polynya

noun

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

   “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.”