Ice and snow morphology

Research leader: Hargitai Henrik



Publications
Ice morphology
Methods to study ice morphology
Ice meteorites
DDS and ice

Activities since 2001

Ice occurrence, thickness and development

We studied the timing and development of lake ice using observation and thickness records available from 1908, with particular attention to climate change. Shoreline webcams were also used to monitor the ice.

Ice probes

We developed methods for investigating ice properties using different measurement techniques, including the university Ice Hunveyor probe.

Acoustic modelling of ice development

We recorded ice sounds using hydrophones and microphones to collect data on crack formation. The results provided comparisons for studying Europa’s ice crust.

Listen to the sound of ice

Satellite and aerial imagery

We compared planetary landforms with large-scale lake-ice features using satellite and aerial imagery and observations dating back to the early twentieth century.

More than a century of observations

We studied Lake Balaton’s ice features using a record spanning more than a century of detailed observations.

Snow landforms

We studied features formed in snow covering the ice, from barchans and blowouts to wind streaks. Comparisons with planetary landforms helped investigate their origins.

Ice tectonics

We compared icy planetary surfaces, possible remnant Martian ice and terrestrial sea ice with lake-ice landforms. Field observations documented fault lines, individual ice blocks and the development of structures made of multiple blocks.

Air and water in ice

Features included volcano-like forms caused by melting from beneath, air bubbles, and liquid lenses and layers warmed by solar radiation.

Unusual ice landforms

We studied butterfly-patterned ice ridges and other unusual forms that can be compared with features on Europa’s icy surface.



Additional resources





Locally available sources

(These photocopies and notes were made in the VITUKI library, which has since been demolished. Recent attempts to obtain the ice-thickness data again were unsuccessful: VITUKI’s successor institutions could not locate them, even after lengthy consultation. The Central Transdanubian Water Directorate does not hold ice-thickness data. Ice-thickness records from Siófok after 1990 are available from HungaroMet Nonprofit Zrt. Current measurements on Lake Balaton are made by HungaroMet’s Siófok Storm Warning Observatory and stored in the HungaroMet database. To our knowledge, the pre-1990 data survive only in the notes below, so we publish them in their raw form. The photocopies are selections from the data series, not complete collections - Henrik Hargitai).