An O18/O16 study of water flow in natural snow ...

• Main Author: Ahern, Timothy K
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2010
• Subjects: Greenland; Greenland ice core; ice core
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0052948; https://doi.library.ubc.ca/10.14288/1.0052948

One of the most successful applications of oxygen isotope variations in nature has been their use in glaciology. Yearly isotopic variations in snowfall provide a means of determining past climatological trends from deep ice cores. The most notable example of this type of application would be the Greenland Ice Core discussed by Dansgaard et al. (1969). When utilizing variations in stable isotope ratios as an indication of past climates two fundamental assumptions must be made. First, it is assumed that the isotopic ratio of precipitation falling in the area varies in some regular manner with a period of one year. The second assumption is that the isotopic composition of the snow does not change after it accumulates on the ground. This thesis project was an attempt to study the interaction between the liquid and solid phases of water inside naturally occurring snow. One of the most reasonable methods of studying this interaction is by studying isotopic changes inside the snowpack when liquid water with an ...