Sir,
I have read with great interest the article of R. K. Reference FahnestockFahnestock and others (1973) published in your Journal. My interest may be ascribed to the fact that about forty years ago I observed similar formations in Ozero Baykal (Tsurikov, 1939). At that time the first frosts and the freezing of the Iake were separated by a considerable gap of time. A peculiar ice foot similar to the one described by Fahnestock and others (1973) as “shore-fast ice” formed at the lake’s south-eastern shores. The local inhabitants name these ice formations “sokuy”. This term has been preserved in the Russian scientific language (Botkin, 1900: Reference ShostakovichShostakovich, 1908; Tsurikov, 1939). “Sokuy” is composed of one or several ice ridges facing the lake with steeper and at times vertical slopes. The ridge heights amount to 5.5–6.5 m.
Among the ridge summits close to the lake’s margin one observes the so-called “sopki” which resemble “cone-shaped ice hills which are hollow within and open to the Baykal. The outer features of these ice hills resemble ice marquees” (Reference TsurikovTsurikov, 1939). At times the latter are spaced at a sufficient distance from one another and in other instances they are grouped together. In some areas, close to the shores where “sokuy” is not formed “sopki” are encountered as isolated hills. At times they are 6 m high.
Unfortunately, all Russian scientists (Botkin, 1900; Shostakovich, 1908; Tsurikov, 1939) observed these “sopki” in winter when the lake is completely frozen. The origin of these ice bodies remained unknown. However, Lieutenant Reference BotkinBotkin (1900) believed that the formation of these bodies might be regarded as a result of freezing of splashes of interfering waves. Only now, following the publication of the paper by R. K. Fahnestock and others who observed the eruption of ice volcanoes in Lake Erie, is it finally clear that the “sopki” of Baykal are of a similar ice “volcanic” origin
It appears that the ice foot of the “sokuy” type and ice volcanoes are formed not only close to the shores of Erie and Baykal. They ought to be observed in all sufficiently deep lakes in which, owing to intense mixing, complete freezing strongly lags behind the first frosts. It may be expected that these formations may be built up beneath those shores where the prevailing winds develop most severe disturbance.
3 April 1974
