View synonyms for pack ice

pack ice

noun

a large area of floating ice formed over a period of many years and consisting of pieces of ice driven together by wind, current, etc.

pack ice

a large area of floating ice, usually occurring in polar seas, consisting of separate pieces that have become massed together Also calledice pack

pack ice

/ păk /

The floating sea-ice cover of the polar regions. Driven by winds and ocean currents, pack ice is a mixture of ice fragments of varying size and age that are squeezed together and cover the sea surface with little or no open water. At maximum expansion during the winter, pack ice covers about five percent of Arctic waters and about eight percent of Antarctic waters.

First recorded in 1840–50

Field ice is a term usually applied to frozen sea water floating in much looser form than pack ice.

To the north, pack-ice in variable amount is encountered before reaching the wide open ocean.

Towards evening the 'Aurora' turned back to open water and cruised along the pack-ice.

When the high wind blew off shore, there was no backswell, on account of the pack-ice to the north quelling the sea.

The north appeared to be filled with frozen sea though we could not be certain that it was not dense pack-ice.

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