A spontaneous ice-spike like formation at the foot of a weir on a natural stream in south central North Dakota.
Bubbling sounds were heard emerging from the top. Observed by Dennis Rosenkranz and Nathan Stroh, Winter 2011.
See
nd.water.usgs.gov/sw/icespikes.html
It appears that the stream freezes over completely and then later additional flow forces water upward through a crack. The new water partly freezes when it emerges, forming a messy tower of ice. Subsequent water comes out near the top of the tower, adding to it.
Something similar is sometimes seen in your fridge when the expansion due to freezing drives water up forming an "ice spike". See
www.physics.utoronto.ca/~smorris/edl/icespikes/icespikes....
Posted with the kind permission of
U.S. Geological Survey
Department of the Interior/USGS
Photo by: Nathan Stroh/USGS
