shelf ice

American  

noun

1. ice forming part of or broken from an ice shelf.

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shelf ice British  

noun

1. a less common term for ice shelf

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shelf ice Scientific  

1. An extension of glacial ice into coastal waters that is in contact with the bottom near the shore but not toward the outer edge of the shelf.

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Etymology

Origin of shelf ice

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

So at 2 a.m., about 50 of us jammed into “Ivan” the TerraBus and Deltas, vehicles with giant snow tires, and rode over the shelf ice to Pegasus.

From New York Times • Jan. 20, 2011

A C-17 cargo plane landing on the shelf ice at Pegasus.

From New York Times • Jan. 20, 2011

These trucks have large tires to reduce the pressure on the sea ice and shelf ice roads near McMurdo.

From New York Times • Jan. 20, 2011

An enormous chunk of shelf ice on which Byrd and Co. set up camp had broken off and drifted away.

From Time Magazine Archive

The snow was coming down harder, but it was very still, except that from far off I heard the rumbling of shelf ice.

From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell