Dangerous and beautiful ice tsunami

Image source: Visual China

At the beginning of 2020, an ice tsunami occurred along the shores of Lake Erie in the United States, and the ice floes formed an "ice wall" of more than 9 meters high under the action of the waves, destroying buildings and other facilities around Lake Erie; in November 2019, the ice tsunami "hit" the northernmost town in Russia, and residents evacuated...

What is an ice tsunami? Fan Wenjie, associate professor of the Meteorological Cadre Training College of the China Meteorological Administration, said that the ice tsunami, also known as the "ice barrier", is a phenomenon in which a large amount of ice flows from the ocean or lake to the land. A large number of tall and hard walls of ice formed by the accumulation of ice cubes will slowly rush to the shore with strong and stable winds under the impact of the waves (lake water). Although it does not move fast, due to the huge "ice wall" of the ice tsunami, the destructive power cannot be underestimated.

The formation of ice tsunamis is often inseparable from these conditions. First of all, it needs to have a large area of the sea or a large lake, and secondly, there must be a continuous low temperature that causes the sea surface or lake to have a large thickness and a long ice period (but it cannot be completely frozen), which is the "material basis" formed.

"It's not enough to have that, there needs to be a 'force' to push these huge ice cubes to shore." Fan Wenjie said that at this time, if combined with the sub-ice seawater or lake water surge, coupled with the huge thrust of the wind, then the "ice wall" is likely to be pushed to the shore, destroying buildings and other facilities.

Based on these internal and external factors, it can be seen that it is not just a random sea (lake) that can form an ice tsunami. It occurs mostly in the seas and lakes of high latitudes during the cold season, and it also needs to have factors such as lower temperatures and strong winds that create large ice accumulations.

The Great Lakes in North America, including Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, are located between 40 degrees north latitude and 50 degrees north latitude. The surface of the Great Lakes freezes every winter, and the low-lying terrain of the area and the strong cold winds from the Arctic Ocean in winter make the Great Lakes region more prone to ice tsunamis from January to February every year, and the scene is spectacular.

Sailim Lake in the western part of the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang is a lake with the "potential" of an ice tsunami. Lake Sailim has a high latitude, high altitude, large lake area, and often freezes in winter. In the spring, the temperature rises and large areas of ice slowly melt.

In April 2018, Sailim Lake in the spring gradually woke up, and the lake ice slowly melted. Under the thrust of the northerly wind, the ice surface is slowly pushed to the south shore by the surging lake water, and the ice layer breaks and slowly rushes to the shore of the lake, and an ice tsunami occurs. The ice crystals it forms are like diamonds, and under the sunlight of the plateau, they are amazed by the beauty of "half lake fat jade and half lake blue".