Ikaite incorporates water molecules while crystallizing, and can only form in very cold temperatures. When the matrix, usually a silaceous mud, encasing the ikaite crystals warms, as a result of ground movement or climate change, the Ikaite crystals collapse back into an aqueous solution, which then over time re-crystallizes as calcite, filling the void left by the collapsed Ikaite and reproducing its form pseudomorphically. Cool huh!

Ikaites and the pseudomorphs replacing them are currently of intense interest to climatologists and other climate researchers, as the crystals reveal information about environmental conditions during their formation. By understanding what the climate has done in the past, scientists are better able to comprehend current conditions. Thus, calcite pseudomorphs after ikaite are quite useful, and their value to science will likely increase as climate change continues to reshape our environment.