Frost flower (sea ice)

Sea ice flowers are about two inches large ice crystals that occur in the Arctic and Antarctic in spring and autumn. Winds tear on the ice surface and the now open water starts to freeze over again. This creates a concentrated brine to the surface. In this ice crystals form, the sea ice flowers (English frost flowers ). By capillary action, they then suck on the concentrated salts, so that they have a high salt concentration.

These salts also contain bromine compounds, these lead to a radical degradation of near-surface ozone. This process takes place in so-called Bromexplosionen.