Transition ice

Here is another picture from Lake Hoare. This is transition ice, the ice between the moat and center ice. This year there is snow on top of the ice cover which makes it hard to see. There is also sediment (sand) on top of the ice. Sometimes this sand looks like mini dunes. This sediment gets blown onto the lake ice during wind storms. As the ice warms, the sediment will melt down into the lake ice and form melt pools. For now, the sediment is a safe place to step. Even though I love ice, I do not always like walking on it, especially when it looks like this. I am now safely back in my lab in McMurdo, so I can enjoy the beauty of it and not have to work on it. The Suess Glacier is barely visible in the background.