Sunday 8 February 2009

Singing Ice

Ice sings - but I only heard it for the first time yesterday. Looking out over the mostly frozen Pennington Flashes and watching the geese and ducks, I heard not quite a wind, not quite a wigeon whistle but a tuneful wail sweeping round from some indistinct point. It was the ice - singing. I'd no idea it did.Is it created by the movement of wildfowl on ice? A Google search tells me that ice-skate blades can cause it - like rubbing the top of a wine glass and causing molecules to move. But I'm not so sure.... To me it sounds more like the movement of air (as in a wind instrument). As the ice moves and water laps it must cause the air trapped between the two to move, resulting in a whistle as is it is forced out along the melting edges and any other gaps. (And is consequently sucked in again.) Well that's my theory. What's yours?

A poem is slowly forming in the gaps.
Photo by Tony Dunn - see link in side bar.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

There has been a lot of debate in the press recently about apostrophes. Some Local Authorities are going to remove them from street names e.g. St Andrews Road. My view is that they should be used as long as they are used correctly. What's yours? (or should that be your's - no, it can't be, can it?)

DM

Mistlethrush said...

Your quite right it's "yours". I've corrected it now - thanks. Can't believe I did that - it's not as if I don't actually teach others not to make the same mistake... Blush, blush!

Caroline Gill said...

I much look forward to your poem: quite a hard but truly magical sound to capture in or perhaps breathe into words.

Dave King said...

It also groans. I hears it a couple of days ago, clearing the snow. Twice I thought someone had come up behind me, but there was no one there, just a sheet of ice.

Susan Richardson said...

Really looking forward to your poem, Carol. I'm intrigued by the sounds that ice makes - icebergs and glaciers especially.

Mistlethrush said...

The poem is coming - slowly it's in its resting period now.

Dave - I've heard snow groan too. I've also heard it squeak and creak when I walk on it - nowt to do with my weight of course!

Susan - your Arctic cruise must have been amazing. Look forward to hearing about it in detail one day.

from the field book

from the field book
An inspiring gift for anyone who enjoys watching nature.