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Glite Dictionary
shelf ice

shelf ice

8.2
A large area of ice attached to land that sticks out over the sea, often near the poles
  • noun
  • /ʃɛlf aɪs/
  • UK
translation icon : hielo de plataforma
  • The scientists studied the shelf ice that had formed along the coast during winter.

Examples

  • The researchers took samples of the shelf ice to analyze the effects of climate change.

  • Thin shelf ice crinkled in the canoe's wake.

    Blog text (13)

  • As we sailed near the Antarctic Peninsula, we saw massive shelf ice extending into the sea.

Synonyms

ice shelf
vsshelf ice
4 4.1

A thick, flat piece of ice floating where a glacier reaches the sea

is attached to land rather than floating freely over water

How Big

pack ice
  • Specialized
2 6.7
shelf ice
  • UK
8.2
iceberg
57 1.7

Surface Forms

shelf ice singular
shelf ices plural

Morphology

shelf + ice

The meaning is directly built from 'shelf' (a flat projection of land or seabed) combined with 'ice' (frozen water): it denotes ice forming a shelf extending over the sea. This is a literal, compositional physical term (not idiomatic) and therefore predictable for learners who know both constituent words.

Etymology

Shelf ice comes from the simple image of a flat shelf of ice that is attached to the land and sticks out over the sea. That's why it means 'a large mass of ice attached to land that extends out over the sea'.