Indigenous peoples, such as the Inuit have around 80 terms or words to describe the state of the sea ice.
80 words for ice
- Download some examples of different words for ice.
Above you can see two images of early forming sea ice or pack ice, and below you can see two different descriptions. Can you match the descriptions to the images?
Pancake ice: Flat pieces of ice battered into rounds by waves and collisions – characteristic of turbulent waters
Grease ice: Ice crystals blown together on the surface of the water in a streaky soupy consistency similar to oil slicks
- Download the NOAA’s Observers’ guide to sea ice
Could you drink a glass of melted sea ice water?
- Polar expeditions use melted multiyear ice as a source of fresh water – why do you think multiyear ice is more potable than first year ice?