History of Ice in Timeline

Ice is the solid form of water, occurring naturally on Earth and other celestial bodies at temperatures at or below 0°C. Its appearance varies from transparent to opaque bluish-white, depending on impurities. Defined as a crystalline inorganic solid with an ordered structure, it is considered a mineral. Ice forms through freezing and is a common substance found in various environments, playing a significant role in geological and meteorological processes.

1919: Icing conditions during first non-stop transatlantic flight

In 1919, during the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic, John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown encountered severe icing conditions, requiring Brown to manually remove ice from the engine air intakes of their Vickers Vimy aircraft.

1939: Bowden and Hughes research on ice friction

In 1939, Frank P. Bowden and T. P. Hughes researched ice friction, finding that pressure melting alone could not explain the slipperiness of ice and suggesting frictional heating contributes to melting.

1941: Road of Life operation begins

In the winter of 1941-1942, the Road of Life across Lake Ladoga began operating, providing the only land route to relieve the Siege of Leningrad.

1942: Road of Life operation during the Siege of Leningrad

In the winters of 1941–1942 and 1942–1943, the Road of Life was in operation to aid the Soviet Union during the Siege of Leningrad.

1943: Road of Life operation during the Siege of Leningrad

In the winters of 1941–1942 and 1942–1943, the Road of Life was in operation to aid the Soviet Union during the Siege of Leningrad.

1965: First home refrigerator with built-in icemaker presented by Frigidaire

In 1965, Frigidaire presented the first home refrigerator with a built-in icemaker.

1969: Start of Carburetor icing incident recording

Between 1969 and 1975, 468 instances of carburetor icing were recorded.

1975: End of Carburetor icing incident recording

Between 1969 and 1975, 468 instances of carburetor icing were recorded, causing 75 aircraft losses, 44 fatalities and 202 serious injuries.

1992: Start of global sea ice loss tracking

Global losses of sea ice between 1992 and 2018 have already had the same impact as 10% of greenhouse gas emissions over the same period.

1994: Start of global ice loss tracking

Between 1994 and 2017, 28 trillion tonnes of ice were lost around the globe.

1994: End of ice usage for air conditioning in Hungarian Parliament

From the 1930s until 1994, the Hungarian Parliament building used ice harvested from Lake Balaton during the winter for air conditioning, after which the practice ceased.

1996: Discovery of Ice XII

In 1996, Ice XII, one of the metastable phases of ice under pressure, was discovered.

2002: Commercial ice-making industry in the United States

In 2002, there were 426 commercial ice-making companies in the United States, with a combined value of shipments of $595,487,000.

2006: Discovery of Ice XIII and Ice XIV

In 2006, Ice XIII and Ice XIV, which are hydrogen-ordered forms of ices, were discovered.

2009: Discovery of Ice XV

In 2009, ice XV was found at extremely high pressures and −143 °C.

2014: Frictional heating as the most important process of ice friction

2014 research suggests that frictional heating is the most important process under most typical conditions of ice friction.

2017: Global ice loss

Between 1994 and 2017, 28 trillion tonnes of ice were lost around the globe due to greenhouse gas emissions, with Arctic sea ice decline being the largest loss.

2018: Global losses of sea ice

Global losses of sea ice between 1992 and 2018, almost all of them in the Arctic, have already had the same impact as 10% of greenhouse gas emissions over the same period.