What Force Created These Bizarre Cubes in Antarctica's Ice?

[Judi Lynn]

By Rafi Letzter, Staff Writer | December 15, 2017 06:30am ET

- click for image -

https://img.purch.com/h/1400/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5saXZlc2NpZW5jZS5jb20vaW1hZ2VzL2kvMDAwLzA5Ny8xOTIvb3JpZ2luYWwvcnNhLTEtSWN5LXN1Z2FyLWN1YmVzX1BldGVyLUNvbnZleV9FYXJ0aC1zY2llbmNlLmpwZw==

The photo appears to represent an area of "fast-flowing and floating ice," Scambos wrote in an email to Live Science.

Although Antarctica's enormous masses of ice may look solid to human eyes, the reality is that they're in constant motion, flowing and bumping and grinding against one another. That motion causes patterns to appear — not through carving but rather a long period of pulling.

"A massive slab of flowing ice begins to go afloat," Scambos wrote, "and initially, because it is very thick, it spreads laterally [side to side], creating deep along-flow troughs. Later, with further flow, the ice begins to stretch out longitudinally, and the surface snow breaks perpendicular to the first troughs."

In other words, as the ice spreads and thins, it cracks. First, the cracks appear parallel to the ice's forward motion, creating a series of horizontal crevasses. Later, another series of cracks appears perpendicular to the direction of the ice flow, completing the weirdly regular grid, Scambos said.

More:
https://www.livescience.com/61196-ice-squares-how-antarctica.html?utm_source=notification

[marble falls]

1. Why do we need to know why? That picture has all the wonder I need in it already. Wow!

[TomSlick]

2. Because it is the nature of humans to want to know why?

It doesn't have to have any effect on the human condition why something happens. Nevertheless, we will always want to know why.

[Jim Lane]

3. I agree. The explanation greatly adds to my appreciation of the photo. (n/t)