freeze thaw
Melt and refreeze
Freeze thaw is the cyclical process of water freezing and thawing, especially as it affects materials and landscapes.
Water expands when it freezes, so repeated freeze-thaw cycles crack rock, damage pavement, and create potholes: The sidewalk buckled after a winter of freeze-thaw.
The process is a major force in weathering and erosion.
- meltChange from solid
- iceWater's solid form
- glacial meltFrozen mass becoming water
- cold snapBrief period of bitter chill
- cycleRepeating sequence of events
crack · cracked pavement · winter · polar vortex · expansion · glacial · crystallize · cold · solidify · water · water damage · weathering · refrigerate · pavement · ice dam · road salt · heave · icicle
- coastal weatherdrizzle, overcast, ocean breeze, cloudy skies, rainfall
- winter roadssnow plow, snowplow, road salt, plowing, de-icing
- snow sciencesnow depth, snowpack, snow pit, snow tube, core samples
freeze thawstructural stability
Ability to bear loads
preservation · chemical weathering · wind erosion · thermal expansion · dissolution
freeze thawcontrolled environment
Space with managed variables
climate control · preservation · structural integrity · weatherproofing
freeze, thaw, freezing, frozen, freezer, freezes, froze, thaws, thawing