A hollow, downward-growing icicle-like tube that forms beneath sea ice as extremely cold, dense, hypersaline brine, expelled from the ice as it freezes, sinks into the warmer seawater below and freezes a thin sheath of ice around itself as it descends. Where a brinicle's descending, supercooled brine reaches the seafloor, it can spread outward and flash-freeze a wide area of the bottom, an effect first captured on film in Antarctic waters in 2011.
Facts
Identification
Distinguishing AppearanceA pipe of ice reaching down from the underside of sea ice 1 First Described2011 (first filmed, BBC Frozen Planet) 1 Sources
1. Brinicle - Wikipedia
First filming
The formation of a brinicle was first filmed in 2011 by producer Kathryn Jeffs and cameramen Hugh Miller and Doug Anderson for the BBC series Frozen Planet.
Appearance
a pipe of ice reaching down from the underside of a layer of sea ice
View the SourceReader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.