Walker discovers rare ice circle phenomenon in British waters for the first time

Walker discovers rare ice circle phenomenon in British waters for the first time

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 12:39 PM on 13th January 2009

A rare ice circle phenomenon normally associated with the cooler waters of North America and Scandinavia has been recorded in Britain for the first time.

A giant spinning ice disc, which normally only occur in much cooler waterways, has been spotted on a river in Devon.

The circles form when a slow moving river current creates a turning eddy in which a rotating disc of ice grinds out its edges, forming a gap between it and the surrounding ice.

Roy Jefferies was walking his dog along the River Otter, near Honiton during last week's sub-zero temperatures when he made the startling find.


Roy Jefferies discovered the rare ice circle phenomenon, which usually occurs in much colder climates, in a Devon river last week

Mr Jefferies was so amazed by what he saw that he called friend Graham Blissett, who has a keen interest in phenomena of this kind.

Both men were amazed by the slowly rotating ten foot wide and perfectly circular phenomenon which was stationary in the current and about six foot from the bank near where a stream joined the river.

Mr Blissett said such discs were 'very, very rare' and he had never heard of one forming in England before.

'I couldn't believe it when he told me,' Mr Blissett said.


The 10ft frozen circle was revolving in the water making a complete 360 degree rotation every four minutes and ten seconds

He grabbed his camera and raced to the river, where he captured photographs of the slowly turning disc of ice.

'I saw the most perfect circle of ice about two metres from the edge of the bank,' said Mr Blissett.

'It was about three metres in diameter and, on timing it, we discovered it was completing a revolution in four minutes and ten seconds.

'The air temperature at the time was sub-zero and the weather had been bitterly cold for the past week.'

Mr Blissett said such discs usually varied in diameter but some in Sweden had been recorded at more than 200m wide.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1114071/Walker-discovers-rare-ice-circle-phenomenon-British-waters-time.html