Currently, in Big Basin State Park, the reservation-only parking lot is covered with a substance that looks like an oily sheen, and has a "sulfur-like" smell in some areas.

Visitors have shared their thoughts about the smell, and many think it's a human-made event (like leakage from an old septic tank, etc.).
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What is it? What are its characteristics? What does it remind us of?  Staff are currently gathering observations. Uncovering a mystery is always exciting, and challenges one's assumptions, and patience.
 

Here's what we know:

1. Water bubbles out from underground at the interface of crushed rock/soil and the edge of the parking lot asphalt. The entire portion of this lot is covered with "slime."  Video of parking lot
2. It has been observed during the rainy season, and dries up in early summer into early fall.
3. It breaks apart like glass if you poke it with a stick. (Oil doesn't do this.) 
4. In sunshine, it displays a rainbow-like sheen.
5. Many areas appear to have an orange-rusty appearance. (Iron?)
6. Some areas have a sulfur-like smell. (Bacteria-eating iron?)
7. We're not sure this occurred before the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex Fire.  All structures in this vicinity were burned, and the parking lot is new.

According to Justine Dees, a PhD in microbiology, bacteria living in water or sediments can change the form of metals like iron, manganese, and copper. 1 Some bacteria can change iron from a solid to dissolved, and back to solid again. Crazy, right?! Some bacteria ferment while growing…thus the stink!" "Microbial diversity also responds to changes in environmental variables, such as sun, temperature, and location." 2

The image below shows the shiny rainbow colors. If this is biofilm, it meets the characteristics of floating on top and ‘shattering' like glass when disturbed.  Stay tuned. The mystery of the post-fire, redwood forest, with a slimy parking lot, has yet to be uncovered!

Coast redwoods (sequoia sempervirens) are some of the most unique and versatile tree species on Earth. Their ancestors have been on the planet for around 245 million years! How do organisms survive this long?  How do plants and animals adapt over a gazillion years? They must mutate! Let's look at some mutations that are visually very odd!

In the image above, it looks like a redwood tree growing off another redwood tree. The living tissue of the cambium layer (beneath the bark) contains unsprouted bud tissue that carries the tree's genetic material. So when the branch sprouts, in some circumstances, it begins to grow like another tree, moving upward toward the sun.

Nearly white-leaved albinos are another mutation. They are that way because of a rare genetic mix-up. The tree and its needles lack chlorophyll. They survive largely as parasites, mooching off the parent tree with which they share roots. They also contain heavy metals like cadmium, copper, and nickel.

What causes horizontal wavy ridges or curls on the bark and interior of a few coastal redwoods? 
Don’t know. Most likely it's a genetic mutation. These patterns can also be seen by neighboring redwood trees growing out of the same root system (clonal group).

What plant has the most base pairs?
The itty bitty fern called Tmesipteris oblanceolata, pictured below. It has a whopping 160 billion base pairs in its DNA. ​The redwood has 26.5 base pairs in its DNA.

The researchers collected T. oblanceolata from the island nation of New Caledonia. It’s just a few inches tall. 

Fungi sense and respond to various stimuli such as light, chemicals, and touch. A relatively new discovery indicates they also have a connection to sound. Low frequency sounds seem to increase productivity of plants.
Sound waves can be used to stimulate growth of mycorrhizal fungi in the soil to enhance plant growth. ​It is the mycelium, those tiny white hairy tendrils, that responds to sound waves. 
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Well, I broke up with Twitter, lost interest in Pinterest, and Instagram is insufferable. I'm still getting hammered with clothing ads. Instead of dress for success, I now dress for stress-free living...give me more nature!
In November I joined a new social media platform called Post (think micro-blogging) that was launched by the former founder of Waze. It's kinda like leaving the social media freeway and being redirected through neighborhoods, except you get to know the neighbors! Post.News is going to open to everyone soon and hopefully their values of "Real People, Real News, and Civil Conversations" will continue. OK, I may be overly optimistic. But it's worth hanging around to see if civility wins. On Post @Francine_VM

A short hike turned into a science experience today. This is the inside of a downed coast redwood where part of the clonal group split off and tore apart on its way down into the creek. You can see a different view of the sheaths (aka rings) that transport water up from the roots. There’s a tiny spider interested as well. Also, check out the swirl patterns. Because the heartwood is extremely decay resistant, and resistant to disease, this fallen tree will keep its carbon out of the atmosphere for a long time. Read about non-timber values of tall redwoods.