The age of the oldest Alaskan glacier ice ever recovered (from a basin between Mt. Bona and Mt. Churchill) is about 30,000 years old.

It is in the metamorphic process of snow-becoming-ice. Eventually, firn changes into solid glacier ice. Firn takes about a year to form. (In colder parts of the world, this could take as long as 100 years.)

Most glaciers move very slowly—only a few centimeters a day. Some, though, can move 50 meters (160 feet) a day. These fast-moving rivers of ice are called galloping glaciers.

Based on the most recent comprehensive survey in 2011, there were about 27,000 glaciers in Alaska. However, the number of glaciers is a misleading statistic. Scientists are more interested in total glacial land coverage as a measure.

The blue liquid in ice packs is considered non-toxic and can come in contact with your skin without any major issues.

Morton Pro Speed Blue Ice Melt is a high-performance blend of calcium chloride and traditional melting salt generates heat to melt ice and snow faster and longer than rock salt alone.

Glacier ice is blue because the red (long wavelengths) part of white light is absorbed by ice and the blue (short wavelengths) light is transmitted and scattered. The longer the path light travels in ice, the more blue it appears.

The water is in fact not colorless; even pure water is not colorless, but has a slight blue tint to it, best seen when looking through a long column of water. Rather, water blueness comes from the water molecules absorbing the red end of the spectrum of visible light.

When ice is clear, it’s because no air bubbles have been trapped in it. Lots of trapped air makes an object look white. You may have noticed that your ice cubes usually look cloudy and opaque in the middle. Snow looks white because of air trapped between crystals.