With a combination of bitter cold air temperatures and no wind, the surface of the ocean starts to freeze. Sometimes, small circular pieces of ice collide with their neighbors over and over again, which causes their edges to start to build up with crushed ice that also freezes solid. Eventually, the ice begins to look like thousands of floating pancakes- I give you PANCAKE ICE. Someone else came up with the term, which has its own entry in the 2017 Offline Wikipedia, but I can't say I love it- can you think a of a better name for ice that looks like this?
Date
Location
Onboard the R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer icebreaker in the Amundsen Sea off the southwest coast of Antarctica
Expedition
Weather Summary
Bitter cold with light winds
Temperature
-11.9 C
Wind Speed
6.5 knots out of the south
Wind Chill
-23.3 C
Comments