Frost Flowers
Commonly found growing on young sea ice and thin lake ice in cold, calm conditions, these ‘frost flowers’ form from imperfections on the surface of the ice in sub-zero temperatures, normally around the -4 Fahrenheit mark.
Extremely high salinities and concentrations of other sea water chemicals and, because of their high surface area, are efficient releasers of these chemicals into the atmosphere. The spikes have been found to contain microorganisms making them temporary miniature ecosystems similar to coral reef.
