Science · 6 pages · 12 min

How sea ice differs from an ice shelf

Sea ice is frozen ocean water, while an ice shelf is glacial ice that flowed off land and floats.

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From the opening

Sea ice is ocean water that has frozen at the surface. An ice shelf is a thick floating sheet of ice that flowed off the land as part of a glacier or ice sheet, so one is frozen seawater and the other is land ice that happens to be afloat. The opening covers frozen seawater versus land ice, salt is rejected as sea ice ages, and the grounding line marks the shelf.

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Inside

Frozen seawater versus land ice
Salt is rejected as sea ice ages
The grounding line marks the shelf
Icebergs calve from glacial ice
Where the idea stops applying
A distinction worth keeping

Sources

Sea ice formed from freezing seawater
Ice shelves as floating extensions of ice sheets

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How sea ice differs from an ice shelf

From the opening

Inside

Sources

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