Monday, June 11, 2012

Is the ice in the polar ice cap, fresh or of saltwater?

Even though the glacier ice comes from salty ocean water, the sea ice that forms in the Arctic and Antarctic is fresh water. The presence of salt lowers the freezing point of ocean water and it does freeze. However, the salt molecules are rejected back into the liquid as the ice forms, resulting in freshwater ice floating. The land ice over Greenland and Antarctica is also fresh water, and results from the accumulation of snowfall over long time periods.