noun
Refers to a large area of floating sea ice formed from many pieces of ice pressed together. Technical term used in oceanography and meteorology.
北極海では、冬になると広大な叢氷が形成される。
In the Arctic Ocean, vast pack ice forms in winter.
叢氷の動きは船舶の航行に大きな影響を与える。
The movement of pack ice greatly affects ship navigation.
流氷 refers to drift ice, which is floating ice moving with currents and wind, while 叢氷 specifically means pack ice, a large consolidated mass of ice floes.
Compound of 叢 (そう, 'cluster, thicket') and 氷 (ひょう, 'ice'), literally 'clustered ice'. The term is a direct translation of the English 'pack ice'.