'Pancake ice' forms in water underneath Michigan waterfall
Last updated on: 28 December,2022 09:33 am
Pancake ice is formed as a result of the turbulent waters.
MICHIGAN (Web Desk) - Visitors to a Michigan waterfall noticed something unusual underneath the falling water -- a phenomenon known as "pancake ice."
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources shared a photo of the unusual formations, chunks of round ice that resemble frozen pancakes, underneath the falls at Tahquamenon Falls State Park in the Upper Peninsula.
Experts said so-called "pancake ice" is formed as a result of the turbulent waters and cold temperatures.
"The [water] velocity outside the pool is larger than that in the pool, causing a shear force, making the floes rotate and forming them into a circular shape," Hung Tao Shen, a research professor in hydraulic engineering at Clarkson University in New York, told the Detroit Free Press.