cryoconite

English

The dark material on parts of this glacial ice is cryoconite.

Etymology

From Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek κρύος (krúos, “ice, icy cold, chill, frost”) and Ancient Greek κόνη (kónē, “powder or dust”)

Noun

cryoconite (countable and uncountable, plural cryoconites)

1. (geology) Dark silt accumulating mainly from airborne volcanic sediment or soot from artificial pollution, or detritus in water of ablation from ice sheets or glaciers. Cryoconite typically appears either as surface discoloration or in cryoconite holes.
   • 2019, Condensed Matter Researches in Cryospheric Science‎^[1], →ISBN:

     In these environments the cryoconite, a wind-borne fine debris deposited on glacier surfaces, represents a potential sink for organic and inorganic pollutants because of its high content of organic matter.

See also

• snow algae