Sea ice in the Beaufort Sea
NASA
Sea Ice in the Arctic and Antarctic
Sea ice is frozen seawater. It floats on the oceans that are in Earth's polar regions. The salt in the seawater does not freeze. Very salty water gets trapped in the sea ice when it forms. The pockets of salty water work their way out of the sea ice over a few years. During the summer much of the sea ice melts and during the winter months it forms again. Some sea ice stays around all year long.
The Arctic Ocean has a large amount of sea ice floating at its surface, especially in winter. Sea ice is very important for the people and animals that live in the Arctic region. Animals like polar bears live on the sea ice and find their food in the ocean below it. Marine animals live under the Arctic sea ice too. In the South Polar Region, sea ice is important for penguins like the Emperor penguins in the movie "March of the Penguins".
Because of global warming, more sea ice is melting each year. Scientists are studying how animals like polar bears and penguins are affected by melting sea ice.
Shop Windows to the Universe Science Store!
The
Spring 2010 issue of The Earth Scientist, focuses on the ocean, including articles on polar research, coral reefs, ocean acidification, and climate. Includes a gorgeous full color poster!
You might also be interested in:
What Will You Find There? If you travel to the South Pole, you will find the continent of Antarctica surrounded by the Southern Ocean. The geographic South Pole is marked by a large sign that scientists
...more
Polar bears live in one of our planet’s most extreme environments, the Arctic . They thrive in the freezing cold. But because of global warming, polar bears might be in trouble. Scientists are studying
...more
Frozen water is found in many different places on Earth. Snow blankets the ground at mid and high latitudes during winter. Sea ice and icebergs float in the chilly waters of polar oceans. Ice shelves are
...more
In the Arctic, you will find the Arctic Ocean surrounded by the continents of Europe, Asia, and North America. You will find the geographic North Pole and the magnetic North Pole there; both are in the
...more
The climate had become warmer during the past few decades in the north polar region . Temperatures are rising twice as fast as they are elsewhere in the world. Warmer temperatures cause other things to
...more
All winter long in the chilly Arctic, sea ice grows larger as the ocean water freezes. A blanket of fresh white snow covers it. The white snow reflects the sunshine that hits it. As summer begins, the
...more
There is a lot of ice on Greenland. But as our planet gets warmer, Greenland’s ice is melting. Scientists have figured out that the ice is melting faster now. More ice melted during the summer of 2007
...more
