Jurien Bay - paradise on dunes

J2rgnev lyhike pajatus tuleb sellest, kuidas me novembri l6pus n2dala jagu v2litoid tegime sellises ilusas kohas nagu Jurien Bay, mis asub ca. 200 km Perthist p6hjas. Below is a short tale of a weeks worth fieldwork at the end of November in Jurien Bay, which is about 200 kms N of Perth along the coast, where i did a bit of a volunteering for university people over here. K6ik pildid on tehtud Lili Wei poolt. All pics were done by Lili Wei.

 Vapustav vaade India ookeanile rannikult ja kohast, kus meil oli l6unapaus too vahepeal. Amazing view on Indian ocean from the coast and the spot where we had our smoko.

 Sellest, miks me seal v2litoid tegime, ma pikemalt r22kima ei hakka, aga kokkuv6ttes v6ib oelda, et Jurien Bay liivadyynide systeem on v2ga huvitav ja teadlaste poolt veel p6himotteliselt uurimata. Teada on, et rannikult sisemaale on tekkinud umbes 10 kilomeetri pikkune erineva vanuseastmega dyynide j2rjestus, milledest vanim, Bassendeani liivadyyn, ulatub ligi 2 miljoni ja rohkemgi aastani. Noorim liivadyyn rannikul on Quindalup ja vahepealne aste noorima ja vanima vahel on Spearwoodi liivadyyn. Olenevalt liivadyyni vanuseastmelt on leitud, et nii mullaviljakus kui ta taimede kompositsioon ja liigirikkus varieerub tugevalt. Iseenesest k6lab see m6nev6rra loogiliselt, eksole, kuid kuidas t2pselt on taimestik kujunenud nendel liivadyynidel ja veel t2psemalt, miks on ta nii kujunenud, on kogu selle too eesm2rgiks, mida me tegime.  

It would take too long and too much space to exactly explain what we were doing there, but in summary our interest was related to the research connected with studies on the veg and soil in the dune chronosequence in Jurien Bay. It is well known that along the 10 km transect going from the coast towards inland one can observe an unique sequence of dunes based on their age. The youngest being the Quindalup dune, the middle being the Spearwood and the oldest apparently a ~ 2 million and more years old Bassendean dune. The vegetation and soil conditions change drastically based on the dune age, as one would predict and expect. However many questions remain, including which mechanisms have exactly shaped the composition and diversity of the plants there.

Pealel6una pausi koht. The afternoon smoko spot. Crazy skies?




Vanem liivadyyn. Older dune.

Noorem liivadyyn. Young dune.

Vapper dyynidel ronija varustus kaelas :D Miks ma tagurpdi ylespoole k6nnin? Sest et parasjagu oli dyynil "natuke" tuuline, p2ris liivatorm veel polnud, aga asi arenes sinna poole vist kyll.  A brave dune conquerer, i'm walking backwards towards the top because of the increasing winds coming from far ahead. Was fun though!
 

All olev pilt demonstreerib minu osalust masina v2lja saamisel kuivanud soolaj2rvest :D Siin pildil lasen ma kummidest 6hku v2lja, et rattad paremini kinni j22ksid selle oranzi platvormi kylge, mis kummi all. Aga kogu lugu algas siis sellega, kui otsustasime minna pausi pidama kuivanud soolaj2rvele, peaaegu, et selle keskele. Nimelt arvasime j2rvele peale vaadates, et on piisavalt kuiv kyll ja seega ohutu. Kui me aga j2rve peale s6itsime ja umbes 15 minutit toda ilu silmapiiril nautisime ja siis tagasi maale s6ita yritasime, hakkasid rattad muda sees keerlema. Okooo.... :D 6nneks boss oli selliseks ootamatuseks h2sti valmistunud, st. omas igasugust silmapimestavat tehnikat, mille eesti keelset nime ma ei teagi ( exhaust jack?) ja juba umbes tunni p2rast peale edasi-tagasi s6itmist ja 3kordset taktika muutust saime v2lja! :-) Oli p6nev! Nyyd on mul hea ettekujutus sellest, kuidas yhte dziipi mudast v2lja saada!

The picture below illustrates my contribution towards getting our 4WD out from the saltlake :D I am trying to reduce the tire pressure there. The whole "famous" story of how we got bogged in the middle of the salt lake goes something like this: after visually expecting the saltlake for smoko purposes and deeming it suitable we drove on it and stopped almost in the middle of it. However after a 15 min brake and a stand still we couldn't move forward nor backward since we got bogged in the mud. Luckily, our supervisor had enough experience and good equipment ready to get us out of there. However it did take about an hour to get eventually out after trying various methods and techniques. Was a pretty exciting experience and i'm glad i was part of it since it was like a free 4wd survival course that i might need one day ;-)






Loodan aga, et sel talvel keegi kuhugi lumme ja mujale kinni ei j22 ja teil k6igil saab olema rahulik j6uluaeg.
I hope that all the northern hemisphereans will not get bogged in the snow this winter and have a peaceful Christmas instead! ;-)

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