Ice on a lake may look safe, but be dangerous. When lakes and rivers freeze, there are two predominant layers of ice, called white ice and black ice. White ice is generally opaque, like snow, filled with more air bubbles and smaller ice crystals, diminishing strength and stability, Black ice is clear and dense with few air pockets and larger ice crystals making it a lot stronger. The unpredictable and warmer winter weather is creating thinner layers of black ice and sometimes a corresponding thicker layer of white ice. Combined they can make for treacherous conditions for skaters, hockey players, snowmobilers, ice anglers and ice truckers.
www.yorku.ca/news/2024/09/19/lake-ice-quality-degradig-as-planet-warms-skaters-hockey-players-ice-truckers-on-thin-ice/