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| Blue Ice | |
|---|---|
| Name | Blue Ice |
| Formula | H2O (solid) |
| Density | 0.917 g/cm3 (ice Ih) |
| Melting point | 0 °C (273.15 K) |
| Appearance | blue to deep blue |
| Other names | glacier ice, compacted ice |
Blue Ice Blue Ice is the deep blue, dense form of glacier and polar ice that appears where air bubbles are compressed out and light absorption produces a blue hue. It forms in high-pressure, multi-year contexts such as Antarctica, Greenland, and alpine glaciers like the Perito Moreno Glacier and Khumbu Glacier. Researchers from institutions including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the British Antarctic Survey study its formation, distribution, and hazards.
Blue Ice is defined as compact, low-bubble glacier ice with a characteristic blue color caused by selective absorption of longer wavelengths by the ice lattice. Processes described by scientists at the Scott Polar Research Institute and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography involve firn densification, recrystallization, and strain-driven metamorphism observed in field campaigns supported by the National Science Foundation and the European Space Agency. Classical accounts draw on work by researchers affiliated with the University of Cambridge, University of Alaska Fairbanks, and the University of Oslo studying snowpack transformation, englacial processes, and pressure-induced crystal growth near features like icefalls at Himalaya sites and the Patagonia icefields.
Blue Ice exhibits strong wavelength-dependent absorption and scattering studied in laboratories at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Optical properties were quantified using spectrophotometers and radiative transfer models developed by teams at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, revealing increased transmission in the blue-green region and attenuation of red and infrared bands. Crystal size distributions, texture, and grain boundary characteristics measured via electron microscopy in research from the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Copenhagen influence albedo and reflectance, factors also investigated by the International Arctic Research Center and the Alfred Wegener Institute.
Blue Ice occurs in continental ice sheets, outlet glaciers, mountain glacier trunks, and ablation zones documented across East Antarctica, West Antarctica, Greenland Ice Sheet, the Alps, the Andes, and the Rocky Mountains. Notable occurrences have been reported in regions around Mount Everest, the Transantarctic Mountains, Svalbard, and the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. Remote sensing surveys by the European Space Agency's Copernicus Programme, NASA's Landsat and ICESat missions, and airborne campaigns by the British Antarctic Survey map blue-ice areas useful for meteorite collection by teams from the Smithsonian Institution and the Natural History Museum, London.
Blue Ice influences surface energy budgets and feedbacks investigated in climate models by groups at the Met Office Hadley Centre and the IPCC. Low-albedo surfaces such as blue-ice fields alter local melt rates examined in studies led by researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the University of Washington. Blue-ice zones serve as palaeoclimate archives used by projects like the EPICA and GRIP ice-core campaigns conducted by consortia including the European Southern Observatory and the Danish Meteorological Institute, enabling reconstructions of atmospheric composition and past climate variability studied by teams at the Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.
Blue Ice poses hazards related to surface slipperiness and falling ice documented in aviation incident reports from agencies such as the Federal Aviation Administration and the Civil Aviation Authority (United Kingdom). Incidents involving aircraft lavatory waste solidifying and detaching as "blue ice" have been investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, prompting regulatory guidance from the International Civil Aviation Organization and manufacturers like Boeing and Airbus. Mountain rescue teams from organizations like the Nepal Mountaineering Association and the Swiss Alpine Club address crevasse and serac risks when blue-ice slabs and ice cliffs contribute to avalanche and fall hazards.
Long-term monitoring of blue-ice regions is carried out by observatories such as the South Pole Station, Neumayer-Station III, and field programs by the British Antarctic Survey and United States Antarctic Program. Instrument platforms include airborne lidar from NASA missions, satellite altimetry from ICESat-2, and ground-penetrating radar surveys by teams at the University of Leeds and the University of Texas at Austin. Interdisciplinary studies involve glaciologists at the University of Zurich, geochemists at the University of Minnesota, and microbiologists from the University of Colorado Boulder investigating microbial communities preserved in blue ice, while logistic support often comes from the Polar Research Institute of China and the Australian Antarctic Division.
Blue Ice appears in travel literature and documentary filmmaking focused on polar exploration by producers at the BBC Natural History Unit, National Geographic Society, and photographers associated with the Royal Geographical Society. Adventure guides from organizations like Alpine Club (UK) and expedition operators such as Quark Expeditions reference blue-ice routes in gear lists and route descriptions. Artistic works, including photography exhibited at institutions like the Museum of Modern Art and essays in publications run by the New York Times and Smithsonian Magazine, often use blue-ice imagery to discuss themes tied to exploration histories like those of Ernest Shackleton and Roald Amundsen.
Category:Glaciology Category:Polar regions Category:Ice formations