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  1. polynya love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. An area of open water surrounded by sea ice.

Wiktionary

  1. n. hydrology A naturally-formed area of open water surrounded by sea ice.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. a stretch of open water surrounded by ice (especially in Arctic seas)

Etymologies

  1. From Russian полынья (polyn’já, "ice hole"), from полый (pólyj, "hollow") (Wiktionary)
  2. Russian polyn'ya, from polyĭ, open, hollow; see pelə-2 in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

  • “A polynya is a large area of open water surrounded by sea ice that is found in the same region year after year.”

    Arctic Ocean

  • “Third: if the polynya was a freak occurence then you wouldn’t expect to see the Beaufort frozen over on July 25th every year. 2006 was just an accident.”

    AGU Fall Meeting « Climate Audit

  • “The goal was to map water conditions in the Ross Sea "polynya," a region of open water surrounded by sea ice, where the plankton blooms every Antarctic summer.”

    USA Today: Research robots roam the Ross Sea

  • “Reprogrammed to deal with the unexpectedly strong current, the first seaglider also made its way from the whale breathing hole to the polynya region.”

    USA Today: Research robots roam the Ross Sea

  • “Beating back against the ocean current by tacking like a sailboat, GOE-3 made its way into the polynya to perform its mapping mission.”

    USA Today: Research robots roam the Ross Sea

  • “Sea-ice production in the source region in winter is enhanced within a polynya (the North Water) formed by the persistent southward drift of ice.”

    Marine Arctic

  • “In the St. Lawrence Island polynya region, changes in regional oceanography due to the position or size of the Gulf of Anadyr gyre are ultimately related to the northward transport of water through the Bering Strait, and to the geostrophic balance within the Arctic Ocean basin.”

    Past variability in Arctic marine systems

  • “However, it is possible that an enhanced and more energetic polynya could result from warming.”

    Past variability in Arctic marine systems

  • “The Gulf of Anadyr "cold pool" is maintained by sea-ice production and brine formation in the St. Lawrence Island polynya.”

    Past variability in Arctic marine systems

  • “The hydrography of the St. Lawrence Island polynya region and the Anadyr region is ultimately related to the northward transport of water through the Bering Strait.”

    Future change in processes and impacts on Arctic biota

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‘polynya’ has been looked up 968 times, loved by 4 people, added to 18 lists, and has a Scrabble score of 15.