In nature ice is ever-changing — growing, shrinking, and shifting. This poster illustrates that with a cylinder of ice floating in room temperature water. As the ice melts, it flips over into a new orientation, stays that way for a time, and then shifts again, as seen in the series of blue images. This flipping results from the melting flows around the ice, illustrated in the colorful central photo. This color schlieren image shows dense plumes of cold meltwater sinking beneath the ice. As that cold water drips down the sides of the ice, it leaves behind a wavy, patterned surface. Eventually, melting from the bottom of the ice leaves the remaining ice top-heavy, which triggers a flip into a more stable orientation. (Image and research credit: B. Johnson et al.)
Flipping Ice
