Nature - Images

Interesting Images

Antarctic Cubes

Although Antarctica's enormous masses of ice may look solid to human eyes, the reality is that they're in constant motion, flowing and bumping and grinding against one another. That motion causes patterns to appear — not through carving but rather a long period of pulling.

A massive slab of flowing ice begins to go afloat, and initially, because it is very thick, it spreads laterally [side to side], creating deep along-flow troughs. Later, with further flow, the ice begins to stretch out longitudinally, and the surface snow breaks perpendicular to the first troughs creating the huge cubes.