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SE BACHINGER

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Anti-Glacier
  -    -  Anti-Glacier

I find it rather ironic that this massive pile of Halite (rock salt) resembles the glacial fragments and striations often seen at the termius of a glacier as it breaks apart, melts and becomes water again.  This pile, standing high above the banks of the Hudson River in Troy, NY almost mocks the icy bodies that it is utilized to subdue and melt away.

This pile gets replenished every summer, barges traveling up the river with their salty load, in preparation for the impending (potential) icy winters – ridding roads and sidewalks of the agency of frozen water.  This year (2023) the pile was cut in a different manner, and arose like a glacier sitting in the middle of the city, upon a landscape once carved by ancient glacial movements and floods.

The residents have long complained about this pile when it’s uncovered, as dust from the salt on windy days gets blown around around the community and I can only imagine how much of it leeches into the river. On a larger scale, evidence of road salt overuse has been present all summer – yellowing and dying plants along the edges of roads and highways stand in stark contrast to the greenery just feet behind them.

This project is part of an investigation into the overuse and the affects of Halite on New York roads in winter. Though in some municipalities steps have been taken to limit the use, it is still apparent that more needs to be done.

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