Low temperatures combined with waves are currently leading to the appearance of so-called pancake ice on Lake Erie in Canada, on the shores of the southernmost and fourth largest of North America’s five Great Lakes (see video above).
Pancake ice (also called plate ice, note) can cover large areas of water in just a few days. In addition to the bitter cold, the condition for its formation is the presence of sea waves – otherwise a closed ice surface would form without waves.
The weather phenomenon can currently be observed on the shores of Lake Erie – the border between Canada and the United States runs through it – in the Canadian province of Ontario.
The ice pieces, which usually have a diameter between 30 centimeters and three meters, get their typical shape through the constant collision with the other pieces of pancake ice. The collisions are also responsible for the bulging edge of the floe.
As the United States National Meteorological and Oceanographic Administration (NOAA) reported on Wednesday, the 388 kilometer long and up to 92 kilometer wide area currently has an ice concentration of 12.35 percent.
Source: Krone
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