Drift Ice is Hazardous to Sea Traffic

Drift ice is any sort of sea ice affected by wind and currents, as opposed to fast ice which is attached to islands or the coast. It can take the form of different sizes of floe but can also be frozen together in large ice fields of varying thickness and roughness. It can form from fast ice that has broken loose from unprotected stretches of coast, or form in the open sea during calm weather.

Drift ice is a continuous hazard to sea traffic. It is never still, even if changes are sometimes unnoticeable. Out at sea, ice leads do not stay open in the same way as in the archipelago and can quickly close up, creating ridges that are difficult to break through.

Floebergs - dangerous floaters

As the ice breaks up, single large pieces of drift ice from old ridges are left, called floebergs. These can often be surrounded by open water.

Floebergs are difficult to see. The top can be dark and porous and only just above the surface, while the main part of the Floebergs is under water and can be both large and hard. Floebergs are a potential threat to sea traffic during darkness or poor visibility.

Floebergs are similar to growlers (small icebergs) but growlers and icebergs are by definition formed on land, for example by calving from glaciers.

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