ketch Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 A friend stopped by today at my job and wanted to know about blue ice. He said he ran into some and remembered from somewhere that it was dangerous. He wanted to know what it was. I told him that the only blue ice I had encountered was in veins where water had seeped into cracks and then froze. The problem I saw with it was that it would signal a discontinuity in the ice. I also told him I was no expert on ice. He said it didn't look like any kinda "vein." Anybody out there know of other forms of "blue Ice" or what the danger might be (or isnt)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klenke Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 Blue ice: highly compressed ice like the type you see deep down in glacier crevasses. The blueness is due to the pressure squeezing out all the bubbles. Bubbles are what make ice "white." That's the only blue ice I know of. The ice in cracks in rocks you speak of would be more akin to black ice or verglas than blue ice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thelawgoddess Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 lots of blue ice down here in colorado - pretty water ice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figger_Eight Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 It's blue because it's so dense, that's the only wavelength of light that passes through it. That kind of ice can only be found in glaciers where the ice has been sittiing for a long time, squeezing the air out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lummox Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 the only blue ice i know of that is dangerous is that stuff that is used to keep drinks cold in the icechest: dont eat it. btw: i thought it was raleigh and/or tendril scattering as the explanation for the blue of water: it scatters blue wavelength light. punch a fukin hole into a snowbank with your skipole and what color do you see inside? trippy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MysticNacho Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 trippy, lummox, trippy indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ketch Posted February 22, 2004 Author Share Posted February 22, 2004 Klenke, Thats the stuff I was thinkin of. I love the blue of crevasses, just not so sure I like the random observation times . The cracks I was thinking of are usually visible in the spring on lower glaciers. Sometimes if there is brief warm wet spell in winter, small to medium cracks get filled with water. When the weather gets cold again this freezes as pure water ice. Later in the spring thaw they are sometimes seen as blue streaks in the surface as the top melts to expose them. I didn't know of a problem with them. My buddy said that what he saw was more like a big patch on the surface, still never heard of it. Thanks everyone for the replies. Maybe he was seein things too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dru Posted February 23, 2004 Share Posted February 23, 2004 note how top pillar of fat, solid ice is blue. note how sketchy rotten lower part is gray or white. i'd call that dangerous and blue ice "safe". maybe not for ice fishing though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.