Meaning of polynya | Babel Free

Definitions

A naturally formed transient area of open water surrounded by sea ice, especially in polar or subpolar seas.

Equivalents

Examples

“We immediately ascended a hill, and saw⟳ that the supposed land⟳ was nothing but hummocks of ice, piled up beyond a large Polynia, or space of open⟳ water, which extended from east to west, as far as the eye could reach⟳.”

“Hoping to reach⟳ the starting-place in the early season of navigation, he intends to follow⟳ his course of travel⟳ nearly upon a meridional line, which would, it is believed, lead⟳ him to the Polynya—a mare liberum, or such, comparatively speaking—within its formidable borderings of the thick-ribbed ice.”

“Dr. [Ian] Stirling pointed out that colonies of nesting sea-birds were an indicator of permanent polynias and that the productivity studies in such polynias might prove⟳ interesting.”

“Polynas play⟳ an important role in heat transfer⟳ from the oceans to the atmosphere, ice production, the formation of dense shelf water, spring⟳ disintegration of sea ice, phytoplankton and zooplankton production, and the distribution of higher trophic animals such as cephalopods, fish⟳, birds, seals, and cetaceans.”

“Researchers now plan⟳ to compare⟳ their routes with satellite images and see⟳ whether the owls stayed around the polynas, where snowy owls have⟳ been seen, picking off eiders swimming in the open⟳ water.”

“Below the glacier, within the polynya, two rivers flow⟳, a river of salt and a river of earth.”

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