Bizarre 'ice volcanoes' erupt on Lake Michigan beach
Bizarre 'ice volcanoes' erupt on Lake Michigan beach
By Nicoletta Lanese - Staff Writer 13 hours ago
What are 'ice volcanoes,' and why are they erupting in Michigan?
A so-called ice volcano erupting on Oval Beach in Michigan
(Image: © National Weather Service of Grand Rapids)
Ice volcanoes spewed great plumes of water on the shores of Lake Michigan last weekend, and the National Weather Service (NWS) caught the odd phenomenon in action.
During a stroll on Oval Beach on the lake's eastern shore, located in the state of Michigan, an employee of the NWS Grand Rapids snapped a few photos of water bursting from mounds in the frigid ground. "You never know what you'll find at the lake until you go out there," the employee tweeted. "Today it was volcanoes."
Despite their nickname, ice volcanoes aren't really volcanoes at all. The cone-like mounds form at the edges of lakes, where thin sheets of ice form, and water shoots through holes in the ice, Tom Niziol, a contributor for Weather Underground's Category 6 blog, explained in a Facebook post. Water sloshes beneath the ice sheet and builds up enough pressure to force spurts of water to the surface. If the air above is cold enough, the released water freezes over the surrounding ground, forming a mini volcano of sorts.
"[Ice volcanoes] can be very dangerous to climb on however because they are hollow and built over that hole in the ice," Niziol said. "Don't ever go venturing out onto them."
More:
https://www.livescience.com/ice-volcanoes-on-lake-michigan-beach.html
