Carolan, Julian;
Jakubec, Martin;
Xavier Jr, Neubi F;
Motala, Adam Pestana;
Bifulco, Ersilia;
Aars, Jon;
Andersen, Magnus;
... Holst, Bodil; + view all
(2025)
Anti-icing properties of polar bear fur.
Science Advances
, 11
(5)
, Article eads7321. 10.1126/sciadv.ads7321.
Preview |
PDF
sciadv.ads7321 (1).pdf - Accepted Version Download (1MB) | Preview |
Abstract
The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is the only Arctic land mammal that dives into water to hunt. Despite thermal insulation provided by blubber and fur layers and low Arctic temperatures, their fur is typically observed to be free of ice. This study investigates the anti-icing properties of polar bear fur. Here, we show that polar bear fur exhibits low ice adhesion strengths comparable to fluorocarbon-coated fibers, with the low ice adhesion a consequence of the fur sebum (hair grease). Lipid analyses reveal the presence of cholesterol, diacylglycerols, anteisomethylbranched fatty acids, and the unexpected absence of squalene. Quantum chemical calculations predict low ice adsorption energies for identified lipids and high adsorption for squalene, suggesting that sebum composition is responsible for the observed anti-icing properties. Our work enhances understanding of polar bears and their interactions with their environment and builds on Inuit knowledge of natural anti-icing materials.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Anti-icing properties of polar bear fur |
| Location: | United States |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1126/sciadv.ads7321 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.ads7321 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © 2025 The Authors. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license, which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, so long as the resultant use is not for commercial advantage and provided the original work is properly cited. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Mechanical Engineering |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10205951 |
Loading...
Loading...Loading...| 1. |  United Kingdom | 1 |
| 2. |  United States | 1 |
| 3. |  Canada | 1 |
Archive Staff Only
 |
View Item |
