Ice Toes
Ice toes are shoreline features formed when gentle, low-amplitude water waves ripple up and down a sufficiently cold surface, forming and then extending layers of ice with intervening gaps. Such a process happens up to a point when the rate the ice washes or melts away roughly is offset by the new accumulation. They can take the form of horizontal pedestals, or toe-shaped hanging forms such as these, formed at the shoreline edge of a snow accumulation. The closeup below shows the same ice toes as the three rightmost of the photo at left, but taken at a slightly different angle, 24 hours later and under sunnier ambient light. The clear water revealed the reddish-clay bottom beneath the surface, while faintly reflecting the ice.
Norman, OK (25-26 Dec 9), looking S
(GPS)
