Pleistocene Ice at the Base of The Barnes Ice Cap, Baffin Island, N.W.T., Canada

Abstract Oxygen-isotope ratios indicate that a distinctive band of white ice along the margin of the Barnes Ice Cap is of Pleistocene age. It is estimated freom a flow mogerl that beneath the center of the ice cap the thickness of the band shuuld be abont 0.6 times its thickness at the margin, or ab...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Glaciology
Main Author: Leb. Hooke, Roger
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1976
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000030719
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000030719
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Summary:Abstract Oxygen-isotope ratios indicate that a distinctive band of white ice along the margin of the Barnes Ice Cap is of Pleistocene age. It is estimated freom a flow mogerl that beneath the center of the ice cap the thickness of the band shuuld be abont 0.6 times its thickness at the margin, or about 8 m. However, an ingerpengernt estimate, based on calculated vertical strain-rates and explicitly assuming no basal melting, predicts a thickness of about 22 m beneath the center of the ice cap. The discrepancy between the two thickness estimates is interpreted as indicating that basal melting has occurred. Calculated basal temperatures support this conclusion.