scholarly journals A stratigraphy-based method for reconstructing ice core orientation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julien Westhoff ◽  
Nicolas Stoll ◽  
Steven Franke ◽  
Ilka Weikusat ◽  
Paul Bons ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Properties ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
The Core ◽  
Ice Stream ◽  
Orientation Method

<p>Ever since the first deep ice cores were drilled, it has been a challenge to determine their original, in-situ orientation. In general, the orientation of an ice core is lost as the drill is free to rotate during transport to the surface. For shallow ice cores, it is usually possible to match the adjacent core breaks, which preserves the orientation of the ice column. However, this method fails for deep ice cores, such as the EastGRIP ice core in Northeast Greenland. We provide a method to reconstruct ice core orientation using visual stratigraphy and borehole geometry. As the EastGRIP ice core is drilled through the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream, we use information about the directional structures to perform a full geographical re-orientation. We compared the core orientation with logging data from core break matching and the pattern of the stereographic projections of the crystals’c-axis orientations. Both comparisons agree very well with the proposed orientation method. The method works well for 441 out of 451 samples from a depth of 1375–2120 m in the EastGRIP ice core. It can also be applied to other ice cores, providing a better foundation for interpreting physical properties and understanding the flow of ice.</p>

scholarly journals A stratigraphy-based method for reconstructing ice core orientation

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Julien Westhoff ◽  
Nicolas Stoll ◽  
Steven Franke ◽  
Ilka Weikusat ◽  
Paul Bons ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Properties ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
The Core ◽  
Ice Stream ◽  
Orientation Method

Abstract Ever since the first deep ice cores were drilled, it has been a challenge to determine their original, in-situ orientation. In general, the orientation of an ice core is lost as the drill is free to rotate during transport to the surface. For shallow ice cores, it is usually possible to match the adjacent core breaks, which preserves the orientation of the ice column. However, this method fails for deep ice cores, such as the EastGRIP ice core in Northeast Greenland. We provide a method to reconstruct ice core orientation using visual stratigraphy and borehole geometry. As the EastGRIP ice core is drilled through the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream, we use information about the directional structures to perform a full geographical re-orientation. We compared the core orientation with logging data from core break matching and the pattern of the stereographic projections of the crystals’ c-axis orientations. Both comparisons agree very well with the proposed orientation method. The method works well for 441 out of 451 samples from a depth of 1375–2120 m in the EastGRIP ice core. It can also be applied to other ice cores, providing a better foundation for interpreting physical properties and understanding the flow of ice.

scholarly journals The Contribution of Synchrotron Light for the Characterization of Atmospheric Mineral Dust in Deep Ice Cores: Preliminary Results from the Talos Dome Ice Core (East Antarctica)

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Baccolo ◽  
Giannantonio Cibin ◽  
Barbara Delmonte ◽  
Dariush Hampai ◽  
Augusto Marcelli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
New Techniques ◽  
Preliminary Results ◽  
The Core ◽  
Depositional Processes ◽  
Synchrotron Light ◽  
Climatic Signals

The possibility of finding a stratigraphically intact ice sequence with a potential basal age exceeding one million years in Antarctica is giving renewed interest to deep ice coring operations. But the older and deeper the ice, the more impactful are the post-depositional processes that alter and modify the information entrapped within ice layers. Understanding in situ post-depositional processes occurring in the deeper part of ice cores is essential to comprehend how the climatic signals are preserved in deep ice, and consequently how to construct the paleoclimatic records. New techniques and new interpretative tools are required for these purposes. In this respect, the application of synchrotron light to microgram-sized atmospheric dust samples extracted from deep ice cores is extremely promising. We present here preliminary results on two sets of samples retrieved from the Talos Dome Antarctic ice core. A first set is composed by samples from the stratigraphically intact upper part of the core, the second by samples retrieved from the deeper part of the core that is still undated. Two techniques based on synchrotron light allowed us to characterize the dust samples, showing that mineral particles entrapped in the deepest ice layers display altered elemental composition and anomalies concerning iron geochemistry, besides being affected by inter-particle aggregation.

scholarly journals Methanesulphonic acid movement in solid ice cores

2004 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
pp. 540-544 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara T. Smith ◽  
Tas D. Van Ommen ◽  
Mark A. J. Curran
Keyword(s):  
Diffusion Coefficient ◽  
Biological Activity ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Diffusion Mechanism ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
East Antarctica ◽  
The Core ◽  
Central Value

AbstractMethanesulphonic acid (MSA) is an important trace-ion constituent in ice cores, with connections to biological activity and sea-ice distribution. Post-depositional movement of MSA has been documented in firn, and this study investigates movement in solid ice by measuring variations in MSA distribution across several horizontal sections from an ice core after 14.5 years storage. The core used is from below the bubble close-off depth at Dome Summit South, Law Dome, East Antarctica. MSA concentration was studied at 3 and 0.5 cm resolution across the core widths. Its distribution was uniform through the core centres, but the outer 3 cm showed gradients in concentrations down to less than half of the central value at the core edge. This effect is consistent with diffusion to the surrounding air during its 14.5 year storage. The diffusion coefficient is calculated to be 2 ×10–13 m2 s–1, and the implications for the diffusion mechanism are discussed.

Dating of ice cores from temperate glaciers - Significant mass loss in the accumulation area of the Adamello glacier indicated by the chronology of a 46 m ice core

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theo Jenk ◽  
Daniela Festi ◽  
Margit Schwikowski ◽  
Valter Maggi ◽  
Klaus Oeggl
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Italian Alps ◽  
Accumulation Zone ◽  
The Core ◽  
Annual Layer ◽  
Significant Mass Loss ◽  
Carbon Concentrations ◽  
Significant Mass

<p>Dating glaciers is an arduous yet essential task in ice core studies, which becomes even more challenging for the dating of glaciers suffering from mass loss in the accumulation zone as result of climate warming. In this context, we present the dating of a 46 m deep ice core from the Central Italian Alps retrieved in 2016 from the Adamello glacier (Pian di Neve, 3100 m a.s.l.). We will show how the timescale for the core could be obtained by integrating results from the analyses of the radionuclides <sup>210</sup>Pb and <sup>137</sup>Cs with annual layer counting derived from pollen and refractory black carbon concentrations. Our results clearly indicate that the surface of the glacier is older than the drilling date of 2016 by about 20 years and that the 46 m ice core reaches back to around 1944. Despite the severe mass loss affecting this glacier even in the accumulation zone, we show that it is possible to obtain a reliable timescale for such a temperate glacier. These results are very encouraging and open new perspectives on the potential of such glaciers as informative palaeoarchives. We thus consider it important to present our dating approach to a broader audience.</p>

scholarly journals Polar ice stratigraphy from laser-light scattering: scattering from meltwater

1994 ◽  
Vol 40 (136) ◽  
pp. 504-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Ram ◽  
Matthias Illing
Keyword(s):  
Light Scattering ◽  
Sample Size ◽  
Tree Ring ◽  
Laser Light ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Laser Light Scattering ◽  
Polar Ice ◽  
The Core ◽  
Considerable Success

Abstract We describe a new laser-light-scattering instrument for measuring variations in dust concentration along polar ice cores. We have used this instrument with considerable success on the GISP2 ice core from central Greenland. Reproducibility is excellent and the required ice-sample size is relatively small. When combined with visual stratigraphy and ECM, the distinct annual spring/ summer dust peaks we observe can be used to date the core with tree-ring-like precision.

scholarly journals Polar ice stratigraphy from laser-light scattering: scattering from meltwater

1994 ◽  
Vol 40 (136) ◽  
pp. 504-508
Author(s):  
Michael Ram ◽  
Matthias Illing
Keyword(s):  
Light Scattering ◽  
Sample Size ◽  
Tree Ring ◽  
Laser Light ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Laser Light Scattering ◽  
Polar Ice ◽  
The Core ◽  
Considerable Success

AbstractWe describe a new laser-light-scattering instrument for measuring variations in dust concentration along polar ice cores. We have used this instrument with considerable success on the GISP2 ice core from central Greenland. Reproducibility is excellent and the required ice-sample size is relatively small. When combined with visual stratigraphy and ECM, the distinct annual spring/ summer dust peaks we observe can be used to date the core with tree-ring-like precision.

scholarly journals Density log of a 181 m long ice core from Berkner Island, Antarctica

1999 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 215-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Gerland ◽  
H. Oerter ◽  
J. Kipfstuhl ◽  
F. Wilhelms ◽  
H. Miller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Local Effect ◽  
Absolute Accuracy ◽  
Conductivity Method ◽  
Ice Shelves ◽  
The Core ◽  
Similar Density ◽  
Electrical Conductivity Method

AbstractA 181 m long ice core was drilled at 79°36’51"S, 45°43’28" W, near the summit of Berkner Island, Antarctica (886 m a.s.L). Berkner Island is located between the Filchner and Ronne Ice Shelves, and the ice near the summit shows little lateral flow. The density of the ice core was measured every 3 mm along its length, using attenuation of a gamma-ray beam, which gave an absolute accuracy of 2%. As expected, there is a general density increase with depth, the maximum densities of > 900 kg m−3 being reached just above 100 m depth. Comparison with the electrical conductivity method (ECM) shows density variations with the same wavelength as the annual signals, which can be seen in the ECM log (higher acidity during summer). In the shallowest part of the core, the density of winter layers is higher than that of summer layers, a relationship which is reversed at greater depth. We assume that the densification rates for the two types of firn are different. Similar density phenomena were observed on ice cores from Greenland, showing that such phenomena are not a local effect.

scholarly journals Science goals for a Mars polar-cap subsurface mission: optical approaches for investigations of inclusions in ice

2003 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
pp. 357-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Carsey ◽  
Claus T. Mogensen ◽  
Alberto Behar ◽  
Hermann Engelhardt ◽  
Arthur L. Lane
Keyword(s):  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
West Antarctica ◽  
Polar Cap ◽  
Polar Caps ◽  
North Polar ◽  
Optical Examination ◽  
Visible Imagery ◽  
Recent Attention

AbstractThe Mars polar caps are highly interesting features of Mars and have received much recent attention, with new and exciting data on morphology, basal units and layered outcroppings. We have examined the climatological, glaciological and geological issues associated with a subsurface exploration of the Mars North Polar Cap and have determined that a fine-scale optical examination of ice in a borehole, to study the stratigraphy, geochemistry and geochronology of the ice, is feasible. This information will enable reconstruction of the development of the cap as well as understanding the properties of its ice. We present visible imagery taken of dust inclusions in archived Greenland ice cores as well as in situ images of accreted lithologic inclusions in West Antarctica, and we argue for use of this kind of data for Mars climate reconstruction as has been successful with Greenland and Antarctic ice-core analysis.

scholarly journals Issues with fracturing ice during an ice drilling project in Greenland (EastGRIP)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilka Weikusat ◽  
David Wallis ◽  
Steven Franke ◽  
Nicolas Stoll ◽  
Julien Westhoff ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Standard Procedure ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Orientation Distribution ◽  
Geothermal Heat ◽  
Ice Dynamics ◽  
The Core ◽  
Pulling Forces

<p>Drilling an ice core through an ice sheet (typically 2000 to 3000 m thick) is a technical challenge that nonetheless generates valuable and unique information on palaeo-climate and ice dynamics. As technically the drilling cannot be done in one run, the core has to be fractured approximately every 3 m to retrieve core sections from the bore hole. This fracture process is initiated by breaking the core with core-catchers which also clamp the engaged core in the drill head while the whole drill is then pulled up with the winch motor.</p><p> </p><p>This standard procedure is known to become difficult and requires extremely high pulling forces (Wilhelms et al. 2007), in the very deep part of the drill procedure, close to the bedrock of the ice sheet, especially when the ice material becomes warm (approximately -2°C) due to the geothermal heat released from the bedrock. Recently, during the EastGRIP (East Greenland Ice coring Project) drilling we observed a similar issue with breaking off cored sections only with extremely high pulling forces, but started from approximately 1800 m of depth, where the temperature is still very cold (approximately -20°C). This has not been observed at other ice drilling sites. As dependencies of fracture behaviour on crystal orientation and grain size are known (Schulson & Duval 2009) for ice, we thus examined the microstructure in the ice samples close to and at the core breaks.</p><p> </p><p>First preliminary results suggest that these so far unexperienced difficulties are due to the profoundly different c-axes orientation distribution (CPO) in the EastGRIP ice core. In contrast to other deep ice cores which have been drilled on ice domes or ice divides, EastGRIP is located in an ice stream. This location means that the deformation geometry (kinematics) is completely different, resulting in a different CPO (girdle pattern instead of single maximum pattern). Evidence regarding additional grain-size dependence will hopefully help to refine the fracturing procedure, which is possible due to a rather strong grain size layering observed in natural ice formed by snow precipitation.</p><p> </p><p>---------------------</p><p>Wilhelms, F.; Sheldon, S. G.; Hamann, I. & Kipfstuhl, S. Implications for and findings from deep ice core drillings - An example: The ultimate tensile strength of ice at high strain rates. Physics and Chemistry of Ice (The proceedings of the International Conference on the Physics and Chemistry of Ice held at Bremerhaven, Germany on 23-28 July 2006), <strong>2007</strong>, 635-639</p><p>Schulson, E. M. & Duval, P. Creep and Fracture of Ice. Cambridge University Press, <strong>2009</strong>, 401</p>

scholarly journals Local artifacts in ice core methane records caused by layered bubble trapping and in-situ production: a multi-site investigation

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. H. Rhodes ◽  
X. Faïn ◽  
E. J. Brook ◽  
J. R. McConnell ◽  
O. J. Maselli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transport Model ◽  
Accumulation Rate ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Analytical Techniques ◽  
Site Investigation ◽  
Pass Filter ◽  
Low Pass Filter ◽  
Bubble Trapping

Abstract. Superimposed on the coherent and major atmospheric changes in trace gases revealed by ice core records, local high frequency, non-atmospheric features can now be resolved due to improvement s in resolution and precision of analytical techniques. These are signals that could not have survived the low-pass filter effect that firn diffusion exerts on the atmospheric history and therefore do not result from changes in the composition of the atmosphere at the surface of the ice sheet. Using continuous methane (CH4) records obtained from five polar ice cores, we characterize these non-atmospheric signals and explore their origin. Isolated samples, enriched in CH4 in the Tunu13 (Greenland) record are linked to the presence of melt layers. Melting can enrich the methane concentration due to preferential dissolution of methane relative to nitrogen, but we find that an additional in-situ process is required to generate the full magnitude of these anomalies. Furthermore, in the all ice cores studied there is evidence of reproducible, decimetre-scale CH4 variability. Through a series of tests, we demonstrate that this sign al is an artifact of layered bubble trapping in a heterogeneous-density firn column; we term this phenomenon ‘trapping noise’. The magnitude of CH4 trapping noise increases with atmospheric CH4 growth rate and seasonality of density contrasts, and decreases with accumulation rate. Firn air transport model simulations, accounting for layered bubble trapping, are in agreement with our empirical data. Significant annual periodicity is present in the CH4 variability of two Greenland ice cores, suggesting that layered gas trapping at these sites is controlled by regular, seasonal variations in the physical properties of the firn.

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