The response of a continuously stratified ocean to a moving ice edge is considered in terms of an analytical model. It is assumed that the principal cause for the generation of such phenomena as upwelling near the edge is due to divergence in the across-edge Ekman transports. The semi-infinite ice cover is considered to act only as a modifier of an applied wind stress. Thus the ice edge is simulated by a discontinuity in the ocean surface stress distribution. The results show that a stationary state relative to the moving edge develops. The amplitude of the response is finite, and it includes a system of standing waves relative to the edge. These results parallel the generation of lee waves in a rotating wave regime. How prominent the waves will be depends on the ratio U0/cn, where U0 is the edge velocity and cn an eigenvalue corresponding to a vertical mode of the solution. As the stationary solution builds up, an along-edge jet is established. It is pointed out that this jet could cause divergence in the surface layer, which could explain the generation of ice bands if the ice edge consists of broken ice.