Oceanography

Salinity of sea ice

The salinity of sea ice depends on the salinity of the original sea water, the speed of ice formation and the age of the ice. The salinity of sea ice is less than the salinity of the original sea water from which ice is formed, because some portion of the brine between the ice crystals seeps out. The salinity values usually vary between two for vary old ice, 3-5 for ice after the first winter, 10 for new ice that is just formed and 20 for ice that is formed from sea water which is flooding.