On a research tripper to the Arctic , biologist Jeff Bowman find a bizarre tantrum . Overnight , surface of the ocean had spud thousands and M of what seemed to be delicate ice efflorescence . They floated on the open , sparkling like improbable geophysical artifacts . What caused it ?
NPR ’s Robert Krulwich report :
They are n’t peak , of course . They are more like ice sculpture that grow on the border between the sea and air . On Sept. 2 , 2009 , the day Jeff ’s fellow Matthias Wietz took these pictures , the air was extremely cold and extremely dry , colder than the sea open . When the air gets that different from the sea , the dryness pulls wet off small bumps in the ice , snatch of ice vaporize , the atmosphere catch humid – but only for a while . The cold construct water vaporization gravid . The air want to release that excess weight , so crystal by crystal , air flex back into ice , creating delicate , feathery tendrils that reach sometimes two , three inches eminent , like elephantine snowflakes . The sea , literally , blossoms .
Read moreon Krulwich ’s blog .
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