Abstract. This paper presents, for the first time, the evolution of the local heterogeneous strain field around intra-granular cracking in polycrystalline ice, at the onset of tertiary creep. Owing to the high homologous temperature conditions and relatively low compressive stress applied, stress concentration at the crack tips is relaxed by plastic mechanisms associated with dynamic recrystallization. Strain field evolution followed by digital image correlation (DIC) directly shows the redistribution of strain during crack opening, but also the redistribution driven by crack tip plasticity mechanisms and recrystallization. Associated local changes in microstructure induce modifications of the local stress field evidenced by crack closure during deformation. At the ductile-to-brittle transition in ice, micro-cracking and dynamic recrystallization mechanisms can co-exist and interact, the later being efficient to relax stress concentration at the crack tips.