Ice facts

A fizz. When a piece of iceberg ice melts, it makes a fizzing sound called "Bergie Seltzer". This sound is made when the water-ice interface reaches compressed air bubbles trapped in the ice. As this happens, each bubble bursts, making a 'popping' sound. The bubbles contain air trapped in snow layers very early in the history of the ice, that eventually got buried to a given depth (up to several kilometers) and pressurized as it transformed into firn then to glacial ice.

To avoid being buried in snow. All structures at the South Pole cause wind-blown snow to build up in the surrounding area (about four feet of snow per year). The station building has sloping lower portion of wall, which causes the snow to be scoured away.

About 90% of terrestrial ice is found in Antarctica.

Solidified CO2. Dry ice is used in refrigeration. It has an interesting property: it maintains a constant temperature of -78.5C in a warmer environment. This is because dry ice does not melt and sublimes directly into the gaseous form.

Liquid water. Ice frozen at atmospheric pressure is approximately 8.3% less dense than liquid water. Thus, ice floats on liquid water.

Lake Superior. The Great Lakes are important shipping route, mainly for bulk goods like iron ore or coal. Several icebreakers are busy each winter to keep the route open.

In the depths of the glacier. Blue ice occurs under the surface of a glacier as a result of repeated, slow thawing and freezing of water. This process speeds up when snow falls on the top of a glacier, the ice compresses, air bubbles are squeezed out and ice crystals enlarge, making the ice appear blue. In the Greenland environment this process takes from 100 up to 150 years.