 EPOD - a service of USRA

The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes
and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and
archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory
captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The
community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and
relevant links.


 Fascinating Ice Patterns

   February 05, 2021

    IM2_17297_pe_mid

   Photographer:  Wayne Robinson
   Summary Authors:  Wayne Robinson;  Jim Foster

   On a winter’s, morning walk along the  Washington, Baltimore and
   Annapolis spur trail, I saw these fascinating  patterns in the ice
   at the edge of a nearby pond. The low temperature overnight had dropped
   to about 27 F (-3 C), and the icy surface looked so unworldly that it
   might be mistaken for the surface of  one of Jupiter’s moons.
   Explaining just how such  patterns occur is always challenging. It
   seems, though, that in shallow water when air temperatures fall just
   below  the freezing point, ice crystals form thin sheets that grow
   at similar rates but often at different angles. Slight differences in
   stress on the ice, from above and below the surface, can lead to an odd
   quilt-work of patterns that may please the eye but also baffles the
   mind. Note that the entire image width here covers approximately 2 feet
   (0.6 m). Photo taken on December 30, 2020.
   Photo Details: Canon 80D DSLR camera; Canon f/5.6 70-300 mm lens; f/11;
   244 mm fl; 1/100 sec. exposure; ISO 400
     * Bowie, Maryland Coordinates:  39.0068, -76.7791

Related EPODs

    Fascinating Ice Patterns  Angle of Repose for Graupel
    Methane Bubbles Frozen in an Alaskan Marsh  Dark Spots and
   Patterns on Lake Ice  Surface Hoar Formation  Not all Snow
   Crystals are Perfectly Symmetrical
    More...

Cryosphere Links

     *  Guide to Frost
     *  What is the Cryosphere?
     *  Bentley Snow Crystals
     *  Glaciers of the World
     *  Ice, Snow, and Glaciers: The Water Cycle
     *  The National Snow and Ice Data Center Google Earth Images
     *  Snow and Ice Crystals

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   Earth Science Picture of the Day is a service of the  Universities
   Space Research Association.

https://epod.usra.edu
 
