noun
- Plural of firn; granular snow that becomes compacted and dense but has not yet turned into glacial ice.
Usage: technical; geology/glaciology
Examples
- The glaciologists studied the firns in the high alpine regions to understand ice formation.
- Layers of firns accumulate over many years before transforming into solid glacier ice.
- The expedition examined the firns at the summit to measure snow density and age.
- Firns in polar regions provide valuable records of historical climate patterns.