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AGU: Geophysical Research Letters

 

Index Terms

  • Geochemistry: Isotopic composition/chemistry
  • Hydrology: Glaciology
  • Information Related to Geographic Region: Antarctica

Abstract

GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 31, L02401, 4 PP., 2004
doi:10.1029/2003GL018861

An isotopic model for basal freeze-on associated with subglacial upward flow of pore water

R. Souchez

Département des Sciences de la Terre et de l'Environnement, Faculté des Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Bruxelles, Belgium

D. Samyn

Département des Sciences de la Terre et de l'Environnement, Faculté des Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Bruxelles, Belgium

R. Lorrain

Département des Sciences de la Terre et de l'Environnement, Faculté des Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Bruxelles, Belgium

F. Pattyn

Department of Geography, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussel, Belgium

S. Fitzsimons

Department of Geography, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

Subglacial freezing in polar glaciers can have a significant dynamical effect. Recent studies have shown that freezing of pore water flowing upward through subglacial fine-grained sediments at the freezing interface and progression of this freezing front downward are responsible for fast ice flow stoppage in ice streams. The upward pore water flow leads to the formation of debris-bearing basal ice layers. A model for stable isotope composition, both in δD and δ18O, is developed for predicting the isotopic composition of the ice segregated by such a mechanism. The development of this isotopic model for water films present along the grains of the subglacial sediment predicts the absence of apparent fractionation for the ice formed. This prediction is tested against two East Antarctic outlet glaciers by studying the δD-δ18O relationships in the basal ice layers of these glaciers.

Received 17 October 2003; accepted 22 December 2003; published 17 January 2004.

Citation: Souchez, R., D. Samyn, R. Lorrain, F. Pattyn, and S. Fitzsimons (2004), An isotopic model for basal freeze-on associated with subglacial upward flow of pore water, Geophys. Res. Lett., 31, L02401, doi:10.1029/2003GL018861.

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