A free-drifting thermodynamic sea ice model is coupled with a continuously stratified ocean model, whose vertical mixing coefficients are determined by a turbulent closure scheme. The system has variability in the cross-ice-edge homogeneity) is assumed. The model is initially motionless and has no horizontal variability in ocean interior, whereas ice covers only a half portion. A uniform wind stress is imposed suddenly to drive the coupled system. The surface mixed layer is developed as time increases; i.e., a top few tens of meters are well mixed in a day. With an initial water temperature above a freezing point, the fresh mixed layer forms in the ice-covered portion. A wind-driven ice velocity is oriented to the right from the wind direction. A wind with the ice to the right (left) looking downstream produces upwelling (downwelling) under the ice edge caused by a difference in Ekman transport. An off-ice (on-ice) wind advects the ice toward the open water (ice-covered) area, and makes the ice edge sharper (gentler) owing partially to faster movement in the region with higher ice concentration. In the off-ice wind case, the mixed layer near the ice edge is shallower under development, so that a melt rate is smaller than that estimated by a prescribed-depth mixed layer. An inertio-internal gravity wave is generated by a transient variability in surface stress associated with a moving ice edge, most significantly in the case of the off-ice wind, and enhances sharpness of the ice edge. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1989