The stunning beauty of bubbles in the ice of a frozen pond could cow a fantasy artist. The accompanying pictures were taken by Irina Peters and Doug Thorburn in the subalpine high above Kootenay Lake.
Bubbles had formed in the ice when freezing had forced dissolved gasses out of solution. The gasses dissolved in the water had come from pond sediments that had outgassed as a result of the bacterial decomposition of algae and detritus: carbon dioxide from respiration, methane from methanogens, and hydrogen sulphide from sulphate-reducing bacteria.
There appear to be three different structures in these pictures: frost crystals on the surface, columnar bubbles, globular bubbles. The suspicion is that the columnar bubbles might be CO2, while the large bubbles could be burps of methane. Can anyone add insights?
(A posting two years ago showed pond bubbles in the summertime.)
Three structures are seen in the ice of the mountain pond: frost crystals, columnar bubbles, globular bubbles.
The columnar bubbles are possibly the result of CO2 coming out of solution.
This scene rivals a fantasy artist’s creations of alien cityscapes.
The pictures of Irina Peters and Doug Thorburn are used with permission.
Very interesting.
Intriguing info. Most beauteous bubbles. Ice, ceaselessly fascinating.