Ice-coated roots at sunset
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Ice-coated roots at sunset

by Katja Laute, Trondheim, Norway

The coating by the ice and the icicles are created through the interplay of wave action and the simultaneous freezing of the water around the exposed tree roots. The reason for the exposed tree roots is increased bank erosion due to a rather unusual circumstance. The combination of the lake not yet being frozen in early winter and strong winter storms make it very easy for the waves to erode the lake shoreline. Normally the lake is frozen at this time and thus the shoreline is well protected through the lake ice. Hence, this can be seen as another consequence of ongoing and possible enhanced climate change in the North.
This picture was taken at sunset in winter along the shoreline of Selbusjøen, a lake in central Norway.