Monday, November 7, 2016

Giant Ice Balls Form on Beach in Siberia

Pam Wright
Published: November 7,2016
Residents of a remote seaside area in northwest Siberia were greeted in late October with a beautiful and surprising natural phenomena:  giant ice balls.
Strewn for at least 11 miles on a beach in the Gulf of Ob, some of he spherical ice forms were as small as a tennis balls, while others had grown to more than a yard in diameter, reports the Siberian Times.
Ice balls or ice boulders are made of both slush and a type of ice known as frazil ice, which occurs when loose, needle-shaped ice crystals collect in the water. When they form in calmer waters, they often look more like pancakes or flattened discs. More turbulent waters produce more spherical ice balls like those found in Russia about two weeks ago.
World Snow Day @WorldSnowDay
Natural giant snowballs appeared on the Siberian Coast.http://siberiantimes.com/other/others/news/n0797-anyone-for-a-snowball-fight/?curCity= …

As waves roll the ice crystals over and over again in the water, their spherical forms take shape. They can also gather sand if there's sand present in the water, making them appear tan in color.
Residents from the village of Nyda, which lies on the Yamal Peninsula just above the Arctic Circle, told the Siberian Times they had never seen such a sight.
A similar phenomenon occurred in the Gulf of Finland in December 2014 and on Lake Michigan in December 2015.
Rita Vaz da Silva @RitaVazdaSilva
Giant snowballs show up in Siberia's beach. So instagrammy of you, mother Earth.

(WATCH: Ice Balls Forming Along Lake Michigan Near Glen Arbor)
Waves and strong winds often push the ice balls ashore, but sometimes long lines of ice boulders are found out in the open waters of the Great Lakes.
MORE: Ice Formations - Marko Korosec
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