polynya Any enclosed water area in pack ice other than a lead, not large enough to be called open water. When frozen over, a polyna becomes an ice skylight from the point of view of the submariner. Could be a subclass of a class that describes holes in solid material covering water or other liquids. Perhaps a class like "clearing". Logical def can include surrounded_by "ice mass". ENVO ENVO:00000484 EcoLexicon:polynya POLYNA Polynya SWEETRealm:Polynya Wikipedia:Polynya big clearing clearing glade ice clearing polynia regional clearing lentic water body