segregated ice
- noun
- UK
- As the ground freezes, segregated ice forms by drawing in groundwater, creating distinct lenses within the soil.
Examples
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Engineers must account for the potential thaw of segregated ice when designing foundations in Arctic environments.
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The presence of segregated ice in the soil can significantly affect the stability of construction in permafrost regions.
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The segregated ice in the Arctic is fascinating to study.
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Scientists discovered segregated ices in the frozen tundra.
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As the ground freezes, segregated ice forms by drawing in groundwater, creating distinct lenses within the soil.
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Engineers must account for the potential thaw of segregated ice when designing foundations in Arctic environments.
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The presence of segregated ice in the soil can significantly affect the stability of construction in permafrost regions.
Synonyms
Frozen water below the ground that forms when water in soil freezes in very cold places
A thin layer of ice in frozen ground that forms when water freezes
How Much
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase literally names ice that has been 'segregated' (i.e. separated or set apart), so a learner who knows 'segregated' and 'ice' can infer it refers to ice occurring in separate layers or lenses. However, the precise geological process and technical sense related to permafrost formation (films, lenses, accumulation by water migration) are specialized and not fully predictable from the constituents alone, making the expression only partially transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Segregated ice comes from frozen ground where water is pulled into small pockets or thin layers and then freezes into its own pieces. The word segregated here means 'separate' and ice means frozen water. So, it refers to 'ice that forms in separate layers or pockets inside the frozen soil'.