blue ice

American  

noun

Geology.

1. the oldest and densest ice in a glacier, distinguished by a pale-blue color.

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Example Sentences

But not one blue ice sample older than 1 million years exceeded 300 ppm, says Julia Marks Peterson, a paleoclimatologist at OSU who performed the greenhouse gas analysis.

From Science Magazine • Apr. 21, 2024

This potential relies mainly on data-driven analysis to identify unexplored meteorite stranding zones and mapping areas exposing blue ice where meteorites are often found.

From Science Daily • Apr. 8, 2024

When we began our descent to the sea ice off Ross Island's coast, I glimpsed long fractures, snow-packed ridges, and pockmarked blue ice blown barren by the polar wind.

From Salon • May 29, 2023

By far the most effective tools were two more recent acquisitions — a pair of chattering electric jackhammers, which could drill into hard blue ice that in some places was more than a foot thick.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 3, 2022

Bobbing blue ice and crumbling floes rose and fell with the waves all around them as they brought the boats back onto a course for the northwest.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong