Posted on 12/14/2007 12:13:29 PM PST by NormsRevenge
"Sea ice" is made of salt water. It is formed when the surface of the ocean becomes cold enough for the top few feet to freeze.
"Icebergs" are generally made of fresh water. This would normally be ice that started as snow over land, great masses of it compresed itself into ice, flowed downhill, then calved into the ocean.
Ocean ice which is seen well south of the Arctic circle (or well north of the Antarctic), will normally consist of icebergs, because it could have formed nearby (on land), and it melts more slowly than sea ice (because it's fresh water).
The Arctic Ocean is mostly covered by sea ice, through most of the year. This is where polar bears spend much of their time.
Koo-koo-ka-choke-—
New ice is usually very salty because it contains concentrated droplets called brine that are trapped in pockets between the ice crystals, and so it would not make good drinking water. As ice ages, the brine eventually drains through the ice, and by the time it becomes multiyear ice, nearly all of the brine is gone. Most multiyear ice is fresh enough that someone could drink its melted water. In fact, multiyear ice often supplies the fresh water needed for polar expeditions.
The ice has returned so fast that these stories seem downright odd.
“Walruses are vulnerable to stampedes when they gather in such large numbers. The appearance of a polar bear, a hunter or a low-flying airplane can send them rushing to the water.”
I bet some photographer, reporter, or enviro wacko startled the Walruses by flying over to get picture. Then decided to cover his/her ass, by blaming it on global warming .
Bush lied, walruses died.
If he’d just agreed to stop warming the earth...
Save the ice!
If the pea soup, is too salty, you put some ice in it? Millions of Swedes would like to know... In that country, there are only two kinds of pea soup, too salty, and not salty enough.
~~Anthropogenic Global Warming ™ ping~~
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