 You probably don't give much thought to ice unless you're thinking of ice skating in the winter or cooling a beverage in the summer. Ice is abundant not only on earth, but throughout the solar system. Here in Wyoming, we appreciate the many forms of ice, from snowflakes to glaciers. Ice is formed when there is a phase transformation of water from liquid to solid. Ice can also form when there is a direct transformation from vapor to solid. This phase change will leave your lawn a frosty white or require you to scrape the frost off your windshield. The types of ice vary and include glaciers, ice sheets, sea ice, icebergs, snowflakes, hail, frost, icicles and ice spikes. The formation of ice can be beneficial or harmful to living organisms. Because ice has a lower density than water, it floats. This helps protect organisms living in the water by insulating them from the harsh conditions above. Ice formation can also be very destructive. If ice forms in cells, the crystals expand and shatter the cells. If the damage is extensive enough, the organism dies. Before the advent of modern refrigeration, ice was a very valuable resource and was harvested and stored through the summer. We don't need to harvest ice anymore, but we still rely on the formation of ice for many of our winter activities. From the University of Wyoming Extension, I'm Mae Smith, Exploring the Nature of Wyoming.