pack ice

noun

1. 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

noun

1. 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 /

1. 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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of pack ice¹

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

The ferry has been built at a shipyard in Finland but it has to be moved out before winter because it could be damaged by pack ice.

From BBC

Endurance became stuck in pack ice within weeks of setting off from South Georgia.

From BBC

Historically in winter, the gulf’s pack ice transforms into the southernmost whelping grounds for harp seals—an ice nursery for newborn pups.

From National Geographic

In January 1932 its strength was tested when it was caught in heavy pack ice in the Weddell Sea, not far from the spot where Shackleton's ship Endurance was crushed and sank 16 years earlier.

From BBC

“It’s easier to haul out on beaches and on shorelines than it is on the pack ice,” Hickmott explains.

From National Geographic