Question: Why does some ice move whist other bits stay still?

Nuala Carson answered on 25 Jun 2012:

Hey babbyhoff,

great question! Most sea ice does move but there are parts of it which are stationary and it is our job to find out why. So far we know of a few reasons why some sea ice moves while other bits don’t.

Sea ice moves because wind or ocean currents are dragging or pushing it in a certain direction. So if you think of an ice cube in your drink. If you blow on it it will move in the direction you are blowing – the same idea apply to sea ice just on a much bigger scale. Sometimes there is something trying to stop this movement. For example if the wind is pushing it to the right, and the ocean was pushing it to the left the forecs may balance and the sea ice just stays where it is.

Another main reason for getting stationary sea ice is that it is trapped in very narrow channels of water. It would be pretty easy for you and all you classmates to walk through a school corridor which is quite wide right? But just imagine the corridor suddenly gets really narrow. Everyone will get piled up and stop moving.

You can also get really deep bits of sea ice that reach all the way to the ocean floor. We cant see them from the surface but these really deep bits of ice act like nails in the ice trying to keep it in the same place. I have included a link to have a look at these deep ice ‘nails’ if you are interested :

http://carbon-based-ghg.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/new-discoveries-improve-climate-models.html

The picture shows a wall of ice that reaches from the sea floor up to the surface.

Well i hope this gives you an idea of some reasons why sea ice may not move. My job is to try and work out why a certain type of sea ice which everyone thinks should move doesn’t!