Honeycomb Weathering - Rock Swiss Cheese

After a very long hiatus (almost a decade I guess) just like geological unconformities, I am back and I am going to make a conscious effort to post at least one blog (my geological encounters) per month. Let see how it goes....

Wondering the reason for the hiatus - Well a lot of things have been happening at my end, and I guess I did not know how to cope, but I am seeking help and this blogs are my effort to get back to my natural self, and keep pinning things that I really love and passionate about - that is to keep learning from the geological record and sharing with people who would like to read my geological rambling.

So I have been looking at some of my fieldwork diaries, and one thing that I came across was the honeycomb weathering patterns on cretaceous Basalts from the western coastal belt of Deccan Volcanic Province.

 Small cavities separated by thin septa of unweathered basalt rock, making it highly porous.

The longer the cheese is fermented, the bigger the eyes or cavities will be. Something similar happens along the rocky coast, where regular onslaught of sea lashing on the rock with long duration of salt spray, sand-laden wave & wind crashing on the rock surface abrades to sculpt a beautiful pattern resembling a honeycomb structure, isn't that cool!! These amazing Swiss 🧀-like patterns are a result of honeycomb weathering a.k.a Tafoni, a form of cavernous weathering that arises from a combination of physical factors such as moisture absorption, marine-laden sand abrasion, wind corrosion and salt crystallization, and chemical processes like oxidation and dissolution acting on rock surfaces, like these basalts along the Konkan rocky shores for very long geological time (post-dating the basalt outpouring of 62 mya). These small cavities separated by thin septa of unweathered rock continue to evolve and when you fast forward time these patterns continue to coalesce to form bigger and more complex cavities. The continued onslaught by salt, wind, and waves abrades the surface forming cavities sometimes as big as 0.8 meters wide. 

The small cavities coalesce into bigger ones over time by the continued battering of physical and chemical agents. 

Just as bees meticulously construct hexagonal cells to efficiently store honey and pollen, natural processes like wind, water, and chemical weathering act on basalt to create these distinctive patterns. Most importantly, when extensive patterns exist they provide storage for freshwater in otherwise impervious hard rock basalts along the coastal belt, and is a source aquifer rock for natural springs along the coast. Also, these cavities are also home to many crustaceans along the rocky beaches of western Konkan plains.

A closer look at the honeycomb structure. (Telescopic leveling rod for scale)

Disclaimer: So if you see such patterns next time on a rock thinking of it as a 🧀 because I said so, and risk of biting into it. I can not guarantee the structural integrity of your 🦷. Cheers! 🤓😆

Biodiversity at its best: My Neighbours

Living at the edge of a forest that has taken approx. 30 yrs to regrow by itself from a barren land to a forest thriving with life and providing a unique habitat for a diverse kinds of living organisms. By the way the forest I am talking about lies just at the foothills of the famous Panchgani tableland. 

It has been one year and four months of an amazing experience living at the edge of a living forest with creatures that are so incredible and beautiful to watch. Though not a wildlife expert at documenting the rich biodiversity that this small patch of forest holds, I have made a humble attempt to note down things that I have been seeing every day since my stay at Panchgani. Experiencing the entire weather of the year out here and noticing certain organisms being found only in a particular month or season and then not to see the same insects or birds in the rest of the months is so intriguing and leaves me with big questions like - WHY & HOW? With the help field guides like Birds of the Indian Subcontinent (Richard Grimmett et al), the book of Indian animals (Prater), Snakes of India: The field Guide (Romulus Whitaker & Ashok Captain) and many online resources; like this one was really helpful - www.indiabirds.com a good tool for identification of birds.

Below is the list of diverse fauna from insects, mammals, amphibians, reptiles to birds; documented from October 2011 until the date of this post and the list is growing even though I post this exhaustive list now. I  hope this list is helpful to appreciate and accept that we are not alone and we share our surrounding with some of the most beautiful creatures that are so essential for the functioning of the ecosystem. Our approach so far in management of our environment or its resources like forest or water have always been anthropocentric forgetting we also need this creatures to complete what we call our Earth - a Home for all. This list will remind us to share our resources with creatures that too have important role in the environment just like we think 'we do'.

Avifauna: (104 Birds)

Red-whiskered Bulbul (emeria)

Red-vented Bulbul (humayuni)

Square-tailed Bulbul (Hypsipetes (leucocephalus) ganeesa)

Great Tit (Parus major)

Indian Yellow Tit (Parus (xanthogenys) aplonotus)

Brown-headed Barbet (caniceps)

Coppersmith Barbet

Jungle Bush Quail

Common Quail

Red Spurfowl

Rose-ringed Parakeet

Small Minivet (malabaricus, cinnamomeus)

Orange Minivet (Pericrocotus flammeus)

Black Drongo

White-bellied Drongo (leucopygialis?)

Indian Peafowl

Asian Paradise-flycatcher

Red-breasted Flycatcher/ Red-throated Flycatcher

White-spotted Fantail

White-browed Fantail

Indian Nightjar

Indian Scimitar Babbler (horsfieldii)

Tawny-bellied Babbler (hyperythra)

Jungle Babbler

Malabar Lark

Pied Bushchat

Oriental White-eye

Common tailor bird

Pale bellied flowerpecker

Purple-rumped Sunbird

Purple Sunbird

Vigor’s Sunbird

Loten’s Sunbird

Black-winged Kite/ Black-shouldered Kite

Black Kite

Crested Serpent Eagle

Laggar Falcon

Oriental Magpie Robin

Indian Robin (fulicatus)

Common Pigeon

Spotted Dove

Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus)

Laughing Dove

Asian Koel

Southern Coucal

Indian Scops Owl

Red Rumped Swallow

Wire-tailed Swallow

Dusky Crag Martin

Jungle Myna (fuscus)

Common Myna

Greenish Warbler

Blyth’s Reed Warbler

Indian Jungle Crow

House Crow

Grey-breasted Prinia (hodgsonii)

Indian Grey hornbill

White-throated Kingfisher

Malabar Whistling Thrush

Rufous Treepie

Green Bee-eater

Long-tailed Shrike

White-browed wagtail

Scaly-breasted Munia (Lonchura punctulata)

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)

Common Woodshrike

Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)

Indian Pond Heron (Ardeola bacchus)

Cattle Egret (Bubulus ibis)

Baya Weaver (Ploceus philippinus)

Indian Blackbird (Tardus nigropileus)

Black hooded Oriole (Oriolus xanthornus)

Crested Bunting

Red-wattled Lapwing

Green Warbler [Phylloscopus( trochiloides) nitidus]

Indian Bushlark

Yellow crowned Woodpecker

Indian Golden Oriole

Orange-headed Thrush (cyanotus)

Indian Blackbird (Tardus merula nigropileus)

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow-eyed Babbler (Chrysomma sinense)

Tytler’s Leaf Warbler

Black Eagle (Ictinaetus malayensis)

Grey Wagtail

Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)

Ashy Drongo (Dicrurus leucophaeus)

Western Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus occipitalis)

Ultramarine Flycatcher

Verditer Flycatcher

Black-headed Ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus)

Tawny Eagle (Aquila rapax)

Southern Grey Shrike (Lanius meridionalis)

Greater Short-toed Lark

Shaheen Falcon

Yellow-footed Green Pigeon

Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus)

Crested Hawk Eagle (Nisaetus cirrhatus)

Common Hawk Cuckoo (Hierococcyx varius)

White-cheeked Barbet (Megalaima viridis)

Common Iora

Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus)

Indian Roller (Coracias benghalensis)

Oriental Skylark (Alauda gulgula)

Reptiles: 

Phipsons Shield Tail

Spotted yellow Wolf Snake

Common Krait

Indian Cobra

Travancore Wolf Snake

Rat Snake

Montane Trinket Snake

Large-scaled Sheildtail

Beddome’s Cat Snake

Mahabaleshwar Shield tail

Indian Rock Python (This one I should mention, that I saw this swallowing a Red-vented Bulbul whole. Though caught it on my mobile camera but didn't come out so clear)

Green Keelback

Elliot’s Sheildtail

Amphibians:

Skink

Geckos (Deccan Banded Gecko)

Frogs

Toads

Monitor Lizard

Garden Lizard

Mammals: 

Indian Chevrotain/ Mouse-Deer

Bonnet Macaque

Common Langur (Presbytis entellus)

Common Mongoose

Wild Pigs

Hare

Bats

Indian Porcupine (Hystrix indica)

Indian Field Mouse

Indian mole rat

Three striped Palm Squirrel (Funambulus palmarum)

Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata)

Insects:

Butterflies

Moths

Ants

Termites

Glow worms

Slugs

Caterpillar

Earthworms

Honeybee

Flies
Dragon fly

Bumblebee

Centipede

Garden Spider

Wolf Spider

Cicada

Dung beetle

Rhinoceros Beetle

Shovel-headed Beetle

Diving Beetle

Cockroaches

Millipedes

Ticks

Earwig

The photos below will give you a small view into the list I am talking about. Had I had my own camera, I would have posted more photos. Well, special thanks to my workplace and others for providing me with the photos. 

I will be glad if anyone can identify this snake. Looks to me a cobra with the spectacle-mark on its back but this one was quite different then the other snakes that i have seen so far (some say it is a Rat snake). It lie dead on one of the road sides inside the campus in the night (Photo credit: Aparna Shrivastava)

The Rhinoceros Beetle

The Shovel Beetle (P.S This and the picture above belong to the same family but have different tools on their head)

The shiny insect (anyone to name it differently or give me its scientific name, please feel free)

Butterfly caterpillar (Photo Credit: Rachel Jacobson)

This hairy worm is seen only in winter from Dec to Jan (Slugs in the monsoon, this hairy worm in winter and now what I see around is a worms with black hair, quite amazing different timings for these worms to make their short lived dominion known)

Giant centipede (out hunting in the night)

Bee's nest (honeycomb) on an Eucalyptus tree

Phipson's Shieldtail (this guy didn't like that I took it on a stick)

Phipson's Shieldtail (Uropeltis phipsonii) -  the moment I left it on the ground it started digging to move down the ground 

Travancore Wolf Snake

Orange Minivet - Female (Pericrocotus flammeus). (Photo Credit: Anandi Gandhi)

Orange Minivet - Male (Pericrocotus flammeus). These birds are seen in groups of 4 to 5 in the morning and esp in the evening (Photo Credit: Anandi Gandhi)

Garden lizard giving the right pose in front of the camera

Red-breasted Flycatcher

The majestic Asian Paradise Flycatcher and my favorite bird.

Red Whiskered Bulbul

Scary spider (I must mention here that there are so many different spiders out here and  new spiders seen every week.  I would suggest someone comes out here and does a proper research on spiders -  a good place to identify new one and document them)

White-cheeked Barbet (This guy crashed on to my window,  tried to put on water to revive his strength but ended up hitting another window when it tried to fly and then finally took off).  

Skink

I call it a Showel worm (It is interesting to note out here is that worms and insects that i have noticed have interesting tools on their head to dig through the ground. If some one knows a better name please let me know)

Anyone to give name to this  interesting creature. Found laid under soil rich with moisture and other small insects (Coin is for scale)

Black Moth 1

Moth 2 (Night time is the time of the moths)

Butterfly

Deccan Banded Gecko seen on one of my night treks

Praying mantis

Cat-legged spider (two of its leg not in place)

Was almost 2 meters long with its head into the cement bags, didn't want to disturb it so was not able to see its head. But it is a Rat snake

Common Krait on the table land on one of my night treks

Toad

Black-shouldered Kite

Indian roller (Photo Credit: Aparna Shrivastava)

Green Bee-eater (Photo Credit: Rachel Jacobson)

Pretty looking Butterfly

Millipede

Two Common Langur (Presbytis entellus) staring at  me when taking their photo.

Two cricket's sitting on a tree branch, was not that easy to spot them especially their body completely blending with the colour of the branch. I was able to spot them by fine tuning my ear to their sound.

White-throated Kingfisher (Photo Credit: Rachel Jacobson)

Quite common to see them early mornings and in the evening with their melodious sound - Pied Bushchat (Photo Credit: Rachel Jacobson)

Special thanks to Dr. Girish Jathar (Orinthologist) for going through the list and correcting some of my errors.

The mountains are getting burnt & degraded

   Fire is one of the important force that has shaped the Human civilization, it was approximately around 400 million years ago that fire first appeared and the key to this transformation was vegetation. Land plants that had just appeared provided fuel for fire that took in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and pumped back large quantities of oxygen; providing the second most essential ingredient for fire - oxygen, brought about by the process of photosynthesis. The triggering of a wild fire was the lightning, that gave in mankind's hand fire to keep warm and to survive harsh cold winters. 

   The notion that fire can be a useful tool became known to early humans when they first took advantage of fire’s effects on the African savannas several million years ago to manipulate vegetation and wildlife. The threat that fire posed to their security and livelihoods was likely obvious to these early people too. As humankind spread throughout the world, they created new fire regimes that continued to shape and modify landscapes. There also continued to be fires that destroyed homes, crops, livestock and other resources. There has always been these “two faces of fire”—beneficial fire and detrimental fire.*1 

   Fire has become a conservation issue because many areas around the world depend on fire to maintain native species, habitats and landscapes. These are fire-dependent ecosystems. Conversely, there are other areas where fire can lead to the destruction or loss of native species and habitats. These areas are called fire-sensitive ecosystems. Services provided by ecosystems such as clean air, clean water and healthy and productive soils can be affected negatively or positively by fire depending on the adaptations of the species and other characteristics of the environment, and on how often and how intensely an area burns. These facts are just beginning to come to light in the relatively new science of fire ecology.*2

   But the wild fires in and around Panchgani, situated along the western Ghats are mostly caused by anthropogenic reasons every year creating degraded soils and loss of rich biodiversity. These are fire-sensitive  ecosystem which can have adverse effects on  the soil, native vegetation and fauna. Here fire is caused by naked flame, cigarette or bidi, electric spark or any source of ignition coming into contact with dry grass or inflammable material. The wild fire almost cook the soil reaching 100 to 150 degree celsius destroying the topmost fertile soil and making it hydrophobic soils - causing erosion.

   There are many reasons as to why people burn the dry grass even though being aware of the harm caused by wild fire or Vanva. One of the reason being the belief that if they burn the old grasses new set of fresh grasses will take its place which is not true, it is rather more poor and less nutritive ones that take its place that is to say less sensitive to fire. Such fire destroys also the rich seed bank in the shallow soil that is necessary for the growth of vegetation. 

   The other being, it requires less time or human effort to clear tall grasses making the path visible especially when you want to go to your field but in this way a lot of important organisms are destroyed which has its own functions in the ecosystem and also giving rise to accelerated erosion carrying away essential fertile soil and not allowing water to percolate into the ground resulting in decreased groundwater table. The burning of vegetation gives off not only carbon dioxide but also a host of other, noxious gases (green house gases) such as carbon monoxide, methane, hydrocarbons, nitric oxide and nitrous oxide, that lead to global warming and ozone layer depletion. 

   I see people today are not keen on growing grass or other native trees that preserves or restores back the ecosystem or the flow at the spring source. It is driven nowadays by external economic factors of industrialization and urbanization. We tend to forget that we can never give back to nature, it is the nature that provides. Our only role is to conserve and preserve it. I am reminded of an African proverb that fits quite well here.

"The world is not ours, the earth is not ours , it is a treasure we hold in trust for future generation"  

Rich in biodiversity and a pristine forest located on the opposite side of the valley
(Reserved Forest Land).
 Location Kamalgad, Wai

Springs originating in forest land. Location Kamalgad, Wai  

Recent forest fire in Panchgani where flames reached also the crown of the tree and shrubs.

Surface fire burning dry leaves, twigs and grasses destroying many animal habitats.

These very image was a lush and thick shrubby and grassy area -  a habitat for the Jungle fowl and Jungle Bush Quail destroyed completely by fire.

Huge burned patches seen in black colour  near Panchgani. 

Degraded and barren slope before the wild fire, near Dhoom Dam, Wai (May 2012)

After the wild fire, near Dhoom Dam, Wai (June 2012) 

Reference:

*1,2 Ronald L Myers (2006): Living with Fire— Sustaining Ecosystems & Livelihoods Through Integrated Fire Management, The Nature Conservancy