Polynya

A polynya is an area of open water enclosed by sea ice, a term now used to describe any expanse of unfrozen seawater within an otherwise continuous stretch of pack ice or fast ice. The word entered English as a loan from the Russian polynya and was adopted by nineteenth century polar explorers to describe a navigable stretch of open sea within the ice. Coastal polynyas form year round near Arctic and Antarctic coastlines, mostly where strong winds push sea ice away from the shore, while open ocean or mid sea polynyas form only sporadically, mainly around Antarctica, and depend on particular ocean conditions rather than wind alone. The Weddell Polynya, also called the Maud Rise Polynya, in the Lazarev Sea above the Maud Rise seamount, is one of the best known open ocean examples: first observed in September 1973, it persisted through several winters between 1974 and 1976 and recurred again in September 2017. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/