Mysterious Ice Pancakes

Mysterious Ice Pancakes, strange-looking formations that resemble frozen lily pads, found floating on a Scottish river.

Images © Jamie Urquhart/River Dee Trust

Biologists photographed these dinner plate-sized circles of ice, said to be made of frozen foam, on a quiet pool of the River Dee in Aberdeenshire.
Ice Pancakes normally forms during rough seas within the polar circles.

“We weren’t sure what they are called but we found this explanation that we think fits. What we think happened is this: Foam floating about on the water started to freeze, probably at night. Bits of frozen foam got swirled around in an eddy, and became roughly circular. Perhaps each disc grew when smaller pieces of unfrozen foam struck the disc, adhered and then froze in place.”