańska flaga, z zieloną gwiazdą na czerwonym tle, powiewa na wietrze o zmierzchu na plaży, obok drewnianej wieży ratunkowej i pod błękitno-fioletowym niebem.
Ein weißer Strandkorb steht einladend im Sand am Strand. Im Hintergrund das blaue Wasser der Ostsee unter einem strahlend blauen Himmel. Foto von Karen Kaspar
A white fish mottled with orange feeding at an ocean reef. Its surroundings are rocky but it feeds on a small relatively flat section covered with fine plant-like growth.
**ACHIEVED 2ND PLACE IN FAA CONTEST - Sunrise or Sunset in Australia - September 2025
**ACHIEVED EQUAL 1ST PLACE IN FAA CONTEST ' "Sunrise and Sunset" November 2017
A vivid sunrise over the Pacific Ocean, Bronte Beach, Sydney, NSW, Australia. The sky was an amazing red with the golden sun peeking through and reflecting onto the wet sand.
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Happy #MeerMittwoch! 💙 Sharing two coastal watercolors inspired by the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail in Pacific Grove.
My paintings are available at Moraga Art Gallery. Art lovers in the #BayArea, see "Let the Light In" thru March 15. ☀️ I'm happy to be a featured artist! 🎨 https://moragaartgallery.com
We have a tendency to worship cool, canny, cunning, and clever as attributes to be admired and emulated in our society.
Innocence, we feel, is naive and dumb.
But a world filled with cool, canny, cunning and clever people isn't a beautiful one, and in order to survive in it, innocence has to be wise and strong.
It's not just little kids who throw off their shoes and wade in the surf (actually, little kids don't always remember to remove their shoes, and they jump and hop more than they wade).
But maybe it's the little kids in us that want to feel the soft waves brush against our legs, hear the gentle splash, feel the sheer freedom of bare feet in the sand.
A large tan moray eel pauses in a shallow crevice with its mouth agape. The eel is covered with fine mottled brown spots. It has red sponge above its head.
Pacific Grove Serenity 💙 My new watercolor painting is 22x28 framed, part of a new exhibit at Moraga Art Gallery.
"Let the Light In" runs through March 15. This is one of many coastal paintings I'm showing. Happy to be a featured artist! 🎨 Please visit https://moragaartgallery.com in the #BayArea.
Watercolor painting of a coastal scene. Blue/green water, rocks and ice plant, cliff with large rocks and a pathway. Buildings in the background, blue sky with a few clouds.
Rich navy blues and fluid organic forms create a sense of depth and movement in this moody coastal abstract. Inspired by the unseen currents beneath the surface, the layered textures and flowing lines bring quiet energy and sophistication to modern, coastal, and minimalist spaces.
Inspired by smooth pebbles shaped by time and tide, this coastal abstract blends deep blues, soft grays, and warm sandy tones into a soothing, rhythmic design. The layered textures and gentle contrasts bring a sense of balance and coastal calm, perfect for modern, beach-inspired spaces.
A sea turtle resting on the ocean floor. It has a rounded head, a smooth carapace with barnacles visible on the rear of the shell. It has flattened fins propping up its body. The surrounding ocean floor is covered with coral, debris and rocks.