Late in April 2009, astronauts aboard the International Space Station observed a strange circular area
of thinned ice in the southern end of Lake Baikal in southern Siberia. The ice ring had a diameter of 2.7 miles (4.4 km).
Credit: NASA
Posted on 06/01/2009 6:38:48 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
Strange circles have once again appeared in the frozen surface of Lake Baikal in Siberia, as spotted by astronauts aboard the International Space Station this April. News reports described the ice rings as a puzzling phenomenon.
But experts say they can explain the mystery, and it's not aliens - methane gas rising from the lake floor represents the likely culprit.
Methane emissions can create a rising mass of warm water that begins swirling in a circular pattern because of the Coriolis force, or the phenomenon caused by the Earth's rotation that also helps create cyclones.
"Once the water mass reaches the underside of the ice on the surface of the lake, the warm water melts the ice in a ring shape," said Marianne Moore, a marine ecologist at Wellesley College in Massachusetts who has spent much time studying Lake Baikal with Russian researchers. The lake is the largest (by volume) and deepest fresh water lake on Earth.
The latest ring patterns included a circle of thin ice with a diameter of 2.7 miles (4.4 km), although the circular patch was becoming a hole of open water. Astronauts spotted similar ice circles in both 1985 and 1994, and satellites have also made sightings over the past years.
This phenomenon is nothing new to the Russian government, which has documented circle sightings on an official Ministry of Natural Resources Web site.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Late in April 2009, astronauts aboard the International Space Station observed a strange circular area
of thinned ice in the southern end of Lake Baikal in southern Siberia. The ice ring had a diameter of 2.7 miles (4.4 km).
Credit: NASA
Alien figure skaters?
fish farts did that?
From the believe it or not file: As I was reading the above excerpt I was watching a History Channel doct and this same exact subject came up!! It was a segment on giant whirlpools in the ocean created by methane gas below.
The oceans we are killing are killing us through global warmng...what about the polar bears... they are doomed by natural methane...noooo!
So that’s where the earth’s but*hole is.
What the heck is that a picture of? Is that person pushing off onto a tiny circular ice floe? Please tell me that is photoshop or something...
Ice Circles
Close: It would have to be an awfully big fish to fart like that.
More likely a freshwater whale fart. Resembles an underwater volcano emission.
Don’t light any matches there, my Russkie friends.
A school of fish going in circles that have bad gas after eating anchovies could do that ya know!
So the aliens are farting in their spaceship?
Duh, methane? Pfooey. hahaha Lake ice melts in Spring where spring water enters. Lake water freezes in Autumn where lake is calmest.
A large coffee mug.
LOL!
> Ice Circles
Sheesh, ask a stupid question, get.... ;-)
I swear you must have the world’s largest collection of interesting and offbeat images. I’m always impressed by the stuff you post. My hat is off to you...
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