Glossaries
Sea Ice Ecosystem
Abiotic Factors
Non-living characteristics of an environment. For example, temperature and nutrients
Branchial Tree
Part of a sea cucumber's body that resembles the branches of a tree and is used for respiration and feeding.
Brine Inclusions
Pockets of sea water trapped within sea ice. As the ice continues to cool, the salt becomes concentrated.
Congelation Ice
Vertical ice-crystal platelets that grow down (into the sea) from the nilas layer. They can grow up to two metres thick in one year.
Frazil Ice
An accumulation of broken ice-crystal fragments that creates a dense, "slushy" suspension of randomly shaped crystals. It is also known as grease ice because it resembles an oil slick on the surface of the water.
Habitat
The area where a given species lives. It includes all living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) factors of the area.
Limiting Factor
Environmental factor that restricts the growth, reproduction or distribution of an organism. Often it is a required nutrient that is in short supply.
Nilas
A continuous layer of ice from 5 cm to 10 cm thick that forms from the consolidation of frazil ice.
Pack Ice
Masses of sea ice that float on the water, unlike fast ice, which is attached to the shoreline.
Plankton (Phytoplankton, Zooplankton)
Drifting organisms, including algae (phytoplankton) and tiny animals (zooplankton), and bacteria, which are at the base of the food web in fresh and marine water environments.
Polynya
An area of water in the Arctic Ocean that stays open all winter.
Protists
Refers to all organisms having cells with nuclei (eukaryotes) not including animals, plants and fungi. It includes the single-celled algae.
Radial Symmetry
When parts of the body of an animal are arranged symmetrically around a central axis.
Sea Ice
- Ice formed by frozen sea water. (Unlike icebergs, which are made of fresh water, and which come from glaciers or ice shelves).
- Multi-year sea ice is sea ice that has lasted through at least two summers.
- Seasonal sea ice is sea ice that re-forms every year.
Sympagic Organisms
Algae and associated microscopic organisms that live on the underside of Arctic sea ice.