polynya
Sign in to savethumb|Coastal polynyas are produced in the Antarctic by katabatic winds thumb|Katabatic wind spilling off an ice shelf|upright thumb|A frosty Arctic condensation plume marks this polynya near the west shore of Hudson Bay. This one (and others nearby) are likely kept open by tidal currents. Mile-high west-facing aerial view.
Article
10 sectionsContents
- Formation
- Antarctic bottom water
- Ecology
- Polynya blooms
- Biological production
- Human dependency
- Arctic navigation
- See also
- References
- External links
thumb|Coastal polynyas are produced in the Antarctic by katabatic winds thumb|Katabatic wind spilling off an ice shelf|upright thumb|A frosty Arctic condensation plume marks this polynya near the west shore of Hudson Bay. This one (and others nearby) are likely kept open by tidal currents. Mile-high west-facing aerial view.
A polynya () is an area of open water surrounded by sea ice. It is now used as a geographical term for an area of unfrozen seawater within otherwise contiguous pack ice or fast ice. It is a loanword from the Russian word polynya (; ), which refers to a natural ice hole and was adopted in the 19th century by polar explorers to describe navigable portions of the sea.