The Elusive Diamond Dust

(Central Hokkaido, 2014〜)

Diamond dust are ice crystals that form in the air as a result of temperature inversion. When skies are clear at night, heat from the ground escapes, leaving a layer of intensely cold air near the ground. The warmer air above transports moisture to the cold air below. Once in contact, these water vapors freeze directly into ice crystals. On calm mornings, these ice crystals sparkle like diamonds in the sunlight for a few precious minutes before they melt away and disappear. 

Sightings of diamond dust are becoming increasingly rare. During the past few winters, temperatures were generally higher and weather patterns were more erratic, rendering conditions unfavorable for diamond dust formation. Even when diamond dust appeared, they were sparser and more short-lived. 

My fear that this breathtaking phenomenon may someday vanish completely has led me to pursue it in earnest. I hope that my photographs can prompt people to be a little kinder towards the environment so that they will not be a mere record of their once brilliance.

To view the video on diamond dust, please click here.
For more images in this series, please contact Xuan.