Ice drift creates gaps in the ice cover and therefore increases rates ice formation.
Ice drift has important influence upon regional freshwater and heat budgets because ice transport redistributes buoyant freshwater and latent heat energy. This is because on short time scales of hous to days to weeks, sea ice drift is influenced by local winds that vary significantly in direction and magnitude over time. On longer time scales of weeks to months to years, sea ice motion is influenced primarily by surface currents in the ocean. The redistribution of sea ice from its location of formation to other areas by ocean and wind currents causes freshwater to be discharged from the higher latitudes to lower ones. Ice formation processes effectively expel salt from seawater and reintroduce relatively fresh water to the ocean where sea ice melts.