Times of the Islands Spring 2021

green pages newsletter of the department of environment & coastal resources
floating islands on the horizon
due to scattering between layers
of air with different temperatures.
Green flashes, one of the
most revered and elusive phenomena
on Earth, are sometimes
visible with very clear conditions.
A combination of the mirage
effect and the sun dipping below
the horizon bring about this otherworldly
sight.
The common theme with each
of these phenomena is that light
bends in fantastic ways to produce
an image that humans can
witness. Sunsets, however, are
the most reliable and can almost
always be planned for—especially
when you are on island time.
Darrell’s Sunset Cafe, Cox Hotel
and East Bay Resort are all excellent
locations on South Caicos to
see the beautiful oranges, pinks
and purples of a TCI sunset.
I worked on South Caicos
for only a year, but that year
has left an indelible impact. My
coworkers became some of my
closest friends, the community
welcomed us with open arms, and
we embraced island time wholeheartedly.
From the high school
There are many excellent locations on South Caicos to witness a beautiful TCI sunset.
basketball tournaments, to the
oranges, and pinks—fill the horizon. Some of the most Christmas tree lighting ceremony, to the lively Saturdays
vibrant red sunsets in the world are found in Hawaii, due that included community swim lessons and marine crafts
in part to the large amount of volcanic dust in the atmosphere
as well as high humidity there, which intensify well-being. That feeling became even clearer every time
at SFS, there was always a sense of strong community and
the scattering effect. In the Caribbean, red sunsets can we settled in for another sunset together.
result from huge dust plumes coming in from the Sahara
Desert, as they did this past summer.
“Never waste any amount of time doing anything
Rainbows, ocean mirages and green flashes are all important when there is a sunset outside that you
caused by different forms of scattering, or refraction, as should be sitting under!” ~ C. JoyBell C. a
well. Rainbows are visible due to refraction within raindrops
and subsequent reflection between them (but only For additional information about The School for Field
when rainclouds don’t block the light, such as right after Studies, visit www.fieldstudies.org or contact us on
a rainstorm subsides), and mirages create the illusion of South Caicos at hhertler@fieldstudies.org.
42 www.timespub.tc