cryoconite hole

English
Measuring a cryoconite hole in the surface ice of a glacier.

Noun

cryoconite hole (plural cryoconite holes)

  1. a hollow or pond formed in a layer of snow or ice, commonly on the surface of a glacier or in polar regions, where a dark patch of cryoconite absorbs sunlight, generating heat so that it melts its way into the white, reflective ice.
    • 2006, Joseph Seckbach, Life as We Know It‎, →ISBN:
      ...cryoconite holes, thick ice covered lakes, nunataks, and subglacial environments may have played a role as refuges for microorganisms and other biota during periods of glaciation and therefore favoured the development of endemic species.
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