Spurn cycles

Earlier on I mentioned that I’m looking into the phases of the moon and the rhythm of the tides at Spurn. Now I found out that not only the moon is waxing and waning but that Spurn is cyclic as well: "[Spurn] is a fluid feature, it is thought to undergo a life cycle of some 250 years, during which it gets destroyed, is reborn some metres further westward, stabilises, and then is destroyed again."

The story in more detail: Spurn is built by the sands and gravels eroded from the Holderness cliffs. These cliffs north of the peninsula recede about 2 meters per year. The eroded material is transported south by longshore drift. It forms a spit in lee with the coast line.
Later, when the north easterly waves eat further into the coast, Spurn itself becomes exposed and prone to erosion. It seems that the peninsula has been washed away in a cycle of about 250 years. It then reformed west of its former position to keep pace with the erosion of the cliffs.

Another more recent theory by the Institute of Estuarine and Coastal Studies suggests that only the link to the Holderness coast has changed. The tip of Spurn Point is anchored to glacial moraines dumped after the last ice age. So, it should be stable.*

Who knows? Probably Spurn will keep some of its secrets.
(amended 21 July)

*From: 'Sailing the Rails' by H. M. Frost

Another trial

I replaced the threaded polystyrene balls (see "Watching the tides") with another foam like substance: popcorn - a biodegradable form of polystyrene I thought.

At low tide (2:22pm) the sea looked very quiet. At about 3pm I marked the edge of the water with two sticks: to hold the thread and mark the water level (image 1).

The tide started to come in again and the waves showed their full power: image 2 and 3. The threaded popcorn looked nothing but fragile - it jammed and was torn apart.

After about forty minutes the water level was high enough to submerge the sticks - a last bit of the floating thread still swimming with the waves: image 4. It will eventually get loose and float away.


I got a big laugh for this from my companion. - Well... this is how my work develops.

Drawn by the wind

Drawings in the sands of Spurn made by wind and water. (Negatives)

Caterpillars

A friend from Leeds, Max, came over to Hull and together we visited Spurn yesterday.
The sand at the Point was full of caterpillars. Some of them were on the edge of the water and seemed to be keen to get into it. Others tried to climb a sandy slope and reach the grass above. Max filmed their Sisyphus-like struggle. It was a pointless task: when we looked again 3½ hours later they were still at the same spot but didn't move anymore... Though they left their mark - on the skin of my neck. Some of their tiny poisonous hairs must have been flying about. They can cause rashes. They did and it itches.

More about caterpillars on Spurn or here's a video.
Images of: Brown Tail Moth & caterpillar

Cotidal lines in the North Sea

Also in April I read a book about how lunar cycles influence living organisms: "Moon Rhythms in Nature" by K-P Endres & W Schad. There I found this map which shows how tidal waves in the North Sea move counterclockwise in circles. High tide runs along the east coast from Edinburgh to Bridlington. An hour later it arrives on Spurn to then turn eastwards to another continent - to the shores of Holland, Germany and Denmark - da capo al fine.

It's rainy

April provided excellent weather to stay inside and read. For instance some articles about climatic change in a German scientific journal (Forschung & Lehre 2/07). The texts are written in a sober style which I found good to read. I remember hearing some of this some twenty years ago in a physics lecture. One writer compares the task ahead of us with tiding the Augean Stables or rather that the Augean Stables are a perfume shop compared with what lies ahead of us.
I think there is a social aspect in all of this as well. It has something to do with the rapid technological development over the past 100 to 150 years and that humans - morally and emotionally - are barely able to keep pace. "The problem is not the atom bomb, but the heart of the people" Einstein said.

In a dialogue with F Mennekes Beuys states:
"[…] The only thing that is worth elevating is the human soul. I now mean “soul” in the extensive way[...] not only emotional life, but also the powers of realization, the capability of thought, intuition, inspiration, I-consciousness, and the power of the will. All these are phenomena which have been seriously damaged in our day.* They must be saved. Consequently, everything else is saved anyway. Without these very thoughts it makes no sense so to say, to try and grow better potatoes."
Beuys on Christ. A Position in Dialogue / Friedhelm Mennekes - Joseph Beuys (1984)

*Ralph Turner calls it "anaesthetised society" when writing about Julie Cook's work.

Earth and Moon

I'm looking at the rhythm of the tides at Spurn (EasyTide) and try to find out how they relate to the movement of the moon - recalling how earth, moon and sun relate to each other.

Earth as if seen from the Moon and .............vice versa (from Hull/UK)

15 April 2008 at 21h45: The waxing moon in its meridian (45.6°). At this time it is low tide on Spurn. - Seen from the moon the blue planet appears like a negative mirror image of its natural satellite. (View of Earth from the Moon)

Lifeboat

Just read some articles about the Spurn lifeboat crew:
Watching, waiting, washing up... (Guardian, 5 April 2008)

Another article by the Yorkshire Post, 22 March 2008
Family life at the point of no return

Sea defences along the North Sea side

Man-made intervention shaped by the sea, wind and weather: Blocks of stones combined with parts of rusty metal and wooden poles (near the horizon) form sculptures such as this 'Steal-seal'
The water level rose about 3/4 meters within 3/4 hours. It will rise a further 2.5m and cover the blocks completely.

Humber side

In the afternoon - sitting on the quiet side of the waters. Time to reflect.

Watching the tides - North Sea side

..................................................

I spent a morning looking at the ebb and flow of the water and the foam produced by air and water mixing. This was at the time when the tide was going out.


Later I join threaded polystyrene balls to the scene. The ends of the thread are fixed to stones, so the balls can't escape.

The stringed balls float off as if they were part of the water-foam. For about an hour I watch the water recede. Its movement changes with the shape of the ground and the foam disappears gradually - together with the balls...!

Minutes later - it seems like an eternity - when the water has receded further, I spot one ball hiding among the shingle. The rest of the balls - still threaded - are buried up to one foot underground following the lead of the stone the thread was fixed to.

By the way: Polystyrene consists 98% of air, is fully recyclable and environmental friendly though it isn't biodegradable. Microscopic images of this material look very similar to the sea water foam I'm just looking at.

On Spurn

'On Spurn' is a research residency for six artists (see Events). We spent a mid-week-end on Spurn to initiate our venture. It was cold, windy, sunny, wet and beautiful.






During the residency I would like to look at the movement of wind and water which shape Spurn. Using threads (yes, again) I plan to create air and water drawings. We'll see what happens. For now it is just looking and listening.