Brynicle is the icy finger of death. Freezing stars or the icy hand of death The icy finger of death - an explanation of the phenomenon

This phenomenon occurs in Arctic subglacial waters due to different temperatures freezing of water with different salinity. Outwardly, it looks like the unexpected growth of an ice icicle, which, upon reaching the bottom, turns into an icy stream. Marine animals that encounter a brynicle on their way quickly become covered with a crust of ice and freeze.

The idea of ​​the existence of Brainicle was first proposed back in 1974, but it was only proven in 2011. BBC cameramen accidentally filmed this phenomenon, and to date this is the only video footage of Brainicle.

Full video below the cut...

The new English term "brinicle" from "brine" (ocean water) and "icicle" (icicle) refers to a column of water in the ocean that is saltier and denser than surrounding water, and very cold - colder than ice.

This column of ice slowly descends from the surface of the ocean to the very bottom (here it is the Southern Ocean) and freezes everything in its path, including the inhabitants of the ocean floor.

Cinematographers Hugh Miller and Doug Anderson pioneered a previously unknown phenomenon during their presence in Antarctica. Above the surface of the ocean, filmmakers found ice stalactites that burn through the depths of the ocean in the form of a stream of extremely cold (almost frozen) and very salty water. Scientists called this phenomenon “brinicles,” and the operators who observed it dubbed this phenomenon the “icy finger of death.”

The water of this jet has a much higher density than all the other ocean water surrounding it, and besides, the temperature of this jet is much lower, it is colder than ice, literally speaking. Scientists cannot explain how this is possible. No one had encountered such a phenomenon before and no one even knew about the possibility of such a presence!

It seems that this “Ice Finger of Death” kills every living thing it touches, turning everything into ice. This can be clearly seen in the extraordinary video provided by the BBC. This chilling, rapid stream of salt water, like a turbulent intra-oceanic river, rushes from the surface to the very depths of the ocean and sweeps away everything in its path. All ocean animals (starfish and other ocean organisms) fall into this ice trap over and over again.

Near the volcanic island of Ross, where BBC underwater cameras were identified, operators were able to find and film 4 ice stalactites, which are created at a very high speed and truly make the blood freeze in the veins of those who observe this phenomenon.

“Icicles of Death” are underwater stalactites. They received this name due to the fact that, forming on the bottom in places where impurities enter the water (these icicles are the center of crystallization), on their way they kill starfish and sea urchins.

Research by biologists has shown that the ice in the “icicles of death” is much more porous than in ice floes, and it carries salts to the surface of the sea.

Scientists do not rule out that these same icicles (another name is brinicles) in the past could represent something like a “chemical garden” (organic molecules grew in it), and be the center of the formation of life.

Brynicyls could also play the role of hydrothermal vents used in classical theories of the origin of life.

Oceanographer Silje Martin was the first to describe this phenomenon in detail in 1974 ( Seelye Martin). Now, a group of researchers from Spain has published a study on the composition and structure of brynicles, proposing a model for the mechanism of their formation. When salty ocean water freezes, it releases salt to form fresh ice. This excess salt saturates the water remaining on the surface of the ice and in cavities in the ice column.

The result is ice reservoirs containing a high-density, hypersaline solution with a very low freezing point: as salinity increases, this temperature decreases. If the ice cracks, this dense, heavy and extremely cold liquid begins to sink to the bottom in the form of such a deadly stream, freezing all living things in its path. This mass death starfish, who found themselves in the way of Brainicle, greatly impressed the BBC film crew.

Chemistry students are familiar with a popular visual experiment called a “colloidal garden,” in which salts of certain metals are added to a concentrated salt solution and a solid precipitate forms, forming slender branching structures that look like alien plants. Such “gardens” also grow in natural conditions, including at hydrothermal vents - the famous black smokers, where jets of hot water, supersaturated with minerals, burst out from under the ocean floor under enormous pressure. Scientists believe that the deadly Brainicles have much in common with these “gardens,” despite the fact that the “gardens” of black smokers grow from the bottom up, and the Brainicles grow from the top down.

Moreover, both phenomena are considered key to the first stages of chemical evolution that preceded the emergence of biological life on Earth. Black smokers in last years often appear in modern theories origin of life. Who knows, maybe Brainicles could fit into this model - for example, at the origin special forms life on planets covered in ice?

Among unusual phenomena I would remind you what , and if you remember about snow and ice:

This phenomenon occurs in Arctic subglacial waters due to different freezing temperatures of water with different salinities. Outwardly, it looks like the unexpected growth of an ice icicle, which, upon reaching the bottom, turns into an icy stream. Marine animals that encounter a brynicle on their way quickly become covered with a crust of ice and freeze.

The idea of ​​the existence of Brainicle was first proposed back in 1974, but it was only proven in 2011. BBC cameramen accidentally filmed this phenomenon, and to date this is the only video footage of Brainicle.

The new English term "brinicle" from "brine" (ocean water) and "icicle" (icicle) refers to a column of water in the ocean that is saltier and denser than the surrounding water, and very cold - colder than ice.

This column of ice slowly descends from the surface of the ocean to the very bottom (here it is the Southern Ocean) and freezes everything in its path, including the inhabitants of the ocean floor.

Cinematographers Hugh Miller and Doug Anderson pioneered a previously unknown phenomenon during their presence in Antarctica. Above the surface of the ocean, filmmakers found ice stalactites that burn through the depths of the ocean in the form of a stream of extremely cold (almost frozen) and very salty water. Scientists called this phenomenon “brinicles,” and the operators who observed it dubbed this phenomenon the “icy finger of death.”

The water of this jet has a much higher density than all the other ocean water surrounding it, and besides, the temperature of this jet is much lower, it is colder than ice, literally speaking. Scientists cannot explain how this is possible. No one had encountered such a phenomenon before and no one even knew about the possibility of such a presence!

It seems that this “Ice Finger of Death” kills every living thing it touches, turning everything into ice. This can be clearly seen in the extraordinary video provided by the BBC. This chilling, rapid stream of salt water, like a turbulent intra-oceanic river, rushes from the surface to the very depths of the ocean and sweeps away everything in its path. All ocean animals (starfish and other ocean organisms) fall into this ice trap over and over again.

Near the volcanic island of Ross, where BBC underwater cameras were identified, operators were able to find and film 4 ice stalactites, which are created at a very high speed and truly make the blood freeze in the veins of those who observe this phenomenon.

“Icicles of Death” are underwater stalactites. They received this name due to the fact that, forming on the bottom in places where impurities enter the water (these icicles are the center of crystallization), on their way they kill starfish and sea urchins.

Research by biologists has shown that the ice in the “icicles of death” is much more porous than in ice floes, and it carries salts to the surface of the sea.

Scientists do not rule out that these same icicles (another name is brinicles) in the past could have represented something like a “chemical garden” (organic molecules grew in it), and been the center of the formation of life.

Brynicyls could also play the role of hydrothermal vents used in classical theories of the origin of life.

Oceanographer Seelye Martin was the first to describe this phenomenon in detail in 1974. Now, a group of researchers from Spain has published a study on the composition and structure of brynicles, proposing a model for the mechanism of their formation. When salty ocean water freezes, it releases salt to form fresh ice. This excess salt saturates the water remaining on the surface of the ice and in cavities in the ice column.

The result is ice reservoirs containing a high-density, hypersaline solution with a very low freezing point: as salinity increases, this temperature decreases. If the ice cracks, this dense, heavy and extremely cold liquid begins to sink to the bottom in the form of such a deadly stream, freezing all living things in its path. This mass death of starfish caught in the path of the Brynicle greatly impressed the BBC film crew.

Chemistry students are familiar with a popular visual experiment called a “colloidal garden,” in which salts of certain metals are added to a concentrated salt solution and a solid precipitate forms, forming slender branching structures that look like alien plants. Such “gardens” also grow in natural conditions, including at hydrothermal springs - the famous black smokers, where jets of hot, mineral-rich water burst out from under the ocean floor under enormous pressure. Scientists believe that the deadly Brainicles have much in common with these “gardens,” despite the fact that the “gardens” of black smokers grow from the bottom up, and the Brainicles grow from the top down.

Moreover, both phenomena are considered key to the first stages of chemical evolution that preceded the emergence of biological life on Earth. Black smokers have often featured in modern theories of the origin of life in recent years. Who knows, maybe Brainicles could fit into this model - for example, with the emergence of special forms of life on planets covered in ice?

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Text: Ella Davies

When the pickle is out sea ​​ice flows down, ice “chandeliers” are formed, bringing death to all living things on the seabed.

The BBC team managed to film unusual underwater ice stalactites that bring death to underwater inhabitants.

Using time-lapse cameras, the researchers captured how salty water, released from the freezing sea ice, flows down.

The temperature of this saline solution is noticeably below zero, so the surrounding seawater freezes upon contact with it, forming an ice shell.

Where the so-called “chandeliers” touch the seabed, a sheet of ice appears, chilling everything it touches with mortal cold, including starfish and urchins.

The unusual phenomenon was first captured by cameramen Hugh Miller and Doug Anderson for documentary film BBC "Frozen Planet".

creeping ice

This phenomenon is caused by the fact that the saline solution released when seawater freezes has a lower temperature and greater density than the surrounding seawater, and therefore sinks down. It forms “chandeliers”, in contact with more warm water under the ice.

To capture the formation of the unusual "stalactite", Hugh Miller set up time-lapse equipment under the ice near Ross Island, off the coast of Antarctica.

“While exploring the area around Little Razorback Island, we came across an area where there were already three or four chandeliers and another one was just starting to form,” Miller said.

Experts measured the temperature underwater and returned to the chosen location as soon as the same conditions arose there.

“It was a race against time because none of us knew how quickly these things formed,” Miller recalled. “The one we saw a week earlier was growing right before our eyes... The whole process only took five to six hours.”

Despite everything

The choice for shooting - under the ice, at the foot of the Erebus volcano, in water with a temperature of minus 2 degrees - was far from the simplest and most convenient.

“It was very difficult to get to the place where we filmed. It was quite far from the hole, and there wasn’t much space between the ice on the surface and the seabed, and we had to squeeze cameras and tripods in there,” Miller explained.

“We had to suffer. The equipment was very heavy because it had to sit motionless on the bottom for a long time.”

In addition to difficulties with installing equipment, operators also had to deal with the interference of underwater inhabitants. Large Weddell seals could not only break a “chandelier” with one easy movement, but also knock over heavy filming equipment.

“The first day I set up the camera, a seal knocked it over,” Miller laughs.

But the efforts of a team of researchers were ultimately crowned with success - for the first time they were able to film the process of formation of an ice stalactite.

Watch a fragment of the video at

The finger of death is a natural phenomenon in Arctic waters. It resembles an ice icicle, increasing in size and turning into a frozen stream as soon as the ice clot reaches the bottom. In the scientific community, the phenomenon is known as “brainicle”.

Characteristics of Brainicle

The finger of death in Antarctica can be seen in winter. The reason is the temperature difference between water and air. When the atmosphere cools to -18 degrees, the water temperature remains at -2 degrees.

Sea water rises from the subglacial layer upward, where it is cooled by frosty air, after which it sinks to the bottom and freezes warm streams of water encountered along the way. The cooled layer freezes and becomes covered with a crust of ice - salt is displaced from it. Then, under the formed ice layer, a layer of high-density salt water forms.

Next, the supercooled brine moves to the bottom, following the laws of physics. The water with which it comes into contact cools to -18-20 degrees, freezes and crystallizes. During the crystallization process, a fragile porous tube is formed - a finger.

Brainicles grow at a rate of 30 cm per hour. The process does not end when the ice stalactites reach the bottom.

The cold jet has a density several times higher than that of the ocean waters surrounding it, and it itself is colder than ice. The inhabitants of the ocean depths, falling into its trap, die.

The phenomenon had not previously been found in nature, so scientists different countries study it thoroughly.

First information

Oceanographer Silje Martin was the first to describe the icy finger of death in 1974. He compared it to hollow tubes, visually reminiscent of icicles, and shared assumptions about the mechanism of formation.

Later research group from Spain proposed her model for the formation of ice stalactites. Their story of mass freezing of starfish in a critically cold flow of liquid impressed the Air Force. In 2011, the channel's film crew was the first to travel to Antarctica, where they were the first to film the icy finger of death.

Video plot

Submarine cameramen Doug Anderson and Hugh Miller set up video cameras near the volcanic Ross Island. The technique captured how 4 brynicles increased in size. The growth occurred so quickly that after 3.5 hours the ice stalactites touched the bottom.

The video of the finger of death showed a complete and objective picture natural phenomenon. It was named Brynicle from the English words “brine” and “icicle”, which literally translates as “icicle from ocean water”. The term is used as a name for a salty, dense column of ocean water that is colder than ice.

The Air Force team's story shows how the pillar begins to move from the surface of the ocean to the bottom, turning everything that gets in its path, including living organisms, into ice. The spectacle is fantastic.

The source of life

Spanish scientists from the University of Granada are studying in detail the structure of brynicles and their chemical characteristics. They are convinced that the underwater finger of death, killing sea ​​creatures, at the same time is the source of the origin of life.

This version is supported by the fact that membranes, chemical gradients, electrical potential and other conditions characteristic of ice stalactites are also found in natural environment. One such environment is hydrothermal vents. The structures found at the springs differ from the oceanic ones in that they grow upward.