On the Finnish island of Hailuoto, a rare event occurs in nature. When suitable weather conditions occur, Marjaniemi beach on the island is covered with egg-like ice balls. This rare event, which occurs as a result of weather events, surprises those who see it. Thousands of large and small ice floes that appear in an area reaching 30 meters wide on the beach create interesting images. This interesting natural phenomenon has been encountered from time to time in other parts of the world.
Amateur photographer Risto Mattila first discovered the ice balls that emerged in the Gulf of Bothnia between Finland and Sweden. Although it is not fully understood how and why this interesting event occurred when viewed from the outside, experts have clarified the cause of the event. Jouni Vainio, an ice expert from the Finnish Meteorological Institute, stated that this is a very rare natural phenomenon.
Formation Process of Ice Balls
Ice balls seen on the beach can be seen once a year under favorable weather conditions. Small balls of ice, formed by rolling by wind and water, go through a certain process. In order for the balls to form, the air temperature must be slightly below zero, the water must be at freezing point, the sandy beach must be slightly sloping, the weather must be windy and the waves must be a little fluffy. Juoni Vanio, for the formation process of the ice balls, “Also, we need something that can function as a core. This core, which begins to collect the ice around it, is carried back and forth to the shore by the waves. “When the surface of the little ball gets wet, it freezes and grows larger,” he said.
from Illinois State University in geography and geology. James Carter; Stating that this event was seen in autumn, he said that the ice formed on the water surface took shape with the help of waves. Dr. “Thanks to the photographer, the world got the chance to see something most of us would never see,” Carter said.
Matilla, who took the photos, described the moment she found the ice eggs as follows; “I was at the beach of Marjaniemi with my wife. The weather was sunny, about -1C and it was a pretty windy day. There we found this incredible phenomenon. Along the beach were eggs of snow and ice near the waterline. The smallest was the size of an egg, while the largest was the size of a soccer ball.”
Similar natural phenomena have been encountered before in Russia and around Lake Michigan near Chicago. In 2016, residents of Nyda in Siberia found huge ice and snowballs covering 18 km of coastline.
