![]() While the presence of more methane isn’t a promising one for the climate, the effect it creates in the ice is nothing short of otherworldly. The phenomenon has been witnessed in many lakes in western Canada, in Russia and Greenland, as well as several states, including Alaska, Minnesota, Wyoming and South Dakota. Walter Anthony studies the bubbles to determine their potential role in global warming as methane-a greenhouse gas-is released into the atmosphere in increasingly greater quantities. Katey Walter Anthony, a professor and aquatic ecosystem ecologist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. ![]() “Bubbles rise up from sediments, hit the bottom of downward-growing lake ice, and freeze into place,” explains Dr. He came away with compelling images that are still among his personal favorites.Ī lone leaf is trapped among methane-filled layers of ice as winter engulfs Abraham Lake. He wanted to share the experience, but for photographic purposes, he knew it would be advantageous to have other people to use as models as he set off to capture the bubbles in photos. He returned to that same location a few days later with friends. Beyond the bubbles, you could see rocks at the bottom of the lake below and the color of the lake shining through.” “I was taken aback by how unsettling it was. “I remember being on all fours for a long time, just looking at things and marveling at the geometry,” says Zizka, a mountain landscape and adventure photographer based in Banff, Canada. He’d seen these bubbles in images before but had never laid eyes on them himself. Some were perfectly round, others more abstract, like wax in a lava lamp frozen in place. The surface was smooth, yet through the ice, he could see layers of bubbles trapped in the ice-a 3D work of art. A sea of frozen methane bubbles had appeared beneath his blades. ![]() Toward the far end of Minnewanka, he stopped in his tracks, astounded. Laurel Carlton enjoys a skate at Lake Minnewanka, Banff National Park. They do start to pop within a couple of seconds of taking them out of the freezer though.For a few weeks every winter, Banff’s largest lake turns into one of the world’s finest ice rinks. The bubble mixture at the bottom of the cup stayed liquid but the bubbles at the top froze beautifully. Then we put it gently into the freezer and left it for 5-10 minutes. We put a little of our homemade bubble mixture into a cup and blew into it with a straw to make lots of bubbles. If the weather isn’t cold enough to make frozen bubbles outside, you can make them in the freezer. We’ve not tried it on days when there’s been a breeze, but I would guess that there needs to be very little wind for it to work as well. 2☌ or colder seems to be the temperature needed for this to work. We’ve tried again a couple of times when the temperature was around -1☌ and not had much success. We even managed to make some double bubbles.Īs the temperature started to creep up towards 0☌, we found that the bubbles tended to pop before they could freeze. Some of them lasted twenty minutes or more. If we didn’t touch them, the frozen bubbles lasted quite a long time before they popped. I love how the bubbles would often deflate quite slowly if they popped, leaving frozen patches of bubble goo, like delicate fairy wings. We blew bubbles over the lawn and watched them land on the frosty grass, and then gradually freeze. ![]() The temperature was -2☌ and there was no wind. We headed out into the garden early in the morning when it was very frosty outside. The golden syrup helps the bubbles to crystallise and makes them less likely to pop. To make the bubble mixture we used, add one cup of washing-up liquid and half a cup of golden syrup to three cups of water and mix. I used the same solution to make frozen bubbles outside. ![]() When we made the bubbles in the freezer, we got the best results using a homemade bubble solution rather than a shop-bought one. Then I spotted a post from Family Days Tried and Tested sharing their success at making frozen bubbles on a frosty morning and thought I would give it a try. I figured that was the best we could do as I thought the temperature had to be quite a bit below freezing to make frozen bubbles outside. We ended up making them in the freezer that day as it was quite a mild day. One of the daily challenges was to make frozen bubbles. We’ve been getting outside each day this month thanks to joining in with The Ladybirds’ Adventures and Thimble and Twig for their Wild about Winter challenge. ![]()
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