Wonders of the frozen lake - ice bubbles

There are many wonders in the world. You may have seen a frozen lake in winter, but have you ever seen a frozen lake that is bubbling in winter? When the severe winter comes, there is a place in Mohe where millions of ice bubbles appear under the frozen lake surface, like a dream. This place is Lianhua Lake.

Ice wonders

Mohe City is located in the northernmost part of my country. It is one of the coldest places in China. The winter is long and cold, and the extremely cold weather below -40℃ often occurs. It is called the "North Pole" of my country. In fact, as early as the beginning of winter in 2019, such a wonder appeared in the Lotus Lake in Mohe. At that time, Mohe experienced continuous cooling weather. The lowest temperature in late November had dropped to -30℃. The surface of the Lotus Lake in the Guanyin Mountain Scenic Area of ​​Mohe City was completely frozen. The thickest part of the ice layer exceeded 60 cm. Through the crystal clear ice surface, you can clearly see strings of white bubbles distributed in the ice layer, forming a group of unique ice wonders - ice bubbles.

Rivers, lakes and ponds will naturally produce bubbles, and the outside air will also produce bubbles when it enters the water. In some places in my country, the natural landscape of "dragon spitting bubbles" has appeared in winter. For example, in 2018, a large number of frozen bubbles appeared below the ice surface of the dragon-shaped water system in Beijing Olympic Park. They are the normal breathing and oxidation phenomenon after the water plants take root and grow in the mud, "not caused by pollution or other reasons." For people living in the Greater Khingan Range area, every winter, after the river freezes, ice bubbles will appear on the riverside or in the middle of the river (one or two meters deep). Ice bubbles are really not a new thing. Almost every river and other water bodies have appeared. It's just that November and December are the snowfall period in the area, and the water surface is covered with thick snow after freezing, so no one pays attention to the existence of ice bubbles.

The reason

From a scientific point of view, most of the bubbles in the water are gases released by the anaerobic action of microorganisms in the riverbed sediment. Because these gases are not easily soluble in water, bubbles are generated. In summer, the bubbles in the water rise to the surface in a semicircular shape and burst normally in a short time. In winter, when the temperature drops below 0℃, the water molecules are arranged in an orderly manner into crystals, forming a layer of crystalline ice on the lake surface. Because the temperature at the bottom of the lake is higher than that on the ice surface, the microorganisms in the lake decompose organic matter and release methane and other gases. Methane is insoluble in water and forms bubbles that float upwards and eventually accumulate under the ice. As the temperature continues to drop and the ice layer becomes thicker, these cavities of bubbles are frozen in the ice layer, forming a string of strange "frozen bubbles". People call this "frozen bubble" lake "ice bubble lake".

Although the cold makes the lake frozen, it does not necessarily produce "frozen bubbles". There are four basic conditions for the formation of ice bubble lakes: first, there must be a source that can release gas in the water to continuously produce bubbles; second, the water flow is slow and the water body is relatively still, so that the bubbles can rise straight up without being affected by the flow of the water body; third, the local temperature continues to drop below freezing point, and the water surface is covered with a thick layer of ice, so that the bubbles can be "locked" in the ice layer; fourth, the lake water must be deep enough. If the lake water is too shallow, the water body and the lake bottom will freeze solid and bubbles cannot form. These seemingly inadvertent coincidences are actually the beauty of heaven and earth, and ultimately created such an interesting natural masterpiece.

Since the pressure inside the liquid is related to the depth of the liquid, the deeper the water, the greater the pressure. When the bubbles gradually rise from the bottom of the water, the pressure of the water on the bubbles gradually decreases, and the volume of the bubbles gradually increases, and the buoyancy gradually increases. The greater the buoyancy, the faster the bubbles rise. Therefore, many relatively large ice bubbles can be seen near the ice surface, and the diameter of the large ice bubbles can reach 40 to 50 centimeters.

At the same time, the rising bubbles will be squeezed into various shapes due to the pressure of water, and become different shapes and appearances after freezing. From different angles, some are shaped like "flying saucers" flying into the sky; some are shaped like "balls" rotating the world; some are shaped like "pearl chains" shining brightly; some are shaped like "corals" and are magnificent; some are shaped like "Guanyin" sitting on a lotus platform; some are shaped like "Maitreya" smiling happily. Some are like white clouds floating in the sky, some are like silver fish swimming in the water, and some are like white doves flying freely. Some groups gather together, forming a strange stone forest; some are scattered in all directions, suspected to be shining stars in the Milky Way. Some are like a string of footprints left in the snow, and some are like a chess game with stars scattered all over the place. Some are like the Dinghai Shenzhen in the Dragon Palace of the East China Sea, and some are like the fairy towers in the jade palace. The various "frozen paintings" are vivid and lifelike. They are close at hand, yet out of reach. The beauty of distance ultimately makes people sigh at the "ice".

One bubble became popular

The "ice bubble lake" phenomenon usually only occurs in cold regions. At present, there are three famous ice bubble lakes in the world, one is Canada's Abraham Lake, another is Russia's Lake Baikal, and the other is my country's Xinjiang's Sayram Lake.

Lotus Lake in Mohe was newly developed in recent years. This newly built artificial lake is located in Guanyin Mountain Scenic Area, with an area of ​​150,000 to 200,000 square meters and a maximum water depth of 4 meters. Affected by the cold weather, the lake water freezes early, and the lake surface is basically frozen in early winter. However, in the harsh environment, the microorganisms at the bottom of the lake are still very active, and a large amount of humus covered by silt continuously releases methane gas, and endless small bubbles rush to float upward, forming a spectacular ice bubble landscape - the frozen bubble area can reach more than 3,000 square meters, and as the temperature continues to drop, the frozen bubble area will increase. At this time, Lotus Lake is like a huge "ice aquarium", with ice bubbles suspended in the entire ice layer. Nature's creation has made the daunting cold ice lake into an underground galaxy with extraordinary artistic conception and bright stars. People can see world-class natural wonders without leaving the country. This is the magical "frozen makeup" of the frozen lake.

Although the shapes of ice bubbles are ever-changing, their color is always milky white, just like white jade embedded in the ice, crystal clear and pure, like meticulously carved and ingenious sculptures, or like exquisite ice and snow art paintings, which are extremely artistic and ornamental.

Lotus Lake is not a permafrost lake. The bubbles from the deep lake bottom are mercilessly sealed in the glacier of time by the freezing period of one season a year, which brings the incomparable beauty of ice and snow in the north to the extreme. As winter turns to spring, the ice bubbles follow the laws of nature, grow and disappear on their own, and end their lives with the cycle of the four seasons.

According to the introduction above, not all deep lakes in cold regions will have ice bubbles in winter, and not all ice bubble lakes can be seen. In order to appreciate the perfect ice bubbles, the lake must also meet the following conditions: First, the water quality is clear, the ice layer is transparent, and it cannot be turbid. Second, the thickness of the ice layer must reach more than half a meter, so that the ice bubble landscape can be displayed. Third, the ice surface must be clean and smooth, without dust and snow. Mohe Lotus Lake just meets the above conditions. Lotus Lake is part of the tributary of the Emur River in Daxinganling. The basin is called "Golden Ditch" by locals because of its rich gold. There is abundant rainfall and fresh air here. The pure lake water comes from the meltwater of ice and snow and the clear streams of mountain streams in summer. The water quality is clear and the transparency is excellent. Although there is snow in autumn and winter, the biting cold wind is like a loyal scavenger, blowing away the snow on the ice surface day and night, and timely and effective artificial snow removal makes the ice surface like a mirror. Through the huge ice "screen" under your feet, the wonderful ice bubble landscape is displayed in front of the world. The ice bubbles sparkle in the glacier, like a bunch of fireworks flying in the sky during the festival, and like countless white LED lights, illuminating the underground "Milky Way".

As the only ice bubble lake in the northernmost part of my country, the scale, scenery and ice bubble "appearance" of Mohe Lotus Lake are no less than those of the other three ice bubble lakes. The wonderful "original" ice bubbles add a different kind of interest to the local cold and long winter. Since the first large-scale ice bubbles appeared, they have become super expensive "ice" in the ice and snow world. Once the "bubble" became popular, it was a blockbuster, and people's attention has risen sharply. Intentionally or unintentionally, this has become the most popular online celebrity check-in point in Mohe in winter, attracting many fans and photography enthusiasts. In order to enhance the viewing experience, the scenic spot has transformed and upgraded the ice bubble lake, partially cutting the ice blocks with ice bubbles, taking them out and placing them on the sun-transparent ice surface. Visitors can watch them from any angle at zero distance and get close to the ice bubbles. Walking into the ice harvesting area along the ice steps and standing at the bottom of the lake, it seems as if you are in a maze of ice layers, wandering among the ice bubble groups, which makes people feel surprised and novel. Looking up through the ice layers and ice blocks, under the sunlight, the transparent ice blocks appear even clearer and more translucent, and the clearly visible ice bubbles become more lively and lovely. The elusive ice bubbles have finally unveiled their mysterious veil.