ice-blink
Definitions
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- noun A peculiar appearance in the air caused by the reflection of light from the surface of an ice-pack or floating mass of ice, or from land covered with snow. By it the presence of ice may often be recognized at a distance of 20 miles or more.
Examples
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In the clear sky to the north a streak of lucid white light is the reflection from an icy surface; that is, “ice-blink,” in the language of these seas.
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On the afternoon of the 11th we had strong ice-blink ahead, by which is meant the luminous stripe that is seen above a considerable accumulation of ice; the nearest thing one can compare it to is the glare that is always seen over a great city on approaching it at night.
The South Pole; an account of the Norwegian antarctic expedition in the 'Fram', 1910 to 1912
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It has happened at night that I have seen the ice-blink as far off as eight miles, and then there is nothing to fear; but sometimes in the middle of the day we have sailed close to icebergs that have only been seen a few minutes before we were right on them.
The South Pole; an account of the Norwegian antarctic expedition in the 'Fram', 1910 to 1912
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Generally speaking, a dark black sky means open water, and this is known as an open-water sky; high lights in the sky mean ice, and this is known as ice-blink.
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On the verge of the horizon, the sky assumed that peculiar appearance which whalers call ice-blink, and which is the result of the glare of light reflected obliquely from the surface of the ice against the opposite atmosphere.
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"I'm certain, sir," I heard Pat say earnestly, "we're near ice whenever my feet feels the cold, yer honour; and there, be jabers, there's the ice-blink, as they calls it in the Arctic seas, and we're amongst the icebergs, as sure as you live!"
Note
The word 'ice-blink' is a compound of 'ice' and 'blink' (in the sense of 'gleam of light').
