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Related: About this forumThousands of tiny 'ice needles' may explain mysterious stone patterns on Earth ... and Mars
By Joanna Thompson 14 minutes ago
These stunning patterns have an unlikely designer
Elaborate stone patterns created by ice needles. (Image credit: Shutterstock)
Some of the most breathtaking zen garden patterns on the planet owe their existence to an unlikely artist: thousands of tiny "ice needles." From swirls to circles to orderly rows, each delicate design is created when similarly-sized stones clump together across a landscape.
New research published Oct. 5 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences documents, for the first time, how ice needles create intricate patterns of stone in various landscapes. As ice needles freeze, they nudge small rocks to one side or another. Over time, the rocks become concentrated in one area, forming a design. The work confirms more than a century's worth of scientific speculation about the relationship between ice needles and stone patterns, said study coauthor Bernard Hallet, a geologist at the University of Washington. And it might shed light on the origins of an even more mysterious set of patterns ones found on Mars.
Ice needles form when there is an imbalance between the temperature of moist soil and the temperature of the air. At night, certain types of dirt "exhale", contracting with the drop in temperature. Simultaneously, water in the soil is drawn upward by capillary action, the molecules of water sticking to the sides of very narrow pores in the ground. But as this water rises and hits the frosty air, it turns to ice, freezing into a crystalline needle-like shape.
"Sometimes they are very striking," Hallet told Live Science. "And theyre quite common." If youve ever walked over "crunchy" ground early in the morning, youve probably crushed some ice needles without realizing it.
More:
https://www.space.com/ice-needles-explain-rock-formations
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Thousands of tiny 'ice needles' may explain mysterious stone patterns on Earth ... and Mars (Original Post)
Judi Lynn
Oct 2021
OP
eShirl
(18,509 posts)1. is that like frost heaves?
Pobeka
(4,999 posts)2. A striking example of ice crystals coming from the ground at Mt. Rainier from two years ago
Sometimes the crystals aren't so tiny, these were about 2 inches long as I recall.