Glacial ice contains entrained air bubbles whose role in melting has been largely overlooked. We show that these bubbles generate interfacial flows that enhance heat transport and accelerate melting, and we characterize the resulting melt morphologies and mechanism, offering new insight into glacier melt.

In freezing conditions with repeated water supply over a tilted surface, residual water left after each pass freezes into ice droplets that may partially melt during the next supply. Water retention is governed by the competition between gravity-driven drainage and pinning (contact-angle hysteresis) and is reduced on hydrophobic surfaces. By contrast, melting proceeds faster on hydrophilic surfaces because increased solid–liquid contact area improves heat conduction. Together, these results reveal a residue–melting trade-off that guides surface design.

We investigate ice detachment on both solid substrates and ice–ice contacts. By controlling loading velocity/angle and interfacial properties (roughness, freezing temperature, wettability) and visualizing deformation and fracture, we quantify adhesion strength and identify failure mechanisms. The resulting principles enable adhesion control and guide the design of advanced anti-icing materials and systems.