ice stupa

English

Etymology

A cone of ice that is reminiscent of the shape of a stupa.

Noun

ice stupa (plural ice stupas)

1. A rough cone of ice created by spraying piped water into the air in freezing conditions, used to store water in a form that allows gradual release over an extended time.
   • 2016, Carey Clouse, “Design for Autonomy: Water Resources in Ladakh”, in Anandajit Goswami, Arabinda Mishra, editors, Economic Modeling, Analysis, and Policy for Sustainability, Business Science Reference, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 255:

     Ice stupas were designed by Sonam Wangchuk in 2014, as scalable ice towers that can store fall and winter water, as ice, for use during the following spring and summer.

   • 2023, Hersh Haladker, Raghunath Mashelkar, “Can a Popsicle Ease Global Warming Problems?”, in Exprovement: Exponential Improvement Through Converging Parallels, Penguin, →ISBN, page 65:

     By controlling the state of water—converting it from a fast-flowing liquid into ice, and then later into a slow-flowing liquid state, whilst also ensuring that none of it is lost via evaporation—the ice stupa has inadvertently utlized freeze concentration in a new and unique way, adapting it to the farming industry.

   • 2023, Eklas Hossain, “Environmental Concerns Arising from Human Energy Consumption”, in The Sun, Energy, and Climate Change, Springer, →ISBN, page 267:

     Torn between the two extremities of droughts and floods, the village welcomed the ice stupa as the savior.