Ice Core Tomography with Laser Ultrasonics
Abstract. Annual layering dating ice cores is a difficult, but crucial component of pa-leoclimate studies. We present ultrasonic tomography as an additional tool to map vari-ations in (thermo) elastic properties of ice with depth. These variations can be the re-sult of seasonal variations in precipi...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.535.4320 http://mesoscopic.mines.edu/acoustics-old/preprints/icetomography.pdf |
| Summary: | Abstract. Annual layering dating ice cores is a difficult, but crucial component of pa-leoclimate studies. We present ultrasonic tomography as an additional tool to map vari-ations in (thermo) elastic properties of ice with depth. These variations can be the re-sult of seasonal variations in precipitation, ice chemistry and temperature. While the ice core is kept in a cold chamber with optical windows, scanning lasers excite and detec-t ultrasonic waves. Our method is non-contacting, non-destructive and allows for millimeter-scale resolution. We test our proof-of-concept data acquisition system on a sample of ice core from the South Pole, Antarctica. 1. |
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