Breathtaking Views from Antarctica: Ukrainian Scientist Captures Rare Natural Phenomenon [PHOTO]
The National Ukrainian Antarctic Research Centre has revealed the secret of the world's best "snow doughnuts". It requires great skill and care. The wild expanses of ice and winds form some of the most beautiful and amazing landscapes in the world, but only a few people can see them.
But thanks to a Ukrainian scientist, a biologist at the National Antarctic Research Centre, Serhii Glotov, you can experience this cold beauty from the comfort of your warm flat.
The so-called "snow doughnuts" are multi-layered snow bundles that are usually empty inside. They can be either very small - from a few centimetres in diameter, or quite noticeable - over a metre in diameter, resembling hay bales in a field.
This phenomenon is quite rare, including in the Antarctic, although it can be found not only here.
This is because a number of weather conditions are required for the formation of snow drifts.
First, two different layers of snow. The lower one is frozen or covered with an ice crust. It will be like a lining. The upper one is fresh, loose and wet. It should cover the lower one, but not stick to it.
Secondly, the air temperature should be close to the ice melting point. That is, slightly above 0°C.
Thirdly, the wind force must be strong enough to move these snow clumps, but not to destroy them.
In addition, a slope is mostly required for the formation of snow rolls. Then they are easier and faster to roll up.
The simultaneous coincidence of all these rather specific weather conditions makes snow rolls a unique phenomenon that you don't see very often.
Since the snow is fresh and light in the middle of the roll, it is easily weathered, leaving a large hole. Sometimes it is formed right when the snow path is being packed.
And biologist and skilled photographer Serhii Glotov takes strikingly beautiful photos through such holes, which the National Antarctic Science Centre is happy to share with us.
The National Antarctic Science Centre was established in 1993. It is a state scientific institution of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine that organises annual expeditions to the Ukrainian Antarctic station Akademik Vernadsky, ensures the station's operation, and coordinates Ukraine's research in the Antarctic.
