Spinning 50ft disk of ice filmed in Russia

[Mandy Esser]

Spinning 50ft disk of ice filmed in Russia
Posted on Monday, 9 May, 2016



Ice disks occur only in some of the world's coldest regions. Image Credit: CC BY 1.0 Julian Colton
The rare natural phenomenon was captured on camera in Omsk Oblast - a region in southwestern Siberia.
Situated in the otherwise calm waters of a semi-frozen river, disks like this one have also been reported on occasion in places like Canada and Scandinavia.

They tend to occur in the outer bends of a river where the acceleration of the water creates a force known as 'rotational shear' which breaks off some of the ice and causes it to start spinning.

While rare, it is possible for these ice disks to reach up to 50ft in diameter.

    Huge disk of ice spins unaided in freezing Russian waters https://t.co/Xf71efifNW pic.twitter.com/VQxgaq9nLa
    — Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) May 6, 2016

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3577497/The-world-s-slowest-whirlpool-Bizarre-footage-shows-50ft-ice-disk-spinning-unaided-freezing-Russian-waters.html

[Mandy Esser]

The world's slowest whirlpool: Bizarre footage shows 50ft ice disk spinning unaided in freezing Russian waters

    Video filmed in Omsk Oblast captured an amazing and rare phenomenon
    Ice disk formed at a bend in the 100ft-wide river which was still and calm
    Phenomenon occurs when some but not all of river water is frozen solid
    Accelerating water creates a force called 'rotational shear' which twists ice

By Charlie Moore For Mailonline

Published: 14:05 EST, 6 May 2016 | Updated: 14:57 EST, 6 May 2016

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This bizarre footage shows a 50ft ice disk slowly spinning around in a freezing Russian river.

The video, filmed in Omsk Oblast, captured an amazing and rare phenomenon where disks of frozen water can build up in rivers and rotate.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3577497/The-world-s-slowest-whirlpool-Bizarre-footage-shows-50ft-ice-disk-spinning-unaided-freezing-Russian-waters.html#ixzz48flJ5LXH
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[Mandy Esser]

Strange: The video, filmed in Omsk Oblast, captured an amazing and rare phenomenon where disks of frozen water can build up in rivers and rotate

[Mandy Esser]

Some of the river was frozen and covered in snow, as snow-coated trees lined the banks to provide a stunning backdrop for the rare occurrence.

The disk can be seen rotating slowly in a clockwise direction while staying totally still in terms of its position in the water.

Ice disks in slow-moving water in cold climates have been known to reach up to 50ft in diameter.
WHAT MADE THE ICE DISK FORM AND SPIN AROUND?

One theory is that cold, dense air turned the river water into ice, but since the water was relatively warm it didn't happen all at once.

Floating bits of ice got caught and started to spin in a circle.

Normally the disks occur at bends in the river where the accelerating water creates a force called 'rotational shear', which breaks off a chunk of ice and twists it around.

As the disc rotates, it grinds against surrounding ice - smoothing into a perfect circle.

The phenomenon is known in the Arctic, Scandanavia and Canada, but is very rare elsewhere.

[Mandy Esser]

Eerie: The disk formed at a bend in the 100ft-wide river which was otherwise totally still and calm

[Mandy Esser]

Pretty: Some of the river was frozen and covered in snow, as snow-coated trees lined the banks to provide a stunning backdrop for the rare occurrence

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3577497/The-world-s-slowest-whirlpool-Bizarre-footage-shows-50ft-ice-disk-spinning-unaided-freezing-Russian-waters.html#ixzz48ft59zVj
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