Development of microstructure in the high-temperature deformation of ice

Microstructural changes in three sets of experiments involving crystallographic slip in anisotropic polycrystalline ice are described and interpreted with the aid of computer models. The development of microstructure was followed using time-lapse photography and transmitted light observations with deformation undertaken in plane strain and at a temperature of approximately –1°C. The deformation within a grain aggregate that accompanies axial shortening is always heterogeneous on a grainscale. The extent of inhomogeneity varies depending on the pre-existing grain structure and the way it can accommodate intragranular slip. Grain interactions are extremely important in determining the bulk deformation and the degree of grain-boundary migration. A consequence of shortening of the aggregate is the formation of high stresses between neighbouring grains and under the appropriate conditions there may be either grain-boundary migration or melting at these sites. Where a sample undergoes translation and shear during deformation, anisotropic grains in the appropriate orientation undergo bending. A buckle instability may then develop and much of the strain is accommodated by grains in easy-glide orientations. In such situations, the ice undergoes extensive recrystallization and grain growth that is concentrated in the areas of greatest buckling.