九大歎為觀止的自然冰封奇觀
冰晶瀑布
１
The growth of a frozen waterfall can proceed only gradually, for progressive freezing of the flowing water. There are thousands of frozen falls around the world. The one located at Beijing's Myun County attracts tourists from all over the country as well as internationally. A beautiful display of nature's art at work.
冰晶瀑布的形成並非一日之寒，而是水流逐漸不斷形成的冰凍效果。世界上大概有數千的冰封瀑布。其中位於北京的密雲縣的這個瀑布吸引全國以及世界各地的遊客前來慕名遊覽。此真乃大自然的鬼斧神工。
極寒冰窟
２
Ice caves are a type of natural cave that contain significant amounts of ice. At least a portion of the cave must have a temperature below 0 °C (32 °F) all year round, and water must have traveled into the cave's cold zone. There are many ice caves throughout the world, but the Eisriesenwelt Ice Caves in Austria are some of the largest known to man. (Link)
冰窟就是自然形成內有大量堅冰的洞穴。冰窟中都至少有的地方常年溫度在0°以下，同時也必須有水流流進洞中的極寒區。世界上有很多的冰窟，其中以奧地利的 Eisriesenwelt 冰窟最為人熟知。
冰封之環
3
A rare phenomenon usually only seen in extremely cold countries, scientists generally accept that Ice Circles are formed when surface ice gathers in the center of a body of water rather than the edges. A slow moving river current can create a slow turning eddy, which rotates, forming an ice disc. Very slowly the edges are ground down until a gap is formed between the eddy and the surrounding ice. These ice circles have been seen with diameters of over 500 feet and can also at times be found in clusters and groups at different sizes.
這是一種只有在極度寒冷的國度才會看見的罕見景觀，科學家們普遍認為冰環的形成是由於水體表面的中心聚集了比邊緣較多的寒冰。一條緩慢流淌的河水可以形成慢速的渦流，伴隨著旋轉，就會形成了一個冰盤。慢慢的邊緣開始結冰直到渦流和邊上形成的冰有空隙為止。有人見過直徑500英尺的冰環，也可以看見不同尺寸的冰環同時出現的景象。
堅冰之柱
4
These amazing ice spikes, generally known as penitentes due to their resemblance to processions of white-hooded monks, can be found on mountain glaciers and vary in size. As this accelerates, deep troughs are formed, leaving peaks of ice standing between them. Chile is home to the rugged mountain terrain of the Andes, and the severe weather extremes at different altitudes make for some stunning ice formations, like daggers looking ice field. (Link | Photo)
這些令人驚奇的冰柱，由於它們形似頭裹白巾的寺僧，通常被人稱作「懺悔者」，可以在高山上的冰川一見它們的身影。當冰柱增長時，就會形成深槽，其間就會留下聳立的冰峰。智利便是崎嶇的安第斯山脈的故鄉，此處嚴峻的氣候條件加以各有差異的海拔造就這些令人炫目的景觀。好似匕首冰陣。
冰霜之花
5
Ice flowers are formed on new layers of sea ice, from saturated water vapors that come up from under the ice through cracks. In contact with the cold air, the vapors start to freeze and the salt on the surface of the ice begins to crystallize and serves as a nucleus for the frozen vaporized water. Thus, molecule by molecule the ice flowers begin to take shape. They have recently been recognized as the dominant source of sea salt aerosol in Antarctica and scientists suspect they may be the main cause of tropospheric ozone depletion during the polar sunrise. One of the most beautiful frozen wonders on Earth, ice flowers are still a mystery to many people.
冰花在海水冰面的新層形成，這些飽和海水的水汽透過裂縫從冰層下面出來。在同冷空氣的接觸中，水汽開始凝結，而冰層的鹽則開始結晶變成凝結水汽的核子。隨後，這些分子就慢慢形成冰花的形狀。現在這些分子被認為是南極洲海鹽浮粒的主要來源。科學家們猜測它們可能是導致南極附近日出時對流臭氧層耗弱的主要原因。冰花這一地球上最美的景觀之一，至今對很多人來說也是一個迷。
條紋冰山
6
Icebergs in the Antarctic area sometimes have stripes, formed by layers of snow that react to different conditions. Blue stripes are often created when a crevice in the ice sheet fills up with meltwater and freezes so quickly that no bubbles form. When an iceberg falls into the sea, a layer of salty seawater can freeze to the underside. If this is rich in algae, it can form a green stripe. Brown, black and yellow lines are caused by sediment, picked up when the ice sheet grinds downhill towards the sea. (Link | Photo)
南極地區的冰山有時便會有條紋，由於雪層對不同環境的反應從而形成了這些條紋。藍色條紋通常是當冰層上的裂縫被融冰填充再極速凝固的過程中沒有產生氣泡而形成的狀態。當冰山融入海水中時，海水可以底部形成一層冰層。如果這裡生有大量海藻，便可以形成綠色條紋。褐色，黑色還有黃色線條則是由於冰山融入水中時接觸到的沉澱物。
冰川
7
Glaciers are simply accumulated snow, packed densely into ice over thousands, even millions, of years. Glaciers serve an important function as ecosystem regulators and water suppliers (they are the largest single source of fresh water), and the heating of the planet has led to major glacier shrinkage around the world in the last decade. Perito Moreno in Argentina, known as one of the few still advancing glaciers on Earth, is a great example of that simple yet stunning ice formation. (Photo)
冰川是經過數千年甚至數百萬年累積而成的濃密冰雪。冰川對生態系統的調節以及供水（冰川是地球淡水資源最豐富的來源）有著舉足輕重的作用。然而過去十年來全球的溫度升高導致了地球上幾個主要冰川的消逝。阿根廷的大冰河，現在地球上已知為數不多還在積澱的冰川，便是這種簡單但是炫目冰封景觀的最好詮釋。
冰晶雪花
8
Snow crystals form when tiny supercooled cloud droplets freeze. These droplets are able to remain liquid at temperatures lower than −18 °C (0r °F), because to freeze, a few molecules in the droplet need to get together by chance to form an arrangement similar to that in an ice lattice; then the droplet freezes around this "nucleus."
雪花晶體是極小的超冷雲滴結冰時形成的。這些小顆粒在低於零下18°的溫度下也能保持液體狀，由於凝固，其中的一些分子需要聚合在一起來形成類似冰的分子結構，隨後這些小顆粒再在核周圍結冰。
冰封潮汐
Despite its looks, this is not really a tidal wave but ice created from glacial movements forming tidal wave looks. Pretty cool
除了它的外表好似潮汐以外，這些並不是真正的潮汐而是冰川運動所形成的。真是酷斃了!
9
Ice takes on all sorts of interesting asymmetrical and geometric shapes, from the icy platelets above to the incredible parallel ice shelves of the Arctic. Ellesmere Island is famous for its ice shelves, but unfortunately they are diminishing rapidly in the face of global warming. Climate change caused alarming losses in summer of 2008, and scientists are concerned that this special ecosystem may soon be lost forever. (Link | Photo)
北極地區排列驚人平行的冰架上面，冰面形成了各式有趣的排列和幾何圖案。埃爾斯米爾島就以冰架聞名，然而不幸的是冰架正由於全球變暖而急劇消逝。08年令人警覺的冰架消逝就源於氣候變化。現在科學家們擔心的是這種獨特的生態系統可能不久便會永遠的消逝。
