An Incredible Phenomenon

 

When helicopters operate in desert environments, their blades are exposed to friction with sand particles flying in the air. This friction generates sparks resulting from micro-erosion that occurs on the edges of the blades, even if they are made of highly hard metals such as titanium or nickel. The images taken of this phenomenon show the sparks resulting from this friction, demonstrating the effect of the desert environment on aviation equipment.

The Environment Before and After

There are a lot of places on the Internet to look for interesting before/after pictures giving evidence of climate change like the one above, but the best one these days is probably NASA’s Images of Change project, which provides side-by-side photos of the same place over time to document the environment changes that have happened through natural and man-made causes. Here are a few images and a video to get you going and want to explore more.