David Brooks’ Lexicon of Ice
Published in conjunction with Big Question: How many words are there for Ice?
Lexicon of various permutations of ice, as observed in Antarctica in January 2024:
Ablation Zone
Accumulation Zone
Active Layer
Anchor Ice
Avalanche
Bergschrund
Bergy Bit
Black Ice
Brash Ice
Break-Up
Calving
Crevasse
Crevasse Smoking
Crevasse Wall
Diamond Dust
Dirty Iceberg
Drift Ice
Equilibrium Line
Fast Ice
Firn
Frazil Ice
Frost Shattering
Frost Smoke
Glacial Retreat
Glacier
Glacier Snout
Glacier Table
Glacier Terminus
Glacier Tongue
Grease Ice
Green Snow
Growler
Hail
Hair Ice
Hoarfrost
Hummocky Ice
Ice Apron
Ice Blink
Ice Cap
Ice Cliff
Ice Fall
Ice Floe
Ice Flowers
Ice Foot
Ice Front
Ice Sheet
Ice Shelf
Ice Wedge
Ice-Smoothed Rock
Iceberg
Iceberg Erosion
Iceberg Waterlines
Icefield
Icicle
Lead
Meltwater Lake
Meltwater Stream
Moraine
Moulin
Multi-Year Ice
Needle Ice
New Ice
Nilas
Nunatak
Pack Ice
Pancake Ice
Permafrost Collapse
Polynya
Powder Snow
Pressure Ridge
Prowler
Rafting
Red Snow
Rime
Rime Mushroom
Rock Flour
Sastrugi
Serac
Sludge Ice
Slush
Snow
Snow Algae
Snow Bridge
Snow Patch
Snowdrift
Spindrift
Striations
Tabular Iceberg
Tide Crack
Trimline
Verglas
Water Sky
Windscoop
Young Ice
***
References to ice descriptions collected from Antarctic research station staff, in-situ. When a certain permutation of ice remained unclear, James H C Fenton’s A Field Guide to Ice, and Hadoram Shirihai’s 2nd edition of Complete Guide to Antarctic Wildlife served as resources.
This text is published on Art21.org in conjunction with the July 2024 Art21 READ interview with David Brooks, conducted by Gabe Beckhursst Feijoo, Big Question: How many words are there for Ice?