The Rare Phenomenon Of Blue Ice
In rare circumstances, Antarctic ice can appear blue.
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Search Indiana Public Media | WFIU - NPR | WTIU - PBS Home Radio TV News Arts & Culture Events Noon Edition Home Archives About Contact The Rare Phenomenon Of Blue Ice By Jeremy Shere Posted March 6, 2019 Listen Now: The Rare Phenomenon Of Blue Ice -1:59 Media Player Error Update your browser or Flash plugin Listen in Popup Download MP3 Comment As the earth warms, glaciers around the world are melting fast. But for now, at least, you can still experience the thrill of seeing a glacier up close and in person. And if you're fortunate and brave enough to journey to Antarctica, you may see one of the most amazing types of glacier: those with large patches of blue ice. The blue color develops over time. When glacial ice initially freezes, it's filled with air bubbles. And, at first, all those bubbles scatter incoming light in such a way as to reflect back the full spectrum and make the ice appear white. But as young ice gets buried and crushed beneath newer ice, the older ice becomes denser and its air bubbles become smaller. When relatively newer ice is worn away by seawater, summertime melting, or strong winds, the older ice is revealed. And when light hits, it penetrates more deeply. Red and yellow bands of the light spectrum are absorbed, while blue light is reflected, resulting in the glacier's blue, almost turquoise hue. The phenomenon is similar to that which makes the sky appear blue. Blue ice is relatively rare, covering only around one percent of Antarctica. Another strange aspect of blue ice is that it tends to contain a lot of meteorites. Meteorites crash down all around the globe, of course. But due to its old age, when blue ice emerges it tends to reveal thousands of long‑buried meteorites, attracting meteorite hunters from around the world. Sources and Further Reading Oskin, B. Why Are Some Glaciers Blue? Live Science, May 30, 2015. Sinisalo, A., & Moore, J. C. (2010). Antarctic blue ice areas – towards extracting palaeoclimate information. Antarctic Science. 22 (2), 99-115. Support For Indiana Public Media Comes From About A Moment of Science A Moment of Science is a daily audio podcast, public radio program and video series providing the scientific story behind some of life's most perplexing mysteries. Learn More » Indiana Public Media is the home of WFIU Public Radio WTIU Public Television, including your favorite programming from NPR and PBS. 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