Those of you who have been around this blog for a while probably know about my obsession with photographing ice bubbles. I don’t understand all the intricacies of how those bubbles are created, but I think there are at least two forces in play. One is the release of methane and other gases as decomposition occurs underwater. More importantly, I think, those gases are forced out of water as it freezes and have to accumulate someplace. Since ice forms from the water’s surface downward, that gas can’t escape upward, so it is forced into spaces within the water itself – forming bubbles.
Regardless of how they’re formed, I can spend hours exploring a frozen wetland or other water body searching for those gorgeous and entrancing bubbles!
On Monday morning of this week, I went to my favorite restored wetland at the Platte River Prairies, hoping to find some fun ice patterns to photograph. It had gotten very cool very quickly, and that often creates some of the best conditions for ice bubbles. What I found was far better than I’d expected. Not only were there the kind of small bubbles I’m used to (dime and quarter-sized and smaller), there were also much bigger bubbles – up to a foot or more in diameter. I’m assuming that was linked to how quickly the water froze, but that’s just a guess. Either way, it was spectacular!
I spent a couple hours wandering around about half an acre of wetland trying to figure out how to capture what I was seeing and share it. Wide angle lenses seemed to work best, and my fisheye did the best job of showing the depth and layering of the bubbles. What you can’t see in these photos, though, is how clear the water was. As I walked around, I could see the bottom of the wetland below me (about a foot deep or less in most places) and I even chased a small fish around for a short time.
I went out to the same wetland spot yesterday afternoon and shot a few thousand more photos. I’m still working those up but will certainly have more to share next week (or before). The ice had changed some between Monday and Thursday, and the big bubbles were less distinct, but there was still plenty to keep me engaged. Both on Monday and Thursday, ice bubbles were only one component of the frozen beauty of the site.
It’s supposed to warm up this weekend, so I might have to wait a while before I can shoot more ice bubbles. That’s probably ok. I have plenty of photos from this week to keep me busy for a while…
The Prairie Ecologist 
These photos are so beautiful! Thank you for sharing them.
The stacked bubbles in the second and last photos remind me of pancakes, while those taken with the fisheye lens suggest plants that float on the water’s surface with most of their roots, rhizomes, and such dangling below. All of the photos are fascinating, if a bit chill-evoking.
Something else that caught my attention was this: “One is the release of methane and other gases as decomposition occurs underwater…” I’ve found my ‘project place’ for 2022, and it turned out to be a pond (or something) rather than a prairie; I’ve dubbed it ‘Walden West.’ When I visited on New Year’s day, I wondered why there were so many bubbles; I’ve always assumed critters of some sort, but that may not be so. More research is required!
Wow. Thank you for braving the cold so I don’t have to! These vicarious views are so enlightening.
Wow!
You are so amazing Chris. Been following you a long time thanks for your enthusiasm. This old biologist needed to be encouraged today God Bless you son.
Wow, thank you!
Wow! Very cool and interesting. Definitely worth getting out and about in the cold! Thank you for sharing.
These are awesome.
Ice bubble formation.
Freezing just acts as a lid.
Decomposition happens in the bottom sediment. Mostly bacteria happily munching on the pondweed that die and sank in the fall. But also an assortment of invertibrates. Some will be methane, some H2S, some could be simple CO2, but CO2 is quite soluble in water.
So you have a pocket of moderate activity, and periodically it “burps” and sends a few bubbles upward.
Bubbles rise until they hit the bottom of the ice. There they perch, like bats.
But, if you haven’t noticed, it’s still cold out there. So the surface continues to freeze down. Now the perched bubble is embedded in ice.
The pocket burbs again. New perched bubble below the first one.
How big are the bubbles:
* How active is the pocket. More active, bigger bubbles.
* How cold is it. Colder makes ice capture the bubbles sooner, so they can’t grow from the next burp, but that burp starts a new one.
In a big lake, there may be currents that will push bubbles around and either break them up into a bunch of little ones, or herd them together.
Really interesting!
Could it be that the bottom of the ice is not flat either, so that bubbles accumulate where the ice is thinnest–which could be due–totally uneducated speculation– to heat differentials within the water. This mechanism would require that the bubbles had the ability to flow to the thinnest ice, which would be the highest point in the capping ice, the way oil and gas migrate to the top of anticlines. Not sure the bubbles could do that.
The stacked ice bubble s are amazing, Chris. Thanks for that beginning of an explanation about the physics of their formation.
these ice bubbles are so very cool.
On Fri, Jan 7, 2022 at 9:49 AM The Prairie Ecologist wrote:
> Chris Helzer posted: ” Those of you who have been around this blog for a > while probably know about my obsession with photographing ice bubbles. I > don’t understand all the intricacies of how those bubbles are created, but > I think there are at least two forces in play. One is ” >
You’re right; these are spectacular. Thanks for sharing.
You’re right; these images are spectacular. Thanks for sharing.
These are spectacular. Thank you for sharing nature’s art.
I have never seen such a spectacle. These are indeed enchanting. It makes me wish I lived somewhere near a wetland. From hilltops to rivers edge the farmers around here keep the fields tiled so you don’t see anything like this.
Absolutely stunning! Thank you for sharing.