Ice
hideIce is a solid phase, usually crystalline, of a non-metallic substance that is liquid or gas at room temperature, such as carbon dioxide ice (dry ice), ammonia ice, or methane ice. However, the predominant use of the term ice is for water ice, technically restricted to one of the 15 known crystalline phases of water. In non-scientific contexts, the term usually means ice Ih, which is known to be the most abundant of these solid phases. It can appear transparent or opaque bluish-white colour, depending on the presence of impurities or air inclusions. The addition of other materials such as soil may further alter the appearance.
The most common phase transition to ice Ih occurs when liquid water is cooled below 0°C (273.15K, 32°F) at standard atmospheric pressure. It can also deposit from vapour with no intervening liquid phase, such as in the formation of frost.
Ice appears in nature in forms as varied as snowflakes, hail, icicles, glaciers, pack ice, and entire polar ice caps. It is an important component of the global climate, and plays an important role of the water cycle. Furthermore, ice has numerous cultural applications, from ice cooling of drinks to winter sports and the art of (ice sculpting).
The word is derived from Old English ís, which in turn stems from Proto-Germanic *isaz.
For more information about Ice, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with ice
Cuts in greenhouse gas emissions would save Arctic ice, reduce sea level rise
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Apr 14, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (88) |
15
The threat of global warming can still be greatly diminished if nations cut emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases by 70 percent this century, according to a new analysis. While global temperatures would ...
Catastrophic sea levels 'distinct possibility' this century: study
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Apr 15, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (89) |
25
A breakthrough study of fluctuations in sea levels the last time Earth was between ice ages, as it is now, shows that oceans rose some three meters in only decades due to collapsing ice sheets.
New Arctic satellite data shows Arctic literally on thin ice
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Apr 06, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (79) |
43
The latest data from NASA and the University of Colorado at Boulder's National Snow and Ice Data Center show the continuation of a decade-long trend of shrinking sea ice extent in the Arctic, including new ...
Collapse of the ice bridge supporting Wilkins Ice Shelf appears imminent
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Apr 03, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (74) |
14
(PhysOrg.com) -- The Wilkins Ice Shelf is at risk of partly breaking away from the Antarctic Peninsula as the ice bridge that connects it to Charcot and Latady Islands looks set to collapse. The beginning ...
Increasing Antarctic sea ice extent linked to the ozone hole
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Apr 21, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (70) |
12
Increased growth in Antarctic sea ice during the past 30 years is a result of changing weather patterns caused by the ozone hole according to new research published this week (Thurs 23 April 2009).
New NASA Satellite Survey Reveals Dramatic Arctic Sea Ice Thinning
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Jul 07, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (65) |
6
(PhysOrg.com) -- Arctic sea ice thinned dramatically between the winters of 2004 and 2008, with thin seasonal ice replacing thick older ice as the dominant type for the first time on record. The new results, ...
Wind shifts may stir CO2 from Antarctic depths
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Mar 12, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (69) |
6
Natural releases of carbon dioxide from the Southern Ocean due to shifting wind patterns could have amplified global warming at the end of the last ice age--and could be repeated as manmade warming proceeds, ...
Shrinking Bylot Island glaciers tell story of climate change
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Aug 31, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (59) |
8
The U.S. Geological Survey has released the results of a long-term study of key glaciers in western North America, reporting this month that glacial shrinkage is rapid and accelerating and a result of climate ...
Ice-free Arctic Ocean possible in 30 years, not 90 as previously estimated
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Apr 02, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (62) |
20
(PhysOrg.com) -- A nearly ice-free Arctic Ocean in the summer may happen three times sooner than scientists have estimated. New research says the Arctic might lose most of its ice cover in summer in as few ...
Ice Sheets Can Retreat 'In a Geologic Instant,' Study of Prehistoric Glacier Shows
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Jun 21, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (61) |
20
(PhysOrg.com) -- Modern glaciers, such as those making up the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, are capable of undergoing periods of rapid shrinkage or retreat, according to new findings by paleoclimatologists ...
Critical turning point can trigger abrupt climate change
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Apr 20, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (58) |
9
Ice ages are the greatest natural climate changes in recent geological times. Their rise and fall are caused by slight changes in the Earth's orbit around the Sun due to the influence of the other planets. But we do not know ...
The least sea ice in 800 years
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Jul 01, 2009 |
4.1 / 5 (66) |
77
New research, which reconstructs the extent of ice in the sea between Greenland and Svalbard from the 13th century to the present indicates that there has never been so little sea ice as there is now. The ...
Tipping elements remain a 'hot' issue
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Aug 24, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (55) |
7
(PhysOrg.com) -- Research published by climate scientists at the University of East Anglia (UEA) has been named one of the most highly-cited in its field in the last two years.
Greenland ice sheet larger contributor to sea-level rise
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Jun 12, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (52) |
8
The Greenland ice sheet is melting faster than expected according to a new study led by a University of Alaska Fairbanks researcher and published in the journal Hydrological Processes.
Last time carbon dioxide levels were this high: 15 million years ago, scientists report
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Oct 08, 2009 |
3.6 / 5 (63) |
137
You would have to go back at least 15 million years to find carbon dioxide levels on Earth as high as they are today, a UCLA scientist and colleagues report Oct. 8 in the online edition of the journal Science.
