Clathrate Hydrates of Air in Antarctic Ice

• Published in: Science
• Main Author: Miller, Stanley L.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 1969
• Subjects: Antarctic; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.165.3892.489; https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.165.3892.489

Measurements of the dissociation pressure of nitrogen hydrate and oxygen hydrate show that the clathrate hydrate of air with the formula (N 2 ,O 2 ) ⋅ 6H 2 O should exist below about 800 meters in the Antarctic ice sheet. This accounts for the disappearance of gas bubbles at depths greater than 1200 meters. The hydrate should exist from this depth to the bottom of the core and should comprise 0.06 percent of the ice.