A comparatively rectilinear conglomeration of ice fragments formed by pressure at the contact line between ice floes, usually along earlier existing cracks and leads or at the boundary between ice floes of different age. In this case, isostatically unbalanced hummocks usually form on the older ice surface. Ice ridges can also form as a result of direct fracturing of ice fields of thick and even first-year and multiyear ice at very strong pressures. May be fresh or weathered. A ridge is distinguished from a hummock by being much longer than it is wide. The term ridge is often used to describe an entire ridged ice feature, in which case the portion above the water line is termed the sail and the portion below the water line is termed the keel. These ridges of ice can be up to 35 m (100 ft) high and sometimes several kilometers long. Has synonyms ridge ice and ridge (ice).
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