page_title: Polynya
hierarchical_section_title: Polynya
caption_attribution_description: Katabatic winds, on an ice shelf in the Bellingshausen Sea, Antarctica
context_page_description: A polynya is an area of open water surrounded by sea ice. It is now used as a geographical term for an area of unfrozen seawater within otherwise contiguous pack ice or fast ice. It is a loanword from the Russian полынья, which refers to a natural ice hole and was adopted in the 19th century by polar explorers to describe navigable portions of the sea.
  There are two main types of polynyas: coastal polynyas, which can be found year-round near the Antarctic and Arctic coasts and are mainly created by strong winds pushing the ice away from the coast, and mid-sea or open-ocean polynyas, which may be found more sporadically in the middle of ice pack in certain locations, especially around Antarctica. These locations are generally preconditioned by certain oceanic dynamics.
  One of the most famous mid-sea polynyas is the Weddell Polynya or the Maud Rise Polynya, which occurs in the Lazarev Sea over the Maud Rise seamount. It was first spotted in September 1973 and persisted through multiple winters, and recently recurred in September 2017.
context_section_description: A polynya (/pəˈlɪnjə/) is an area of open water surrounded by sea ice. It is now used as a geographical term for an area of unfrozen seawater within otherwise contiguous pack ice or fast ice. It is a loanword from the Russian полынья ([pəɫɨˈnʲja]), which refers to a natural ice hole and was adopted in the 19th century by polar explorers to describe navigable portions of the sea.
  There are two main types of polynyas: coastal polynyas, which can be found year-round near the Antarctic and Arctic coasts and are mainly created by strong winds pushing the ice away from the coast, and mid-sea or open-ocean polynyas, which may be found more sporadically in the middle of ice pack in certain locations, especially around Antarctica. These locations are generally preconditioned by certain oceanic dynamics.
  One of the most famous mid-sea polynyas is the Weddell Polynya or the Maud Rise Polynya, which occurs in the Lazarev Sea over the Maud Rise seamount. It was first spotted in September 1973 and persisted through multiple winters (1974–1976), and recently recurred in September 2017.
caption: Katabatic wind spilling off an ice shelf
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