What Is Brinicle? Want to know how this ice formation takes place? Read the content and capture all the details about it. Hurry up.
Are you aware of the phenomenon where ice extends downwards? What is this ice called, and why its nature is so different? If these questions are arousing your curiosity, then here comes today’s article presenting the details of a rare ice phenomenon.
The ice showing such behaviour, called Brinicle, has been discovered recently. It is why people in the United States and United Kingdom are searching for its details on the web.
Let’s explore What Is Brinicle and whether its impact on seawater can affect marine life!
The first recording of Brinicle
In 2011, the team members of the Discovery Channel presented the series, Frozen Planet. It was the first film to show the formation of Brinicle. The time lapsing photography was used to cover the whole event that took several hours.
Moreover, many attempts were made to capture the Brinicle in-camera as large seals in the underwater knocked the camera and broke the fledging structures of the Brinicle.
What Is Brinicle?
After the appearance of Brinicle in the series, people got more eager to discover details about it. As we know, the freezing point of salty water is low as compared to freshwater. The freezing point of the seawater in the arctic and Antarctic regions is recorded as -1.9 degrees and even colder.
The frigid air chills the water, and it starts freezing, but rather than converting into a solid ice structure, the water turns into spongy crystals that contain saltwater.
Since these crystals are denser and heavier than the seawater it migrates through cracks present in floating ice. Once it finds the lower concentrated area, it starts sinking.
What Is Brinicle, however, can be justified when the crystals of ice come in contact with water and freeze the seawater with its cold temperature and lead to more crystals. When all of them combine and form a tube around the descending column, Brinicle is formed.
Key Points about Brinicle
- The word Brinicle is generated by contracting brine icicle.
- They resemble cave structures.
- Brinicles are not rigid rock structures of ice.
- They are delicate, and we can break them with ease.
- Brinicle forms a web of ice structure, and it may take up to twelve hours for the entire process to finish.
You are now clear with the answer of What Is Brinicle? Let’s see whether it can be harmful to us or not.
Is Brincle’s formation can harm humans?
Absolutely not; the Brinicle is not dangerous for humans as divers have travelled underwater to study its formation. Humans can swim beneath the sea where these ice crystals are formed.
But the marine creatures like starfish and sea urchins find it difficult to escape from the web of Brinicle. The chances are high that they remain encased in ice. It is why Brinicle are often called icicles of death.
Conclusion
Wrapping up the article, we tried to answer the question What Is Brinicle. The ice structure of Brinicle formed in the intensively low temperature can become the death pool for underwater dwelling creatures.
What are your views about these crystals of ice showing rare phenomenon? Comment and share your views with us.
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