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The surface texture is also very interesting because the jade bergs seem to be formed from solid ice rather than crumbly snow and the surface is ablated by the wind to form thousands of small cups about the size of a quarter of a tennis ball. On top of that if you stand up close to the ice and with the right light peer into it you can see into a third dimension - streams of small bubbles suspended in the ice disappearing below the surface.  A deep blue jade berg in the Colbeck Archipelago, 100km West of Mawson.
Over the year I developed a fascination for the patterns, colours and textures of ice. In winter the colours and patterns are shown in their best light, but in summer the bright sun swamps the colour and after a few months of bright light the jade bergs lose their magic qualities almost as if they have been bleached by the sunlight or just like when you suck the coloured food dye out of a flavoured ice confection.
Moving close to a jade berg reveals a whole new world in the ice. While summer is full of life, warmth and activity - a winter in Antarctica with little life, cold and bitter winds may not seem to have much going for it. After experiencing the colours, patterns and struggle of life living on the edge I would have to say that living through an Antarctic winter is the most soul enriching and fulfilling experience that I have ever done. While nothing is ever quite the same unless you have done it yourself, I hope I have given you an idea of what you could expect to feel if you were lucky enough to experience an Antarctic winter.
Back to part 1, part 2, part 3
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