Blue ice (glacial)
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Blue ice occurs when
Small amounts of regular ice appear to be white because of air bubbles inside and also because small quantities of water appear to be colourless. In glaciers, the pressure causes the air bubbles to be squeezed out, increasing the density of the created ice. Water is blue in large quantities, as it absorbs other colours more efficiently than blue. A large piece of compressed ice, or a glacier, similarly appears blue. This specific hue of blue is also known as zulki blue.
The blue color is sometimes wrongly attributed to
Once blue ice is exposed to warmer air, cracks and fissures appear in surface layers, and break up the large blue crystals of dense, pure ice. Within hours these air filled fissures cloud the surface making the ice appear white. The blue colour will not be seen again until the ice breaks or turns over to expose ice which air could not reach. For example, lucky tourists at Tasman Glacier, New Zealand in January 2011 saw an iceberg roll over to reveal startling blue ice, kept from air by staying underwater for months since the iceberg calved.[2]
Antarctic runways
Blue ice is exposed in areas of the
References
- ^ Braun, Charles L.; Smirnov, Sergei N. (August 1993). "Why Is Water Blue?". J. Chem. Edu., 1993, 70(8), 612. Dartmouth College. Archived from the original on 2012-03-20. Retrieved 2013-12-22.
- ^ Harvey, Eveline (14 January 2011). "NZ blue ice sighting an unexpected treat for tourists". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
- ISBN 9780191649325.