Category: State Park Trail #2

Frozen Marsh Farts… And Other Cool Things

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While admittedly a bit juvenile, Frozen Marsh Farts is actually a reasonably accurate description of the ice bubble formations shown in the image above. The formations which look like pancakes stacked atop one another are actually bubbles of methane which were encapsulated by ice as the water froze. In shallow bodies of water like a marsh, organic material from dead plants and fish form a layer of decaying organic matter on the bottom. As this organic material decays, it emits methane gas which usually simply bubbles up to the surface and is released into the atmosphere. However when the temperature suddenly drops below freezing, the water will freeze from the top down. A bubble of methane gas released from the bottom can then become trapped underneath the ice layer as the water freezes around it. If another bubble of methane is released from the same spot on the bottom of the marsh, it can rise up until it comes into contact with the bottom of the now frozen, or mostly frozen, bubble where it becomes trapped and eventually frozen in place as well. This process only happens when the rate of the freezing of the water is balanced just right against the interval between methane bubble releases which does not happen often, making this particular phenomena very uncommon in this area.

Methane is one of the gasses which can be present in flatulence, and so bubbles of methane frozen in the water made me think of… well I think you get the idea.

Although it may be difficult to tell in the photo where you see a stack of bubbles, the top of the uppermost bubble is right at the surface of the ice.
I don’t know for sure, but this looks like a large bubble which ruptured at its bottom, allowing water and a bunch of smaller bubbles to form inside of it. The freezing process must have happened very quickly.
This trio of stacked bubbles shows how in some cases a rising bubble presses up against the bottom of one which is freezing, forming a sort of hour glass shaped single bubble structure. In other cases the rising bubble forms completely detached from the ones above it.
Looking up from the bubbles embedded in the ice. You see what looks like an ordinary late November scene out in the marsh. It would be easy to walk right on past this area and not even notice the interesting bubble formations. Training your eye to spot interesting features in the landscape takes time, but it well worth the effort.
These bubbles were close enough to the boardwalk that I could get a nearly vertical perspective on them. You can see that in addition to the interesting stacked structures beneath the surface of the water, there are intricate patterns on the top of the bubbles where they reached the surface.

The next two photos are from a different part of the trail, but they nicely highlight the cool patterns of crystal formation that appear in thin sheets of ice.

Comparisons pt 1

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Something I really enjoy about visiting the same trails multiple times through out the year is seeing how the land changes with the seasons.  There are a number of locations in the Indiana Dunes which I am particularly drawn to, and which I usually photograph from the same vantage point each time I am there.

This is one such spot in the Indiana Dunes State Park along what is known as the trail #2-10 loop.  Not far from the nature center there is a short boardwalk across a narrow stretch of the marsh.

Late May 2021. The marsh here is a fairly narrow strip bounded on the north and south by forested areas as indicated by the tree lines. The marsh is full of early growth, but has not yet completely filled out. The mosquitos are usually not out in force yet, and it is a good time to spot frogs out on the lilly pads.

Mid July 2023. By this time the marsh has largely filled in with vibrant greenery all across its length. The mosquitos are pretty brutal out here at this time of year, even with repellant I still come home with a couple dozen fresh bites.

Late Sept. 2023. Some of the foliage has already pulled back and the autumn colors are beginning to show nicely. Mosquitos are still present, but in considerably fewer numbers. As in late spring, this is a good time of year to spot Bullfrogs out sunning themselves.

Late January 2023. I saved the best for last, probably my favorite time of year to be out on the trails. There is just something really special about the land in the depths of winter that really appeals to me.