1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio, 2 00:00:06,360 --> 00:00:09,080 Speaker 1: Hey brain Stuff, Lauren vogebon here. But when the Wright 3 00:00:09,160 --> 00:00:12,080 Speaker 1: Brothers gave us the engine powered airplane in the early 4 00:00:12,119 --> 00:00:14,960 Speaker 1: twentieth century, they didn't just give us a new way 5 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:18,079 Speaker 1: to get around. A flight also gave us an entirely 6 00:00:18,120 --> 00:00:21,720 Speaker 1: different perspective on the things around us, or specifically, the 7 00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:26,000 Speaker 1: things below us. From above, people became tiny specks, and 8 00:00:26,239 --> 00:00:29,440 Speaker 1: fields looked like the tiled squares of a quilt, And 9 00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:32,440 Speaker 1: before long, on the East coast of the United States, 10 00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:36,720 Speaker 1: pilots began noticing something even more interesting. What we once 11 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:39,800 Speaker 1: thought were just simple, isolated ponds and wetlands along the 12 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:42,800 Speaker 1: Atlantic coast began to be seen as a pattern of 13 00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:47,360 Speaker 1: thousands of egg shaped depressions that were all oriented exactly 14 00:00:47,479 --> 00:00:50,720 Speaker 1: the same way. From above, it almost looks like a 15 00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:54,240 Speaker 1: giant from outer space sneezed all the way from Florida 16 00:00:54,280 --> 00:00:57,680 Speaker 1: to New Jersey, leaving a series of shallow depressions in 17 00:00:57,720 --> 00:01:01,920 Speaker 1: his wake. Their origins are still a scientific mystery today, 18 00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:04,679 Speaker 1: but these ponds are as important to the landscape now 19 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:07,720 Speaker 1: as they were millions of years ago. Today, they're most 20 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:11,480 Speaker 1: commonly referred to as Carolina bays, A large number of 21 00:01:11,520 --> 00:01:14,000 Speaker 1: them occur along the coast of North and South Carolina. 22 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:16,840 Speaker 1: For the article, this episode is based on how Stuff 23 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:20,480 Speaker 1: Work spoke with Kyle Barrett, Associate Professor of Wildlife Conservation 24 00:01:20,520 --> 00:01:24,640 Speaker 1: at Clemson University in South Carolina. He said, Carolina Bay 25 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:27,520 Speaker 1: is the name given to most any wetland along the 26 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:31,080 Speaker 1: eastern coastal plain that has an elliptical shape and is 27 00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:33,880 Speaker 1: often isolated from other bodies of water, such as small 28 00:01:33,880 --> 00:01:37,600 Speaker 1: streams or rivers. Carolina bays occur in low spots in 29 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:41,360 Speaker 1: the landscape, and because they typically only fill up from precipitation, 30 00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:44,680 Speaker 1: they may dry out during the hot and dry portions 31 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:48,480 Speaker 1: of the year. These elliptical pockets in the landscape are 32 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:52,400 Speaker 1: almost always laid out with their long axis pointing northwest 33 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:55,880 Speaker 1: to southeast, and it's common for many to cluster together, 34 00:01:56,480 --> 00:01:59,600 Speaker 1: so researchers in the nineteen fifties hypothesized that they were 35 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:02,840 Speaker 1: the result of an ancient meteor shower. They've used carbon 36 00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:06,040 Speaker 1: dating and other techniques to determine their ages, but it 37 00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:08,760 Speaker 1: turns out the Carolina Bays were not all formed at 38 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:11,960 Speaker 1: the same time. Some were formed tens of thousands of 39 00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:16,000 Speaker 1: years apart. Barrett said some wetlands are estimated to be 40 00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:19,480 Speaker 1: over a hundred thousand years old, whereas others may only 41 00:02:19,520 --> 00:02:22,720 Speaker 1: be fifteen thousand years old or less. There isn't any 42 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:26,160 Speaker 1: support for this meteor shower idea since they don't have 43 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:29,080 Speaker 1: the same origin date and no material has been found 44 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:34,519 Speaker 1: in the soil to suggest extraterrestrial formation. The next best hypothesis, 45 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:39,080 Speaker 1: while plus other worldly, is the most likely answer the wind. 46 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:42,240 Speaker 1: It suggested that during the late Pleistocene period about two 47 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:46,240 Speaker 1: and a half million years ago, very strong southwesterly winds 48 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:51,200 Speaker 1: on ponds caused currents. Those currents washed against the southwest 49 00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:55,440 Speaker 1: and northwest sides of ponds and resulted in sediment deposits 50 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:59,640 Speaker 1: on the northeast and southeast sides. Over time, they formed 51 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:02,680 Speaker 1: what we now know as the Carolina Bays. At one 52 00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:04,720 Speaker 1: point there may have been as many as two hundred 53 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:10,119 Speaker 1: thousand Carolina Bays, but researchers say that nearly of Carolina 54 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:14,040 Speaker 1: Bays have been impacted by agriculture and logging. A human 55 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:17,280 Speaker 1: impact hasn't just erased a piece of our geological past, 56 00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:21,079 Speaker 1: it's also disrupted a delicate ecosystem of marshes that are 57 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:24,920 Speaker 1: important to many wetlands species like salamanders and frogs in 58 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:29,280 Speaker 1: North America. Barrett explained, Carolina bays, along with other types 59 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:33,320 Speaker 1: of isolated wetlands, offer a wide range of environmental benefits. 60 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:37,640 Speaker 1: Many insects and amphibians are particularly abundant in these wetlands, 61 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:40,680 Speaker 1: since Carolina bays are without fish most of the time. 62 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:44,480 Speaker 1: Even terrestrial species such as birds and bats are more 63 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:48,040 Speaker 1: abundant in patches of forest containing a Carolina bay than 64 00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:52,000 Speaker 1: equal sized forested areas without one. A Wetlands like the 65 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:55,680 Speaker 1: Carolina Bays are also essential in preventing flooding and improving 66 00:03:55,680 --> 00:04:00,200 Speaker 1: water quality too. Unfortunately, many bays have been repurposed for 67 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:04,040 Speaker 1: human use, like farmlands, the development of homes or businesses, 68 00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:08,080 Speaker 1: or expanded into ponds. Any wetlands that aren't near a 69 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:11,360 Speaker 1: permanent stream or river, Barrett says, are not protected by 70 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:14,880 Speaker 1: the Clean Water Act. Barrett said for this reason, if 71 00:04:14,920 --> 00:04:17,600 Speaker 1: you look at aerial imagery on Google Maps, for example, 72 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:21,000 Speaker 1: you'll see loads of elliptical shapes along the coast of 73 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:23,680 Speaker 1: the Carolinas that used to be wetlands but are now 74 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:27,320 Speaker 1: filled in for agriculture. The result is that wildlife takes 75 00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:31,200 Speaker 1: on the burden of wetland loss. However, Barrett suggests an 76 00:04:31,200 --> 00:04:35,279 Speaker 1: expanded interpretation of the Clean Water Act could protect important 77 00:04:35,279 --> 00:04:38,400 Speaker 1: wetland locations, and he said, I don't know that every 78 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:42,000 Speaker 1: isolated wetland needs to be federally protected. That seems like 79 00:04:42,040 --> 00:04:45,440 Speaker 1: it could create an unreasonable burden for many landowners. But 80 00:04:45,600 --> 00:04:48,440 Speaker 1: I do think a broader interpretation of the Clean Water 81 00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:52,840 Speaker 1: Act would help save many important isolated wetlands. The States 82 00:04:52,839 --> 00:04:56,520 Speaker 1: could also enact protections that better address local issues related 83 00:04:56,560 --> 00:05:00,279 Speaker 1: to wetland loss. Carolina Bays are just one exam bull 84 00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:03,359 Speaker 1: of Earth's natural mysteries that are important elements of our 85 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:07,000 Speaker 1: North American ecosystem. When land is filled in for pasture 86 00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:11,560 Speaker 1: or crops, it doesn't just take away important habitats wetland species. 87 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:14,960 Speaker 1: It also disrupts the balance of water flux and natural 88 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:19,760 Speaker 1: flooding protections, which is bad for our homes and livelihoods too. Furthermore, 89 00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:22,760 Speaker 1: without these wetland habitats, we miss out on some of 90 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:27,080 Speaker 1: the most biologically varied ecosystems in North America. Barrett said, 91 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:30,799 Speaker 1: many people don't have an opportunity to see the incredible 92 00:05:30,839 --> 00:05:34,680 Speaker 1: amphibian and reptile diversity we have in the southeast, but 93 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:37,520 Speaker 1: these wetlands, along with others in the region, are an 94 00:05:37,560 --> 00:05:41,960 Speaker 1: incredibly important home to these species. Visiting these wetlands can 95 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:44,680 Speaker 1: open your eyes and ears when the frogs are calling 96 00:05:44,960 --> 00:05:47,880 Speaker 1: to some of the underappreciated gems of the Eastern Us. 97 00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:52,320 Speaker 1: One rare species, just for example, that inhabits the Carolina 98 00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:56,120 Speaker 1: Bays is twenty five different types of carnivorous plants. The 99 00:05:56,160 --> 00:05:59,599 Speaker 1: Carolinas are the only places where these insect eating plants, 100 00:05:59,760 --> 00:06:09,640 Speaker 1: like the sund and picture plant grow naturally. Today's episode 101 00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:12,720 Speaker 1: is based on the article what Caused the Mysterious Carolina 102 00:06:12,760 --> 00:06:15,760 Speaker 1: Bays on how stuff Works dot Com written by Allison Troutner. 103 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:18,440 Speaker 1: Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio in partnership 104 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:20,240 Speaker 1: with how stuff Works dot Com, and it is produced 105 00:06:20,240 --> 00:06:23,239 Speaker 1: by Tyler Playing. Four more podcasts from my heart Radio. 106 00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:26,359 Speaker 1: Visit the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 107 00:06:26,400 --> 00:06:27,720 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.