A Crystallographic Study of the Perennially Frozen Ice Surface of Patterned Lake, Framnes Mountains, East Antarctica

• Published in: Journal of Glaciology
• Main Authors: Chambers, J.L.C., Wilson, C.J.L., Adamson, D.A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1986
• Subjects: Earth-Surface Processes; East Antarctica; Frozen Lake; Framnes; Framnes Mountains; Patterned Lake; Antarc*; Antarctica; Journal of Glaciology
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000012235; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000012235

Abstract Interlocking rectangular ice patterns, with dimensions of several metres, on the surface of a perennial frozen lake in East Antarctica can be related to a strong crystallographic orientation in the underlying ice. Most of the surface patterns are characterized by parallel centimetre-scale ridges and furrows that correspond to an aggregate of tabular-shaped grains. Grain elongation is parallel to the basal plane. The c -axis distribution within each ice pattern lies in a horizontal plane. It defines a discrete maximum perpendicular to the surface ridges and to the long axis of the rectangular pattern. Areas exhibiting no patterning are composed of variably orientated ice grains. The strong c -axis horizontal orientation and the distinctive morphology of these ice patterns are interpreted as having developed by a geometric enhancement over a long period of time.