The creation of some of the most beautiful zen garden designs on the planet is due to an unlikely artist: thousands upon thousands of tiny ice crystals. These stones are clumped together in a landscape to create delicate patterns.
The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published new research Oct. 5, which shows how ice needles can create intricate patterns of stones in different landscapes. Ice needles freeze and push small rocks to one side or the other. The rocks will become more concentrated over time and form a pattern. Bernard Hallet (University of Washington geologist) co-authored the study. He said that the work confirms over a century of scientific speculation regarding the relationship between stone patterns and ice needles. It might also shed light on the origins and mystery of a set of patterns that was found on Mars.
When the temperature of the soil is too high, it can cause ice needles. Certain types of dirt contract with temperature drops, and exhale at night. The soil's water is simultaneously drawn up by capillary action. This means that water molecules stick to the sides and ends of the ground's very narrow pores. This water then freezes into a crystal-like needle shape as it rises to the frosty air.
Hallet shared this with Live Science: Sometimes they can be very striking. They are quite common, Hallet told Live Science.
Scientists have long associated tiny ice sculptures and intricate swirls on pebbly ground with the colorful landscapes surrounding Hawaii's volcanoes.
They didn't know how ice could trace these patterns without living beings. They began to investigate.
Researchers covered a 1 by 1 foot (1.4 meter) square area of soil with evenly-sized, regular-spaced stones. After 30 freeze-thaw cycles were completed, the researchers covered the area with small, uniformly spaced stones. This allowed ice needles form and melt. The rising and falling needles gradually, almost imperceptibly, pushed the pebbles towards one side. This was caused by small environmental imbalances like the slope of the landscape. A pile of stones weighs more than one pebble so ice needles can't push them once they reach a sufficient concentration. The team observed zen-garden-like patterns begin to form at the end of their experiments: stones on one and bare ground the other.
Hallet said that stones tend to move towards stony domains because of this tendency. Flat stones tend to form loops and swirls while stones on gentle slopes tend to organize into rows.
According to research published in Arctic and Alpine Research, not all soils are porous enough to form ice-making needles. Also, needle ice is not possible in all climates. It will only form where the ground and air are moist.
Experts think that there may be a subtler version to this cycle behind the patterns observed on Mars by NASA's Curiosity rover. NASA's Kennedy Space Center says that although the Martian atmosphere has very little water, some evidence of tiny ice crystals can be found in the Red Planets soil. This dirt expands as it heats up and shrinks when it cools.
Although this is less dramatic than ice needles pushing stones aside, it can still cause small pebbles or dust to shift over time. Hallet stated that the intricate patterns created by soil contractions and expansions on Earth might not be noticed. These features are visible on Mars because Mars has so little to no wind.
Unfortunately, scientists have yet to find any Martian ice needles.
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