Icebreakers Smash Frozen Arctic Ocean in Surprising Ways

Frozen ocean, big boats, powerful engines and deliberate, full-speed collisions, icebreakers are ships we tend not to think much about, but they're worth a longer look. They don't work how you think they might.

NASA's just published a new update on the activities of arctic coastguard vessel Healy--a science ship with 5,000 square feet of laboratory and support space that charges through the remote waters of the Arctic Ocean. The ship carries a large crew of scientists and specialists to...