ICE ON SEA

Semester –IV
B.Sc Nautical Science

Captain M Arul Kandhan 1

Captain M Arul Kandhan
 Learning Objective

• Different Types of Ice

• Icebergs, Limits of Icebergs
• Accumulation of Ice on Ships

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 Ice at Sea
Ice at sea is of two types

• Sea ice formed by the freezing of sea water

• Icebergs, which are huge masses of floating Ice

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 Sea Ice
 Sea ice accounts for most of the
ice encountered at sea
 Fresh water freezes at 0°C
 Greater the salinity, lower the
freezing point
 Sea water with average salinity of
35 ppt freezes at -2°C

Formation: As surface cools, surface water becomes denser and

sinks. This causes convection currents. Water will not freeze until
entire body of water has cooled to freezing temperature (hence
surface of deep-sea waters do not freeze even if air temp is extremely
low)
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 Sea Ice
In shallower waters, however,
convection currents quickly cool
the entire body of water to freezing
temperature
Results in sea-ice formation over
shoal banks, over bays, inlets,
straits and estuaries where no
appreciable current/tide exists &
where salinity is low
Ice forms on the surface because of contact with very cold air &
spreads downwards with initial ice crystals on surface acting as nuclei
Wave action breaks up ice (brash-ice) & hinders formation of sea-ice
Sea-ice grows 7-10cm thick in 1st 24h & 5-7cm more in next 24h
Growth thereafter slower because surface ice insulates water from
cold air
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 Sea Ice

•Ship uses the services of ice breakers for navigation in sea ice
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 Ice Bergs
Ice bergs are huge masses of
floating ice broken off from:
 Glaciers
 Ice-Shelves
What are Glaciers?
A glacier is a large persistent body
of ice that forms over many years
from the accumulation and
compaction of snow in areas where
the rate of snowfall exceeds the
rate of melting. Glaciers are found
on land, typically in mountainous
regions or polar areas, and they
flow slowly downhill under the
pressure of their own weight.

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 Ice Bergs

What are Ice-Shelves?

Ice shelves are thick, floating platforms of
ice that extend from the coastlines of
continents out over the ocean's surface.
They are formed by the seaward
extension of glaciers or ice sheets and
are primarily found in polar regions, such
as Antarctica and Greenland.

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 Ice Bergs : Glacial Origin
Formation: Icebergs form from glaciers
primarily through a process called calving.
 As the glacier flows downhill under its own
weight, it may extend into the sea in certain
locations if it reaches the coastline. Glaciers
that terminate in the ocean are termed
"tidewater glaciers.“
 When the leading edge of a glacier reaches
the ocean, the warmer seawater can melt
the ice at its terminus, weakening the
connection between the glacier and the
seafloor.
 Additionally, the pressure of the advancing
glacier against the water may cause
fractures and stress within the ice.
Eventually, large chunks of ice break off
from the glacier's front in a process known
as calving.
 The pieces of ice that break off from the
glacier form icebergs.

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 Ice Bergs : Glacial Origin
Icebergs thus formed (through calving), are carried away by ocean currents &
winds
Icebergs of glacial origin have irregular shapes. Their tops are often pinnacle
shaped & their sides sloping. They are hence, despite their size, NOT GOOD
RADAR TARGETS! Change in aspect can cause tem to suddenly disappear from
radar
Depth below, of an iceberg may vary anything from 1 to 5 times it’s visible
height above sea surface
Parts of icebergs may extend underwater horizontally much further underwater
than visible over water
Most of the icebergs in the northern hemisphere are of glacial origin
The International Ice Patrol advises shipmasters to keep at least 100nm off
from the last reported position of an iceberg
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 Ice Bergs : Ice-Shelf Origin
Formation: Icebergs can form from ice
shelves through a process called "calving,"
which involves the breaking off of chunks or
blocks of ice from the front edge, or "terminus,"
of the ice shelf.
 Ice shelves form when glaciers or ice sheets
flow off the land and extend over the ocean.
 As the ice reaches the coastline, it continues to
flow outward due to gravity, forming a floating
platform of ice that remains connected to the
landmass behind it.
 Ice shelves can be hundreds of meters thick
and cover extensive areas.

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 Ice Bergs : Ice-Shelf Origin
Formation (Contd):
The front edge, or terminus, of an ice
shelf is in contact with the ocean, and it
experiences melting from below due to
relatively warmer seawater.
This melting weakens the structural
integrity of the ice shelf. Additionally, ice
shelves experience stress from the
movement of the surrounding ocean
waters, as well as changes in
atmospheric conditions such as
temperature and wind.
As a result of the combination of melting
and stress, large chunks or blocks of ice
can break off from the front edge of
the ice shelf in a process known as
calving. These chunks of ice that break
off are what we commonly refer to as
icebergs.

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 Ice Bergs : Ice-Shelf Origin
These are common in high latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere
They are referred to as “tabular bergs” because of their vertical sides and
smooth, horizontal tops. The are, therefore, GOOD RADAR TARGETS.
Many of them have been measured to have lengths of 20-30nm and 10-35m
height

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 Ice Bergs : Diminution
Becomes smaller in size due to:
Calving (breaking off) into smaller pieces
Melting caused by warm ocean currents
Melting caused by warm air & sunlight
Erosive action of wind & waves

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 Ice Bergs : Visibility
Day Time
On days with clear skies – 12 to 15 nm from Bridge
– 18 nm from masthead
On cloudy days with good visibility, about 2 nm less…
Light fog/Haze/Drizzle/Rain : 2 to 3 nm
Dense fog : Not detectable more than 100 meters
Night Time
On nights with clear skies & good visibility : ½ nm to naked eye (if bearing
known, 1nm using night glasses)
Difficult to detect in moderate or rough sea
Moonlight has a strong but variable effect on visual detection range

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 Ice Berg : Proximity Indicators
Possible detection by radar. Remember sub-refraction usually exists
in vicinity of icebergs. They may have smooth sloping sides making
them poor radar targets.
Thundering noises as growlers calve from icebergs
Ice-blink, the whitish glare on low clouds near horizon
Noise of sea breaking over edge of the iceberg
Presence of smaller pieces of ice which may have calved from the
iceberg (iceberg probably to the windward….why?)
Sudden drop in wind speed accompanied by severe drop in air
temperature (lee of iceberg)

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 Movement of Glacial Iceberg
Icebergs born on East Coast of Greenland are carried SW
by East Greenland Current
After rounding he southern tip of Greenland, they join
icebergs born on Greenland’s West Coast. They are then
carried N by West Greenland Current
From Baffin Bay (about 75°N) they are brought South by
Baffin Island Current and then the Labrador Current
south of Hudson Bay
Finally, they reach the Grand Banks of Newfoundland
where they drift either eastward north of the Flemish
Cap or southward between the Flemish Cap and the Grand
Banks which is often referred to as "Iceberg Alley".
The southern limit of drift is generally defined by the
northern edge of the warm North Atlantic current (Gulf
Stream).
The drift of icebergs from their origin on the west coast
of Greenland to the coast of Newfoundland is about 1800
nautical miles and takes an average of 2 to 3 years.

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 Classification of Iceberg
Icebergs have been classified by the International Ice Patrol as follows:

HEIGHT ABOVE SEA LENGTH IN METRES

LEVEL IN METRES
Growler Under 1 Under 6
Bergy bit 1 to 6 6 to 15
Small berg 6 to 15 15 to 60
Medium berg 15 To 45 60 to 120
Large berg 45 To 80 120 to 215
Very large berg Over 80 Over 215
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Some Ice (C l) Terms
• Field-ice: is a large area of floating ice
• Brash-ice: Small pieces of floating ice
• Fast-ice: A large ice which remains stationary
• Floe: is the name given to each single piece of floating sea-ice regardless of
its size.
• Hummock: An elevated part or ridge formed on a floe due to pressure.
• Iceberg: A large mass of floating ice, having a height of at least 5 metres
above sea level. It could be of glacier or ice-shelf origin
• Ice cake: The name given to a piece of floating sea-ice, which is less than 10
metres in length

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Some Ice (C l) Terms
• Ice-edge: The boundaries, of an ice-field, beyond which open sea exists.
• Ice limit: The estimated position of the ice-edge during any given month or
period, based on past observation
• Land Ice: Ice of land origin-formed either on land on attached to land.
• Pack Ice: Or drift ice means an area of any kind of sea ice except fast-ice.
• Pancake Ice: Circular pieces, of newly formed ice, having a dia between 0.3
to 3m.
• Rotten Ice: Pieces of ice in the final state of melting, whereby they appear
riddled with holes.
• Sludge or Slush: The name given to a grey, gummy appearance of the sea
owing to the presence of freshly formed ice-crystals on the surface.

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Limits of Icebergs : Thumb Rule
1. Off the coast of Newfound land, the easterly limit is 40W
and southerly limit is 40N.
2. In the North Pacific, a line drawn from the NE tip of
Japan, passing just north of the Aleutian Islands, to
approximately 60N 160W
3. In the Southern Hemisphere, roughly the parallel of 50S,
except in longitude 20W, where it is about 40S (Cape
Horn, Tasmania and New Zealand are clear of the ice
limits).

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Sinking of the MV Explorer, 2007
• In 2007 passenger vessel Explorer, built
in 1969 to 1A1 ICE-A class, sank in the
Antarctic waters after a collision with ice
ridge. The main reason for the accident
was captain’s wrong estimation about
the ice conditions, as he thought it was
first year ice, but in reality, there was
also hard land ice among the first year
ice.

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 Sinking of the MS Finnpolaris, 1991
MS Finnpolaris, built to ice class 1A , sank on
11.08.1991 nearby Disco bay at the coast of
Greenland. Finnpolaris was carrying zinc-ore as it
sailed through a seaway that was ice infested with
floes. The weather at the time of the incident was
foggy with approximately maximum of 7-8 m/s winds
and 5 m high waves. Suddenly a wave slammed a
bergy-bit -sized piece of ice to the starboard side hull
and captain reported the ship started to heel very
rapidly. The bergy-bit punctured the hull so that the
cargo hold flooded and water mixed with zinc-ore. Due MS Finnpolaris sinking (High Seas Rescue 2000).
to the heeling of the ship, Finnpolaris was completely
sank.

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 Accumulation of Ice on ships

Accumulation is build up of frozen

sea water on ships.
As soon as the sea surface
temperature drops below +4
degrees C, spray and waves can
form ice on the deck and
superstructure
The ice that forms can increase
the weight of a ship by hundred of
tonnes.

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