Our collaborator Marcos Cole shares these wonderful macro photographs that he obtained after four months doing work on the famous Exploradores Glacier, located in Campos de Hielo Patagónico Norte, Aysén Region. He then explains what the interesting phenomenon consists of.
Hundreds of air bubbles stopped in time by ice.
The Exploradores glacier as it is a temperate glacier has a lot of melting water on it. Many of its cracks have water inside. As we approach the end of summer, the day / night thermal oscillation on the glacier produces the surface freezing of the melting water contained in the cracks, also trapping air which is transformed into bubbles contained in that ice sheet.
Cloistered air bubbles can take different sizes and shapes.
The rapid crystallization of the melt water also produces the geometric shapes of linear lines that can be seen in the photographs.
Example of the rapid crystallization that occurs on the surface of the glacier giving shape to these interesting “rods”.
Author: Marcos Cole
Capture date: February 20, 2020
Place of the taking: Laguna San Rafael National Park
Camera model: Canon SX620 HS
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