Out Of This World Methane Bubbles Form Under Frozen Lake

Story By: John FengSub-Editor:  Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report 

Video Credit: AsiaWire

This footage shows otherworldly-looking bubbles of methane gas trapped beneath the frozen surface of a crystal-clear lake in China.

The spectacular phenomenon has drawn thousands of tourists to Lotus Lake in China’s northernmost city of Mohe, which is in north-eastern Heilongjiang Province on the board with Amur Oblast in the Russian Far East.

Picture Credit: AsiaWire

According to reports, more than 3,000 square metres (32,300 square feet) of Lotus Lake have trapped pockets of rising methane gas below its frozen surface as temperatures reach minus 35 degrees Celsius.

The bubbles are released by bacteria at the bottom of the lake, where they feed on decaying organic matter such as leaves or animals.

The rising gas bubbles would usually be expelled through the water’s surface in a common ecological phenomenon observed throughout the world.

Video Credit: AsiaWire

However, in this instance, they are trapped as they reach the extreme cold.

The mesmerising bubbles of highly flammable gas exist in different sizes, shapes, forming various structures which are trapped in time and encapsulated in the ice.

As the ice on Lotus Lake measures more than 60 centimetres (24 inches) thick in some areas, the pockets of gas can be seen extending deep below the surface.

Lotus Lakes is located within Guanyin Mountain Scenic Area, where average temperatures remain below freezing for six months every year.

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