Chemical Profile of the Ross Ice Shelf at Little America V, Antarctica

• Published in: Journal of Glaciology
• Main Authors: Langway, C. C., Herron, M., Cragin, J. H.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1974
• Subjects: Antarc*; Antarctica; ice core; Ice Shelf; Journal of Glaciology; Marie Byrd Land; Ross Ice Shelf
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000023200; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000023200

Measurements of the concentrations of Na + K + , Mg 2+ , and Ca 2+ were made on 28 samples from the 255 m deep ice core from Little America V. All concentrations decrease sharply with depth from the firn–ice transition at 52 m to somewhere between 125 m and 150 m. From 150 m to 250 m the cationic concentrations are relatively constant. This is interpreted to indicate that the ice above 125 m fell as snow on the Ross Ice Shelf and that ice below 150 m originated inland on Marie Byrd Land.