July 9, 2011 Frozen air bubbles

[CaliforniaMama]

Anyone know how bubbles get trapped like that?

[ajaccio]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaMama

Anyone know how bubbles get trapped like that?

Don't know your answer, but when I was a kid growing up in New England my parents taught me to look at ice on a pond and see how far down the bubbles went. That would give me an idea of how thick the ice was before I'd decide if I could skate on it or not.

Ponds and such freeze from the surface downward. Even with ice on the top, there is movement of the water underneath. I assume that bubbles get created in the current and get trapped by the ice above which freezes more and more downward.

This is my guess...

[SPUCK]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaMama

Anyone know how bubbles get trapped like that?

Fish farts.

[Dougie]

Temp get cold. Water freezes and produces 1/2 inch of ice. Bubbles of gas from lake bottom rise and get trapped underneath the ice layer. The next night when it gets cold again, more water freezes and ice becomes thicker forming on the ice above it but not on the bubble except at the edges. The next day, more gas bubbles up getting trapped again. Repeat over many days and night all winter long..