Published Date:
04 February 2010
HEBDEN Bridge Times reader Phil Scott took these pictures of a rare phenomenon normally associated with Scandinavia - spinning discs of ice - in the Hebden Water above Lumb Falls in the Crimsworth Valley at the weekend.
Phil had been mountain biking in the upper reaches of Crimsworth Dene when he came across the discs in the water.
"I first thought somebody had thrown some plastic plates in the water," said Phil, a lecturer at Leeds University. "But on closer inspection found them to be discs of ice . It was a beautiful cold clear blue day and the discs were a circle of ice around 15inches in diameter."
After returning home, Phil carried out some research to discover the spinning discs.
"Apparently they were first seen in this country in a Devon river in 2009. But they are normally associated with Scandinavia," he added.
Ice discs can vary in diameter from under a metre up to an astonishing 200 metres. It is thought that they are formed when a slow moving river current creates a slow turning eddy in which a rotation disc of ice grinds out its edges forming a gap between it and the surrounding ice.
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Last Updated:
04 February 2010 3:59 PM
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Source:
n/a
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Location:
Hebden Bridge
