From animals in unexpected places to forests found beneath the snow, here are 8 fascinating
things happening in frozen places.
8.
The Ice Bridge In Argentina, a very interesting phenomena
is happening involving ice, one that is so grand that it attracts both scientists and
tourists from around the world.
There is a glacier that actually grows its own ice bridge.
Over time, the bridge breaks, and then it grows back, all on its own.
This happens at the Perito Moreno glacier, which is located in Argentina in the Glacier
National Park.
It is one of the most important tourist attractions of Patagonia.
The glacier is made up of both blue and white ice.
Fun fact: blue ice is the hardest and purest ice in the world.
Through this ice, an arch bridge begins to form on the glacier.
It takes about 2-4 years to make, but when it’s done, it’s a really beautiful natural
feat of engineering!!
Over time, the arch bridge eventually starts to melt, and when it does, it flows into the
lake just below the glacier.
The lake in turn causes the glacier to hollow out, which makes the bridge fall.
And then, it starts rebuilding.
Pretty cool right?
This spectacle is actually well known to the locals of Argentina, and when the bridge is
“scheduled” to fall, people will actually come from all around to try and see it.
Since its probably not easy for you to get to Patagonia yourself, you can watch the collapse
of 2016 online!
7.
March of the Penguins One of the biggest research topics in the
world is the study of animals and their population.
With this information, scientists and animal conservationists can work to help maintain
and save species that are in danger.
So you’d think that they would have an accurate estimate of most animals on Earth.
Right?
Well, in the case of Adelie penguins, that’s not the case.
This species of penguin was believed to have been decimated because of global warming,
a very real threat, and there was scientific basis for that belief.
However, when satellites decided to look down and survey the Danger Islands in Antarctica,
they were shocked to see 1.5 million Adelie penguins on it.
Adding to the intrigue, this 1.5 million was apparently perfectly split down the middle.
There were exactly 750,000 mating pairs of penguins.
Scientists are hopeful that because of their eggs, their population has the potential to
grow a lot in the next year or so.
While this does boggle the mind of most scientists, there is an explanation for how this happened.
The Danger Islands are actually very secluded, and are somewhat unaffected by the effects
of global warming.
For now.
Because of that, the penguins can live there in peace for some time without fearing the
loss of their home.
Plus, it’s not in the path of human interference.
Smart birds!!
And now for number 6, but first can you name the largest glacier in the world??
Let us know in the comments below.
The answer is coming up!
If you are new here, welcome and be sure to subscribe before you leave, we would love
to have you!! 6.
Disappearing Lakes Here’s a bit of an oddity for you.
What do you call it when lakes appear suddenly then disappear weeks later?
Weird, that’s what.
But, there is a scientific explanation for this strange phenomenon and it all has to
do with ice.
In Greenland (which is actually home to a lot of ice), snow melts during the summer,
and when it does, it creates lakes.
Dozens of them, hundreds, even thousands at times.
But, they never last, because as the temperatures continue to rise, the ice that lies beneath
the ground gets a bunch of cracks, and when this occurs, the lakes drain through into
the earth.
Sometimes with surprising speed.
In one case, a massive lake was drained within two hours, as witnessed by two scientists
in 2006.
Now, this on its own is amazing, but, as other scientists have found out, there’s a dark
side to this.
Because of global warming, the fissures in the ground are growing more and more.
To the extent that they’re actually draining natural lakes within Greenland.
This is a problem, because the more the lakes drain, the more they go into the oceans nearby.
In the course of 5 days, 124 lakes in Greenland were drained because of these ice fissures.
So you never know which lake might disappear at any moment.
5.
Massive Ice Cubes Nature has provided us with many natural wonders,
but some tip the scales in a way that many don’t expect, especially when they look
man made.
Say…like giant ice cubes in the ocean?
There is a rare geological phenomenon known as bi-directional crevassing in an ice sheet
which actually creates cubic shapes in gigantic ice forms that can go on for miles.
The ice cubes are actually moving, and very quickly.
They’re not a shelf of ice cubes bound together like in a tray in the way you might think.
This massive sheet of ice is actually pulled apart from different directions like salt
water taffy.
And because of that, you see the gaps in the ice cubes.
The constant force making the ice move from side to side creates these cubic shapes.
The Royal Society Photography competition aims to use images to raise awareness on the
condition of our planet and to make science accessible to a wide audience.
Ecologist Peter Convey was flying over Antarctica and claimed first prize for his photograph
titled “Icy Sugar Cubes” that captured this rare phenomenon.
4.
Droughts Droughts are one natural disaster that can
have the most impact depending on where you live.
Recent events have shown that the California droughts are some of the most devastating
in recent memory, and many are wondering what is causing it.
Ironically, the answer may be within the ice of the Arctic Ocean.
After witnessing the droughts for themselves, some scientists did an experiment in 2017.
They made a simulated version of the world itself, and messed around with the CO2 levels
in it and how it would affect certain regions.
What they realized was that the ice melting in the Arctic Ocean caused a chain reaction
that resulted in the droughts in California.
How is that possible?
Well, the polar ice caps do a lot of things that are unnoticed by many, including reflecting
some of the sun's’ heat away from the Earth at large.
A loss in ice apparently resulted in the Arctic Ocean’s ice not being able to do that as
well as it should.
So, that raised the temperature of the northern waters of the Equator.
Because of this reaction, the storms that would usually hit California to give it rain
instead went further into the Pacific Northwest, leaving the state and the Southwest US literally
high and dry.
Are you with me?
Ok.
If this continues, the state, and other regions, could be in for a ton more droughts.
The polar ice caps do more than you know!
3.
The Ross Ice Shelf Is Freezing Speaking about frozen places melting, on the
other side of the world, is the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica.
This massive plain of ice, which is approximately the size of Spain, is being watched by many
because of the dangers it could cause should it melt and disappear.
Many ice shelves like this one are beginning to wither away because of global warming,
so, in 2017, when scientists thought that the Ross Ice Shelf was beginning to show signs
of melting, they decided to do some tests.
They went to the ice shelf and then drilled a hole into it to get a clue of how bad things
were.
If it was melting, that hole would’ve been full of boiling water.
Instead, the ice shelf was freezing cold on the inside.
What’s the big deal about that, you ask?
Well, think about it, why is this one remaining ice cold when all the others in the region,
and the Arctic region, starting to melt?
If they can figure this out, then we might be able to try and replicate this effect,
which could save many ice shelves and glaciers that are in danger of being melted away.
Reversing the effects of global warming, and preventing the oceans from rising any higher.
It’s getting scary out there people! 2.
Glacier Blankets You heard that right, glacier blankets.
This is another attempt to stop the unfortunate effects of global warming, but this one is
also a bit selfish as you’ll find out.
This takes places in the Swiss Alps, specifically on the Rhone Glacier.
During the summer months, the people of Switzerland will hike up and lay massive white blankets
all over the glaciers.
It’s actually a fun little piece of science, since white is very reflective, and bounces
off many of the sun’s rays so that the glaciers don’t melt as much.
The key word here though is “as much”.
The glaciers still do melt, but, it’s not as bad as it would be if the people didn’t
do this.
Every little bit helps, right?
Now, as for that “selfish” bit I mentioned, the Swiss have had a tradition since 1870.
They crafted an artificial grotto near the Rhone Glacier, and tourists have gone to it
every year.
If the glacier disappears, so will their grotto, and they will lose all the tourism and financial
benefits this brings into the country.
Whatever the reason though, what they are doing is still very noble and hopefully they
will be able to prevent losing the glacier and their grotto for the future.
Speaking of glaciers, the largest glacier in the world, is the Lambert-Fisher Glacier
in Antarctica.
It is 400 km long and up to 100 km wide.
(250 miles X 60 miles).
1.
Forest In Ice A forest found in the ice?
It’s true!
And it was found in the most unlikely of places, Antarctica.
Antarctica was once covered in forests and was actually a very green and lush place.
An international team of researchers was looking for fossil fragments in 2017 when they found
fossils from trees that dated back over 260 million years!
They had found the remains of a forest on the icy plains of the continent.
The find was so shocking that scientists are still researching the fossils right now, as
it’s unclear not just how Antarctica was able to produce such a forest, but also, how
some plant species apparently survived and thrived after a massive extinction-level event.
They believe that something happened that not only killed 90% of the living population
of the world (long before humans arrived), but it drastically changed certain continents
and their ecosystems, just like Antarctica.
Scientists hope that the fossils biology and chemistry will help give more details on not
just the forest itself, but what caused its extinction, and when this all happened.
Thanks for watching!
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