Deformation modes and geometries in the EPICA-DML ice core, Antarctica

Combination of physical-properties methods (crystal-orientation-fabrics, grain-elongation-data, line-scan stratigraphy-documentation) reveal evidences for five deformation geometry regimes:1. Random c-axes distributions and crystal elongation directions (~2020 m depth). Here bed-parallel simple shear deforms the ice causing folding and inclination of stratigraphic layers.5. A last change of geometries is observed at ~2370 m depth, with a locally very restricted (~10 m) backslide to girdle fabric, isoclinal z-folding and borehole closure. Below that an inclined single maximum fabric reoccurs.Simple shear can easily produce the observed small-scale folding of layers which however may belong to disturbances on a larger scale with possible overturning and thus age reversal of layers. Below ~2020 m the EDML climate record has to be interpreted with great care

Determination of crystal orientation fabric from seismic wideangle data

It is known from ice core analyses that the crystal orientation fabric (COF) of ice sheets is anisotropic and changes over depth. A better understanding of these anisotropies as well as their remote detection is important to optimize flow models for ice. Here we show how seismic wideangle measurements can be used to determine the COF remotely. We demonstrate the principle formalism how observed seismic traveltimes can be related to COF properties by a forward model and then apply the formalism to field data. The eigenvalues that describe the ice fabric of the ice core EDML (Dronning Maud Land, Antarctca) are set into a relationship with the elasticity tensor. From the elasticity tensor the expected seismic velocities and reflection coefficients are calculated. Additionally we calculate the value eta from the Thomsen-parameters epsilon and delta. The value eta gives a measure of the anisotropy of vertical transverse isotropic (VTI)-media and is an important tool for the NMO-correction of anisotropic data. The approximation of reflection horizons as hyperbolas is not valid anymore in anisotropic media. The calculation of the moveout is therefore performed by a 4th order NMO-correction with the rms-velocity and the effective eta value as variables. This approach is applied to data from a wideangle survey shot at Halvfarryggen, Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. From this data we derived rms-velocities and effective eta values. These values were than recalculated to interval velocities and interval eta values to give a hint on the measure of anisotropy of the different layers. The results give first insight into the anisotropies at Halvfarryggen

Ice Microstructure and Fabric of Guliya Ice Cap in Tibetan Plateau, and Comparisons with Vostok3G-1, EPICA DML, and North GRIP

This work is the first in the general natural ice literature to compare microstructures and fabrics of continent-type mountain ice in mid-low latitudes with polar ice in order to find out how they evolved based on similar fabric patterns of their vertically girdles. Microstructures and fabrics along the Guliya ice core on the Tibetan Plateau, China, were measured at a depth interval of approximately 10 m. The grain sizes increase unevenly with depth. The fabric patterns vary from the isotropic fabric, to broad single maximum, to vertical girdle, to single-maximum, and finally to multiple-maximum fabric. The grain growth rate of the Guliya core is faster than that of the Vostok3G-1, the EPICA DML, and the North GRIP. The vertical girdle fabric of the Guliya core forms at a high temperature and low strain rate. The strong single maximum fabric of the Guliya core appears in the mid-low part of the core with vertical uniaxial compression or simple shear. The thermal kinemics caused by the temperature can play a vital role in different stress cases to cast the similar or same fabric patterns. Normal grain growth, polygonization/rotation recrystallization, and migration recrystallization play roles different importance at different depths

The origin of green icebergs in Antarctica

A comparison of samples from a translucent green iceberg with a core from the Ronne Ice Shelf revealed an excellent agreement in isotopic composition, crystal structure, and incorporated sediment particles. Marine shelf ice which constitutes the basal portion of some ice shelves is considered to be the source of green icebergs. It most likely results from "ice pump" processes which produce large amounts of ice platelets in the water column beneath ice shelves. These subsequently accumulate and become compacted into bubble-free, desalinated ice. Iceberg and drift-buoy trajectories indicate that green icebergs observed in the Weddell Sea originate from the Amery Ice Shelf rather than from the Ronne Ice Shelf, although the latter ice shelf is also a potential source

Unravelling Antarctica’s past through the stratigraphy of a deep ice core: an image-analysis study of the EPICA-DML line-scan images

Polar ice research has undergone great progress in the last six decades. One of its recent technological achievements has been the development of new techniques for digital image recording and analysis of ice-core stratigraphy and microstructure. In this work we investigate one such image records, namely the line-scan image records of the EPICA-DML (European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica, Dronning Maud Land) deep ice core. These images provide a multiscale depiction of the stratigraphy and structure of the Antarctic Ice Sheet. While previous studies have focused on the ice-core optical stratigraphy on the micro- and mesoscale (<1 mm and 10−3–1 m, respectively), in this work we present several methods to obtain fast and reliable information on the ice-core stratigraphy on the macroscale (1–103 m), including the full ice-sheet thickness. The paleoclimatic relevance of the ice-core optical stratigraphy on the macroscale is demonstrated through the comparison of the line-scan grey-value record of the EPICA-DML deep ice core with its mineral dust record, which is used as a proxy for microinclusions and for several other types of climate proxies. Additionally, we introduce a novel method to estimate the macroscopic air-bubble concentration (including number and size of bubbles) in ice cores, which is simpler, faster, and almost as reliable as painstaking microscopic studies. After a brief excursion on the relation between macroscopic and mesoscopic measures of optical stratigraphy, we close this work by making the case for a multi-measure analysis of ice-core line-scan images, which enables us to obtain a broad perspective of the optical stratigraphy of the whole ice core, with relevance for paleoclimate and ice-sheet-flow studies.This research is supported by the Spanish Government through the María de Maeztu excellence accreditation 2018–2022 (Ref. MDM-2017-0714), and by the Basque Government through the BERC 2018–2021 programme. SHF acknowledges support from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities (MCIU) through the project iMechPro (RTI2018–100696–B–I00), and from the Ramón y Cajal grant RYC–2012–12167 of the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (MINECO

Simulating ice core 10Be on the glacial–interglacial timescale

10Be ice core measurements are an important tool for paleoclimate research, e.g., allowing for the reconstruction of past solar activity or changes in the geomagnetic dipole field. However, especially on multi-millennial timescales, the share of production and climate-induced variations of respective 10Be ice core records is still up for debate. Here we present the first quantitative climatological model of the 10Be ice concentration up to the glacial–interglacial timescale. The model approach is composed of (i) a coarse resolution global atmospheric transport model and (ii) a local 10Be air–firn transfer model. Extensive global-scale observational data of short-lived radionuclides as well as new polar 10Be snow-pit measurements are used for model calibration and validation. Being specifically configured for 10Be in polar ice, this tool thus allows for a straightforward investigation of production- and non-production-related modulation of this nuclide. We find that the polar 10Be ice concentration does not immediately record the globally mixed cosmogenic production signal. Using geomagnetic modulation and revised Greenland snow accumulation rate changes as model input, we simulate the observed Greenland Summit (GRIP and GISP2) 10Be ice core records over the last 75 kyr (on the GICC05modelext timescale). We show that our basic model is capable of reproducing the largest portion of the observed 10Be changes. However, model–measurement differences exhibit multi-millennial trends (differences up to 87% in case of normalized to the Holocene records) which call for closer investigation. Focusing on the (12–37) b2k (before the year AD 2000) period, mean model–measurement differences of 30% cannot be attributed to production changes. However, unconsidered climate-induced changes could likely explain the model–measurement mismatch. In fact, the 10Be ice concentration is very sensitive to snow accumulation changes. Here the reconstructed Greenland Summit (GRIP) snow accumulation rate record would require revision of +28% to solely account for the (12–37) b2k model–measurement differences

Direct evidence for continuous radar reflector originating from changes in crystal-orientation fabric

International audienceThe origin of a strong continuous radar reflector observed with airborne radio-echo sounding (RES) at the EPICA deep-drilling site in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, is identified as a transition in crystal fabric orientation from a vertical girdle to an increased single-pole orientation seen along the ice core. The reflector is observed with a 60 ns and 600 ns long pulse at a frequency of 150 MHz, spans one pulse length, is continuous over 5 km, and occurs at a depth of about 2025?2045 m at the drill site. Changes in conductivity as reflector origin are excluded by investigating the ice-core profile, synthetic RES data, and a RES profile with different electromagnetic polarisation azimuths. The reflector's magnitude shows maximum values for polarisation parallel to the nearby ice divide and disappears for polarisation perpendicular to it, identifying the orientation of the girdle to lie in the vertical plane parallel to the ice divide. Observations allow us to extrapolate the crystal orientation feature along the reflector in space, with implications for ice-sheet dynamics and modeling