But during the winters of 2016 and 2017, a rare hole called a polynya opened in the middle of the sea ice — one about the size of Switzerland. And scientists have just now figured out how it ...

A study published in Science Advances reveals a key process that had eluded scientists as to how the opening, called a polynya, was able to form and persist for several weeks. The paper is titled ...

Scientists aren't sure how it got there. This isn't the first time it's appeared. The hole is a type of polynya. Polynyas are regions of open water surrounded by sea ice. But the Weddell Polynya ...