# sinking ice in water **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 26, 2007, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sinking-ice-in-water/431277 "2007-12-26T12:31:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sinking-ice-in-water/431277/1 "2007-12-26T12:31:53Z")
I know that water is most dense at 4C. It then starts to expand as it cools further and turns to ice. I would expect that very cold ice is more dense than ice at 0C. It seems possible that we could set up a system of warm water and very cold ice, such that the ice would sink in the water. But then again, will the ice melt and form a layer of less dense water around it? Will the water freeze to the cold ice making it overall more bouyant? So here is the overall question: Can ice sink in water? ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sinking-ice-in-water/431277/2 "2007-12-26T13:11:08Z")
The short answer is yes, absolutely. I am searching the SDMB archive for a thread which has a weird video of ice coming up out of the sea and over an embankment. The ice was under the water noton the surface and it was being puched up by the incoming tide. It’s a really cool video but I cannot seem to find it. Someone posted it about a year ago… ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sinking-ice-in-water/431277/3 "2007-12-26T15:54:11Z")
Found this [here](http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/eng99/eng99358.htm): > [@](#): > > When water freezes, it increases in volume about 9%. The ice then shrinks as the temperature decreases. The shrinkage is tiny, about 0.4% going from 30F to -50F. > [@](#): > > Ice’s temperature coefficient of expansion is about 50 ppm/degC. This is a positive number, meaning that ice expands with heat and contracts with cold just like almost all other materials. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sinking-ice-in-water/431277/4 "2007-12-26T16:45:19Z")
Not quite what you’re looking for, but. . . [Anchor ice](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchor_ice) ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sinking-ice-in-water/431277/5 "2007-12-26T20:15:14Z")
[QUOTE=Phlosphr] The short answer is yes, absolutely. I am searching the SDMB archive for a thread which has a weird video of ice coming up out of the sea and over an embankment. The ice was under the water noton the surface and it was being puched up by the incoming tide. It’s a really cool video but I cannot seem to find it. Someone posted it about a year ago… [/QUOTE] [Is this it?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwNH4oQ39Js) ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sinking-ice-in-water/431277/6 "2007-12-26T21:54:34Z")
There is one type of ice that is denser than water ([link](http://www.slashfood.com/2006/07/09/heavy-ice-comes-from-heavy-water/)). ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sinking-ice-in-water/431277/7 "2007-12-26T22:12:19Z")
[QUOTE=Xema] There is one type of ice that is denser than water ([link](http://www.slashfood.com/2006/07/09/heavy-ice-comes-from-heavy-water/)). [/QUOTE] Ices [II,III,IV,V,VI,VII,VIII,IX and X](http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/water/phase.html) are also denser than water.