Tens of thousands of mysterious 'cakes' float on the Scottish river

Ice patches in the form of a strange thin disk suddenly discovered floating on a river in Scotland.

Biologist Jamie Urquhart recorded images of tens of thousands of " ice- cream" sized ice plates on the quiet water surface of the Dee River in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

According to experts, the freezing temperature causes the bubbles to solidify and the currents mold them into a circle.

Typically, ice wheels form on the surface of the ocean or lake around the Arctic Circle, where water movement prevents the tape from forming flat arrays. However, they sometimes appear in rivers when temperatures are low enough.

Mr. Urquhart said: "I actually saw the previous ice cake on the Brora River in Sutherland a few winter ago, but they are much smaller in size than a plate. This is the first time we are concerned. They are seen in the Dee River, they are very rare and only appear when they meet favorable conditions. "

In the Arctic and Antarctic, ice sheets often form in rough seas, where ice crystals float onto the surface that cannot be bonded. Instead, needle-shaped crystals formed into circular disks of snow.

The outer ring of each disc juts higher due to the bumpers bumping into each other because of the movement of ocean waves. At the Arctic, ice wheels can stick together to form stacked bands, reaching thickness of 18 meters at many points.

Experts said that the extreme cold last week in Scotland has caused ice crackers to form. However, they are still not sure why they have never been seen on the Dee River before.