# Ice dune > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ice_dune > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ice_dune.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_dune > Source revision: 1300663681 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|Dune made of ice}} {{Redirect|Ice ridge|ridges formed by the repeated melting and freezing of ice|Pressure ridge (ice)}} [[File:Ice Dunes.jpg|300px|thumb|Ice Dunes at [Presque Isle State Park](/source/Presque_Isle_State_Park) on [Lake Erie](/source/Lake_Erie)]] An '''ice dune''', also called an '''ice ridge''' or an '''ice foot''', is a formation of [ice](/source/ice) that accumulates on the shores of many [arctic](/source/arctic) beaches and is also common along the shores of the [Great Lakes](/source/Great_Lakes) during the [winter](/source/winter).French 2007, p. 273. Ice dunes are not to be confused with [ice shoves](/source/Ice_shove), which accumulate on bodies of water then push their way on shore, carrying sediment with them and deforming the shoreline. == Cause == An ice dune is produced by ice washing ashore, snowfall, and the gradual freezing of wave spray that accumulates on to the shore.{{Cite news |title=Inside Ice Dunes |work=[Erie Times-News](/source/Erie_Times-News) |last=Switzer |first=Cody |date=January 24, 2009 |access-date=January 25, 2009 |url=http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090124/NEWS02/301249961/-1/RSS |archive-date=June 7, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607010807/http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090124/NEWS02/301249961/-1/RSS |url-status=dead }} They form when the air temperature is below freezing and the water temperature is near freezing. Ice dunes are commonly at least {{convert|6|ft|spell=in}} tall, but the dune's size depends on the beach and the weather. The [tidal range](/source/tidal_range), the ''storminess'' of the water and the topography of the beach all can affect the size of the dunes.French 2007 p. 276. The dunes will also stop forming if the body of the water they border freezes over, which often happens on [Lake Erie](/source/Lake_Erie). Ice dunes will usually break up in the early stages of spring thaw. == Effects == Ice dunes are important in formations, such as [sandspit](/source/Sandspit_(landform))s and sand [isthmus](/source/isthmus)es, that could be [eroded](/source/erosion) by wave action. An example of a Great Lakes sandspit is [Presque Isle State Park](/source/Presque_Isle_State_Park) in [Erie, Pennsylvania](/source/Erie%2C_Pennsylvania). When the dunes form, they form a barrier between the waves and the shore and prevent the waves from reaching the shore, keeping the sand in place. Because of the way ice dunes form, they are inherently weak and filled with cracks and air pockets. People who venture out onto the dunes sometimes will fall through. If the dune extends out over the water, persons who do this can fall through the dune and into the freezing water underneath; if this happens, [hypothermia](/source/hypothermia) and death by [drown](/source/drown)ing are urgent, immediate dangers. == See also == * [Ice shove](/source/Ice_shove) == References == {{Reflist}} == Sources == * {{Cite book |last=French |first=Hugh M |year=2007 |title=The Periglacial Environment |publisher=[John Wiley & Sons](/source/John_Wiley_%26_Sons) |location=[Hoboken, NJ](/source/Hoboken%2C_New_Jersey) |isbn=978-0-470-86588-0}} Category:Dunes Category:Geomorphology Category:Snow or ice weather phenomena Category:Water ice --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ice dune](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_dune) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_dune?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.