The origin of green icebergs in Antarctica

A comparison of samples from a translucent green iceberg with a core from the Ronne Ice Shelf revealed an excellent agreement in isotopic composition, crystal structure, and incorporated sediment particles. Marine shelf ice which constitutes the basal portion of some ice shelves is considered to be...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kipfstuhl, J., Dieckmann, Gerhard, Oerter, Hans, Hellmer, Hartmut, Graf, W.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: 1992
Subjects:
Online Access:https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/1657/
https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/1657/1/Kip1992a.pdf
https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.12248
https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.12248.d001
Description
Summary:A comparison of samples from a translucent green iceberg with a core from the Ronne Ice Shelf revealed an excellent agreement in isotopic composition, crystal structure, and incorporated sediment particles. Marine shelf ice which constitutes the basal portion of some ice shelves is considered to be the source of green icebergs. It most likely results from "ice pump" processes which produce large amounts of ice platelets in the water column beneath ice shelves. These subsequently accumulate and become compacted into bubble-free, desalinated ice. Iceberg and drift-buoy trajectories indicate that green icebergs observed in the Weddell Sea originate from the Amery Ice Shelf rather than from the Ronne Ice Shelf, although the latter ice shelf is also a potential source.