Jump to content Jump to footer
Install App

Install this app on your device for a better experience.

Glossary

The English version of our glossary is currently under construction and will be regularly updated.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions.

more

Fast ice

Sea ice that is normally anchored to the place where it first formed.

more

Fast-ice edge

The edge between the fast ice and drifting ice or drift-ice edge at a given time.

more

Finger rafting

A type of sea-ice overlapping in which parts of two ice floes are forced over and under one another in an alternating, “fingerlike” pattern.

more

First-year ice

Sea ice that has grown for one winter at most, having developed from young ice.

more

Flagellates

Flagellates are single-celled organisms with whip-like appendages used for locomotion. Flagellates can be phototrophic or heterotrophic.

more
Dinoflagellate

Flaw

A narrow marginal zone between drifting ice and fast ice in which the pieces of ice are scattered about chaotically. Formed along the fast-ice edge by shearing motion and the influences of powerful winds and currents on drifting ice.

more

Flaw lead

A navigable lead (waterway) between drifting ice and fast ice.

more

Flooded ice

Sea ice that is flooded with water and wet snow.

more

Fossil fuels

Carbon-based fuels derived from fossil carbon dioxide deposits, including coal, peat, oil and natural gas.

more

fossil-fuel emissions

Emissions of greenhouse gases (esp. carbon dioxide) produced by burning fuels from fossil carbon deposits, including coal, oil and natural gas.

more

Fracture

Material quality resulting from mechanical overloading. Every hole and crack in very tight, compact or compressed pack ice, fast ice, or individual floes.

more

Fracture zone

An area with multiple fractures in the ice.

more

Fracturing / crack formation in the ice

Compression processes in which the ice is constantly deformed, leading to cracks.

more

Frazil ice

Free-floating ice needles or wafers.

more

Freeboard

Refers to the portion of sea ice extending above the ocean’s surface.

more
Various parameters in the context of sea-ice thickness measurements.

Freezing degree days (FDDs)

A standard for the intensity of below-zero temperatures in a given timeframe, frequently used in the USA.

more

Frost smoke

Fog-like clouds produced when cold air comes into contact with comparatively warm water. Frost smoke can occur over gaps (leads) in the ice or in the lee of the ice edge and can persist during the formation of new ice.

more
Sea smoke
back