ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Ikaite

Hello there, little one! Today, we are going to learn about ikaite.

Ikaite is a type of mineral that is found in a lot of different places around the world, but it is most commonly found in cold environments like Antarctica. It looks a bit like a white crystal, and it is formed when minerals in the water start to stick together and harden.

One really cool thing about ikaite is that it can only form in very cold water that is right around freezing temperature. When the water gets colder and colder, the minerals start to stick together and build up into these crystals.

Scientists are really interested in ikaite because it can give us a lot of information about the environment where it was formed. For example, they can look at the oxygen atoms inside the ikaite crystal to figure out what the temperature was like when the mineral formed. They can also look at the chemicals inside the crystal to see if there were any changes in the water quality over time.

So, there you have it! Ikaite is a special mineral that forms in really cold water and can help scientists learn more about what the environment was like in the past.