Sea Ice in Antarctica

Sea ice is ice made of frozen sea water, not all ice in the sea is sea ice, icebergs and the debris when they break up is freshwater from glaciers. In the winter months the surface area of Antarctica doubles as the sea freezes, when spring and summer arrive again it begins to melt and break up, it can be 4-5 m thick or more but rarely lasts more than a couple of years before melting completely.

Pack ice sighted

Temperature dropping, sea-ice begins to form

Temperature dropping, sea-ice begins to form - 2

The ice begins to thicken and pancakes form

Thick ice stuck fast

Tide crack in established fast ice

Summer pack ice off the Antarctic peninsula

End of winter, ice broken up and ready to move out

That's it for another year

A walk along the ice foot