NASA MODIS Image of the Day: June 15, 2009 - Circles in Thin Ice, Lake Baikal, Russia

Late in April 2009, astronauts aboard the International Space Station observed a strange circular area of thinned ice in the southern end of Lake Baikal in southern Siberia.

Images

Siberia is remote and cold; ice cover can persist into June.

This MODIS Aqua image from April 20, 2009, shows one of these circles, which is the focal point for ice break up in the very southern end of the lake. The feature was first visible on April 5, 2009. Baikal contained another, very similar circle near the center of the lake above a submarine ridge that bisects the lake. By April 24, the circular patch of thin ice was becoming a hole of open water. Similar circular ice patterns although not nearly as distinct have been documented in the same central area of the lake in April 1994 (during the STS-59 Shuttle mission) and in 1985 (during the STS-51B Shuttle mission). While the origin of the circles is unknown, the peculiar pattern suggests convection (upwelling) in the lakes water column.

Ice cover changes rapidly at this time of year. Within a day, the ice can melt almost completely and freeze again overnight. Throughout April, the circles are persistent: they appear when ice cover forms, and then disappear as ice melts. The pattern and appearance suggest that the ice is quite thin. What can cause convection, bringing warmer waters to the surface? Hydrothermal activity and high heat flow have been observed in other parts of the lake, but the location of this circle near the southern tip, over relatively deep water, is puzzling. Lake Baikal is unique in many regards. It is the largest (by volume) and deepest (1,637 meters at the deepest point) fresh water lake on Earth. It is also one of the worlds oldest lakes (25-30 million years old); sediment deposited on the bottom is up to 7 kilometers deep. The lakes long, thin, and deep shape results from its location in the Baikal Rift Valley.