Question

In 2021, Feb, temperature was ca −10∘C during night and −3∘C during day time, for about three weeks (until Feb 20th). A small lake in Mölndal was covered with thick ice.

From Feb 20th to 28th (the time when the ice flake photos were taken), temperature was about 0∘C during evening and +5∘C during the day time. On Feb 28th, I noticed ice flakes embedded
with air bubbles, floating on the water surface at the edges of large ice blocks. The air bubbles in the ice flakes had certain periodic patterns.
I put a folded postit paper on the ice flakes to measure the size of the period. What can you speculate about the periodic pattern? Please quantify your speculation.

Answer 1

The periodic pattern observed in the air bubbles in the ice flakes is caused by the freezing process of water, resulting in a crystal structure with a repeating pattern. The size of the period can be related to the growth rate of the ice flakes. Factors such as temperature fluctuations and ice movement may have contributed to the specific periodic pattern observed.

Step-by-step explanation:

The periodic pattern observed in the air bubbles embedded in the ice flakes floating on the water surface at the edges of large ice blocks can be explained by the freezing process of water. When water freezes, it forms a crystal structure with a repeating pattern. This pattern is visible in the arrangement of the air bubbles in the ice flakes.

The size of the period, which you measured using a folded postit paper, can be related to the growth rate of the ice flakes. If the temperature fluctuates and changes the rate of freezing, it can result in variations in the size of the period.

It is possible that factors such as local temperature variations and the movement of the ice floating on the lake contributed to the specific periodic pattern observed in the air bubbles in the ice flakes.