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7.5: Formation of Sea Ice

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    10254

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    Formation of Sea Ice

    Fresh water freezes at 32° Fahrenheit (0° Celsius). Seawater freezes at about 28.4° F (-2 ° C) because of the salt content. However, when seawater freezes, the ice that forms contains very little salt. Only the water part freezes, the remaining salt is concentrated as brine that separates from the sea ice. This process is very important for deep-sea circulation.

    This page titled 7.5: Formation of Sea Ice is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Miracosta Oceanography 101 (Miracosta)) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.