HYOURAKU
From glacier dynamics to ice-albedo feedback and ice cores — understand the science of Earth's ice by watching and interacting. An iOS / Android education app.
Modules
Glacier Dynamics
Move temperature and accumulation to shift the ELA and mass balance. Watch the terminus of solid-yet-flowing ice advance and retreat.
Ice-Albedo Feedback
"Less ice -> lower albedo -> more heat -> even less ice." Experience the abrupt tipping that happens past a threshold.
Ice Core & Paleoclimate
Drag the core into the past and read each layer's bubble CO₂ and isotope temperature. See glacials and interglacials move together.
Permafrost
Warming deepens the active layer; thawing permafrost releases CO₂ and methane — a carbon feedback shown in a soil cross-section.
Snow Crystals
Temperature and supersaturation set the crystal shape (Nakaya diagram): plates, columns, needles, dendrites in six-fold symmetry.
Sea Level Rise
Ice-sheet and glacier melt raise the sea and flood a coastal city. Read the rise on a zoomed tide gauge. Connected to sea-level rise in KAIRAKU.
Features
How-to Guide on Every Screen
Each screen has a guide that shows what each control does and what to watch for.
Landscape, Large Text, Screen Readers
Supports landscape orientation, large text sizes, and screen readers (VoiceOver / TalkBack).
Nine Languages
Japanese, English, Chinese (Simplified / Traditional), Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), Korean, German, and French.
Free, No Purchases
Free with banner ads only. No in-app purchases or subscriptions. iOS 15.0+ / Android 7.0 (API 24)+.
Series
Connected to KAIRAKU through sea ice, thermohaline circulation, and sea-level rise. Learn the poles, then the ocean.