 Flummoxed by the Hummocks Hummocks are masses of ice rising to considerable heights (20 feet / 6 meters) above the general level of the Arctic ice pack, forming a part of it.
These small hills of broken ice are caused by the pressure of ice floes jamming and crushing against each other.
Hummock fields most often consist of chaotic rubble of randomly spread block structures and ridges, although they sometimes take on rather uniform overall appearance. Their appearance may be fresh or weathered. The weathering occurs when drifted snow piles up against a ridge and is partially melted and compacted into a solid mass, or because of thawing. Ice moving, shifting and colliding in Arctic waters can be very noisy. The sound has been described as the whining of puppies, the humming of bees, or the grinding of machinery. Those who talk about the "eternal silence of the frozen North" have apparently not experinced this bedlam.
Click pictures for more information and credits. Library: Ice, Snow, Icebergs Cold Places, Arctic Links: Cold Places, Arctic Arctic Maps & Weather Reports |
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DICTIONARY: Just "double-click" any unlinked word on this page for the definition from Merriam-Webster's Student Electronic Dictionary at Word Central. |
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ARCTIC LIBRARY & GLOSSARY: Check this section for an index of the rest of the things you really need to know about the Arctic. |
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ARCTIC MAPS & WEATHER REPORTS: Maps of the Northwest Passage, explorers' routes, iceberg sources, Nunavut, the Arctic by treeline, temperature... |
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ARCTIC LINKS: Even more information! Links to sites related to the Arctic and "Iceberg: the Story of the Throps and the Squallhoots". |
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GUIDE TO ARCTIC SUNRISE & SUNSET: How much sunlight or darkness is there in the Arctic on each day of the year? |
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