microrobert
12-02-2013, 04:26 AM
Mystery of the leafy TRAMPOLINE: Experts left baffled by bizarre bouncy forest floor discovered in Canada
A forest floor that behaves like a bouncy trampoline has left scientists baffled.
The phenomenon, which is thought to be natural, enables people to bounce upon a patch of earth, but scientists are struggling to explain why the ground is behaving as it is.
A pair of hikers came across the unusual spot close to a river in a forest in St Jerome, Quebec in Canada.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/11/26/51if2.gif
In a video, one of the men bounces on the earth like it is a trampoline, leading people to question whether the video is a hoax.
However, it is thought the phenomenon is natural.
The creator of the video told io9 (http://io9.com/what-the-heck-is-this-natural-trampoline-1471363956) the vegetation around the site is still alive and the earth strong enough to hold ‘many people'.
Some experts believe the cause of the springy ground is a build-up of roots, while others think it could be a dense patch of peat moss.
An expert from Kew Gardens told MailOnline: 'I have heard that some forestry workers falling from trees in temperate old growth forests have survived thanks to the deep layer of organic matter made of part decomposed leaves, fungal mycelium, other fibrous debris, which can absorb the impact of their fall.'
Emeritus Professor Andrew Schofield, from the University of Cambridge’s Geotechnical and Environmental Research Group, told MailOnline that the bouncy ground could possibly be explained by ‘a couple of fallen young trees spanning an hollow, and branches and leaves on top making a platform.
‘It could be not a patch of ground at all - it could be natural and not a deliberate hoax.’
‘If I was out for a walk and came across it I would let my grandchildren see me happy on nature’s trampoline,’ he added.
'I can be pretty certain that that is the most likely reason for the wave effect on the video.'
Another possibility to explain the phenomenon is soil liquefaction, where the ground sucks up a large quantity of water and becomes like an incredible vicious liquid as it is so waterlogged.
But some experts think the conditions do not look like liquefaction, which usually appears like a patch of earth without foliage.
Bizarre bouncy forest floor is discovered in Canada | Mail Online (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2513924/Bizarre-bouncy-forest-floor-discovered-Canada.html#ixzz2mIAM1D00)
A forest floor that behaves like a bouncy trampoline has left scientists baffled.
The phenomenon, which is thought to be natural, enables people to bounce upon a patch of earth, but scientists are struggling to explain why the ground is behaving as it is.
A pair of hikers came across the unusual spot close to a river in a forest in St Jerome, Quebec in Canada.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/11/26/51if2.gif
In a video, one of the men bounces on the earth like it is a trampoline, leading people to question whether the video is a hoax.
However, it is thought the phenomenon is natural.
The creator of the video told io9 (http://io9.com/what-the-heck-is-this-natural-trampoline-1471363956) the vegetation around the site is still alive and the earth strong enough to hold ‘many people'.
Some experts believe the cause of the springy ground is a build-up of roots, while others think it could be a dense patch of peat moss.
An expert from Kew Gardens told MailOnline: 'I have heard that some forestry workers falling from trees in temperate old growth forests have survived thanks to the deep layer of organic matter made of part decomposed leaves, fungal mycelium, other fibrous debris, which can absorb the impact of their fall.'
Emeritus Professor Andrew Schofield, from the University of Cambridge’s Geotechnical and Environmental Research Group, told MailOnline that the bouncy ground could possibly be explained by ‘a couple of fallen young trees spanning an hollow, and branches and leaves on top making a platform.
‘It could be not a patch of ground at all - it could be natural and not a deliberate hoax.’
‘If I was out for a walk and came across it I would let my grandchildren see me happy on nature’s trampoline,’ he added.
'I can be pretty certain that that is the most likely reason for the wave effect on the video.'
Another possibility to explain the phenomenon is soil liquefaction, where the ground sucks up a large quantity of water and becomes like an incredible vicious liquid as it is so waterlogged.
But some experts think the conditions do not look like liquefaction, which usually appears like a patch of earth without foliage.
Bizarre bouncy forest floor is discovered in Canada | Mail Online (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2513924/Bizarre-bouncy-forest-floor-discovered-Canada.html#ixzz2mIAM1D00)