Compression experiments on laboratory-grown columnar S2 saltwater ice loaded triaxially through proportional loading at T = –20°C at applied strain rates of ε = 10–5–10–1 s–1 demonstrate that plastic (P) faulting is a mode of failure in saltwater ice when rapidly loaded under a high degree of confinement. In terms of microstructure, mechanical behavior and strength, saltwater ice that fails via P-faulting is almost indistinguishable from columnar S2 freshwater ice that fails via P-faulting loaded under the same conditions. The results also demonstrate that saltwater ice loaded rapidly may exhibit yet another mode of failure, in addition to P-faulting, through what appears to be a mechanism of pore collapse
