Elliptical Capillary Fringes Upon Thin Pond Ice Over Fall Leaves

After colorful New England fall foliage has gone, many colorful leaves and other debris are preserved in our woodland ponds. By mid November much colorful debris stays preserved and becomes enriched by the blue and silvery tones of overlying, thin, pond ice, through which the debris is often visible. This is especially true when with climate change, the ice recrystallizes, sublimates and partially melts, generally known as metamorphosing. In this image, taken on January 1, 2024 after a brief warm spell, ice blades had partially melted and left elliptical pools upon them. The concentric elliptical rings resulted from capillary tension at the edge of the tiny pools. The imaged area was less than 30 cm wide.