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"Frost Flowers" Blooming on the Lake Surface: A Mysterious Photo Photographed at Lake Onneto in Hokkaido
This morning, the temperature at Onneto dropped to -15°C. Frost flowers were seen on the shore.
Quoted from @junrensui's post
The photo shows "frost flowers," a natural phenomenon unique to winter. The photo was taken on the shore of Lake Onneto in Akan Mashu National Park on December 10th, a day when the temperature dropped suddenly to low. The delicate ice crystals look like white flowers in bloom. Their beauty has drawn comments on social media such as "I want to go!" and "Is this finally a winter scene?", and the photo has attracted attention as a sign of the arrival of winter in Hokkaido.
We asked a local guide who knows the area inside and out: What are the conditions for seeing the "frost flowers"?
Frost flowers photographed at Lake Akan on December 13th
The frost flowers were photographed by Junichi Kawamura, a nature and mountain guide based in eastern Hokkaido who works in the Lake Akan and Onneto areas. According to Kawamura, the temperature at Onneto dropped early in the morning that day, and by chance, it was a morning that perfectly met the conditions for the frost flowers to appear.
Frost flowers also photographed at Lake Akan on December 13th.
So what other conditions cause frost flowers to appear? We asked Kawamura, who knows the local nature inside and out.
■Conditions for Frost Flowers to appear
1. Extremely cold temperatures of -15°C or below must be sustained. This is an absolute requirement for water vapor to freeze instantly. 2. There must be almost no wind, as wind can easily blow away the delicate ice crystals. 3. The surface of the lake must be thinly frozen, with no snow on top. This requires conditions that allow water vapor (humidity) to easily rise from the water surface. 4. It mainly occurs during a short period in the early morning when it is extremely cold due to radiation cooling. Once the sun rises and the temperature rises, it quickly melts and disappears.
It can be seen early in the morning when these conditions are met.
"Ice flowers" appear only for a short time under certain conditions. They are a part of the mystery of Hokkaido's winter that can only be encountered in the harsh cold.
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