STRUCTURE BETRAYS FUNCTION. “The mound’s differentiated structure is important to its function. The mound is a wind-driven lung that intercepts kinetic energy in turbulent wind and filters it through an elaborate network of tunnels that ultimately connects the nest air to the atmosphere. For many years, it was thought this tunnel network served to direct bulk flows of air through the nest, driven either by buoyant nest air heated by the colony’s metabolism, or by tapping into boundary layer gradients in wind speed.”
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12304-016-9256-5
linkedin post 2022-06-29 05:12:48
Nigel Fleming
September 21, 2022