Grease ice is a very thin, soupy layer of frazil crystals clumped together, which makes the ocean surface resemble an oil slick. Grease ice is the second stage in the formation of solid sea ice after ice floes and then frazil ice.
New sea ice formation takes place throughout the winter in the Arctic. The first ice that forms in a polynya are loose ice crystals called frazile ice. If the level of turbulence is sufficient, the frazil ice will be mixed down into the upper layer and form a surface layer of grease ice. The term ‘grease ice’ follows World Meteorological Organization nomenclature . Grease ice differs from ‘slush’, where slush is similarly created by snow falling into the top layer of an ocean basin, river, or lake. The two terms are related due to the process of ice crystals being blown into a polynya will be the initiation of the grease ice layer, given a minimum level of mixing and cooling of the ocean surface.
Read more about Grease Ice: Formation
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