Snow has a different reflectivity than sea ice, thus snow may impact how quickly the sea ice grows and melts. Scientists have discovered that the depth of accumulated snow may affect both the salinity and the crystalline structure of sea ice on the surface of the sea ice. The weight of snow on the sea ice frequently overcomes the buoyancy of the ice, causing the sea ice to flood with a thin layer of seawater. Finally, snow cover can influence biological activity within and underneath the sea ice by affecting the amount of available light. Two seals lounge on the pack ice.
Sea ice plays an important role in the ecosystem.
Not only does it serve as a resting place for penguins and seals, but it is critical in the annual cycle of algae growth in Atarctica. Algae are incorporated into the sea ice as it forms in the winter. Photograph courtesy of John Anderson, Rice University . Each fall season, a thin cover of sea ice begins to form on the surface of the water around Antarctica. As the temperatures cool into the winter, this floating ice layer gets thicker and thicker.