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Ice is abundant on the Earth's surface, particularly in the polar regions and above the snow line, where it can aggregate from snow to form glaciers and ice sheets. As snowflakes and hail, ice is a common form of precipitation, and it may also be deposited directly by water vapor as frost.
Photograph showing details of an ice cube under magnification. Ice I h is the form of ice commonly seen on Earth. Phase space of ice I h with respect to other ice phases. Virtually all ice in the biosphere is ice I h (pronounced: ice one h, also known as ice-phase-one).
Ice particles can have a significant effect on cloud dynamics. They are known to be important in the processes by which clouds can become electrified, which causes lightning. They are also known to be able to form the seeds for rain droplets. It has become clear that the concentration of ice nucleating particles in shallow clouds is a key ...
A snowflake is a single ice crystal that is large enough to fall through the Earth's atmosphere as snow. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] Snow appears white in color despite being made of clear ice. This is because the many small crystal facets of the snowflakes scatter the sunlight between them.
Parent material is the underlying geological material (generally bedrock or a superficial or drift deposit) in which soil horizons form. Soils typically inherit a great deal of structure and minerals from their parent material, and, as such, are often classified based upon their contents of consolidated or unconsolidated mineral material that has undergone some degree of physical or chemical ...
Water is a well-known example of such a material. For example, water ice is ordinarily found in the hexagonal form ice I h, but can also exist as the cubic ice I c, the rhombohedral ice II, and many other forms. Polymorphism is the ability of a solid to exist in more than one crystal form. For pure chemical elements, polymorphism is known as ...
The cryosphere is an umbrella term for those portions of Earth's surface where water is in solid form. This includes sea ice, ice on lakes or rivers, snow, glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets, and frozen ground (which includes permafrost). Thus, there is a overlap with the hydrosphere. The cryosphere is an integral part of the global climate system.
' study of ice ') is the scientific study of glaciers, or, more generally, ice and natural phenomena that involve ice. Glaciology is an interdisciplinary Earth science that integrates geophysics , geology , physical geography , geomorphology , climatology , meteorology , hydrology , biology , and ecology .