The frozen regions of our planet might all seem alike , but there are actually many unlike types of ice . Often multiplication , extreme conditions can create structures of salient beauty .
Such is flying dragon - skin ice , which forms after ocean - water supply is frozen in mid - air thanks to hurricane - posture winds . The rarified phenomenon was documented by Dr Guy Williams , who ’s traveling across the Ross Sea onboard the Nathaniel B Palmer iceboat as part of the PIPERS ( Polynyas , Ice Production and its Seasonal Evolution in the Ross Sea ) expedition .
The descending hint , have sex askatabatic , from the inside of the southernmost continent move at over 300 kilometre ( 190 miles ) per hour and are potent enough to lift the ice from the aerofoil of the sea water , creating a region known as a polynya – an overt - piddle stretch surrounded by deoxyephedrine .
“ Imagine your standard ice cube tray , filled once . After a hebdomad , you get one tray of sparkler cubes . But if you empty and fill again the tray each night , you get so much more , ” Dr Williams explained in astatement . “ That is what the catabatic winds are doing in the polynya , removing the trash , peril the water system and making more glass soma . ”
The dragon - pelt ice . Guy Williams / PIPER collaborationism
But this is not just strange ice . research worker are there to understand how the growth of sea Methedrine plays a function in local and worldwide currents , and all-important to this are the strong winds . The polynya they create allow more water to be expose to the immobilize temperatures .
The cold , piquant , and dense water supply beneath the ice sinks to take shape an abyssal layer , which is believed to kickstart the vacate circulation – the series of both rich and airfoil stream that move water in all the ocean .
" We are currently at ground zero of a hurricane - potency ( 65 + knots , 70 mph ) katabatic wind result in the Terra Nova Bay polynya in the Ross Sea , West Antarctica . It ’s quite unbelievable to experience such an epic presentation of diametric ocean - atmospheric interaction,“continuedDr . Williams . " Dragon - skin ice rink is very rare , flakey , evidence of a darker chaos in the cryospheric kingdom , not seen in Antarctica since 2007 . "
The katabatic winds are expected to drop off in the next few calendar week . When the atmospherical situation is calmer , the scientist will valuate the salinity of the ocean and the movement of brackish water pass below 1,000 meters ( 0.6 sea mile ) .
The outside military expedition has 27 scientist from eight countries and 14 institutions . It ’s journey around Antarctica until June with the destination to understand the role of polynyas during the polar winter .
