📖 what
What is a brinicle?
oceanspolar
Quick Answer
A brinicle is a downward-growing tube of ice that forms beneath sea ice when very cold, salty brine sinks into the ocean.
The Full Story
When seawater freezes, salt is squeezed out of the ice, leaving pockets of extremely cold, salty brine. Because this brine is denser and colder than the surrounding water, it sinks, freezing the water it touches into a hollow icy tube. The tube, nicknamed the 'icicle of death', can grow down to the seabed. Once there it can spread across the bottom, freezing starfish, sea urchins and other slow-moving creatures in its path. A brinicle was famously filmed forming in time-lapse in Antarctica for the BBC series Frozen Planet in 2011.
Key Facts
1.Brinicles form in polar seas under sea ice
2.They are nicknamed the 'icicle of death'
3.The first time-lapse film was shot for Frozen Planet (2011)
YouTube Angle
Suggested video title for this topic:
"The icicle of death caught on camera"