Bent icicles and spikes

Formation mechanisms of bent icicles and thin spikes were studied by observations of natural icicles and by artificially growing icicles in a cold laboratory, and the results are discussed with reference to the general growth process of icicles. It is shown that icicles can be bent by the displacement of their roots, change in water supply rates, and wind. Spikes were observed to grow by the freezing of a water column captured at the centre of icicles after their length and diameter growth stopped.