ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Brinicle

Have you ever seen ice form on a pond or lake in the winter time? Well, imagine that instead of the ice forming from the top down, it formed from the bottom up! That's what a brinicle is.

A brinicle is like an underwater icicle. It forms in very cold water, where the temperature is below freezing. When the water gets that cold, it gets really salty, too. That's because the salt in the water makes it harder for the water to freeze.

When the cold, salty water starts to freeze, it creates a tube of ice that starts to grow downwards, from the surface of the ocean floor. As the tube grows, it can look like a long, thin icicle. This is the brinicle!

The brinicle is really cool to watch, but it can also be dangerous. If a fish gets trapped inside the tube of ice as it grows, it might not be able to get out. That's why scientists don't like to disturb brinicles when they see them.

So, in short, a brinicle is an underwater icicle that forms in very cold water with a lot of salt. It looks awesome, but can be dangerous for fish.