 Blue-ice areas have a generally smooth and often rippled appearance, a blue colour and a sparseness of bubbles in the ice.This light blue colour is a consequence of the absorption of light by ice and air bubbles encased within it and the source of the name "blue-ice area".It contrasts markedly with the white colour of Antarctic plains and can be seen from space and from aerial images while the density of the blue ice makes it appear on radar images as a dark ice form.