Crystallographic analysis of temperate ice on Rhonegletscher, Swiss Alps ...

• Main Authors: Hellmann, Sebastian, Kerch, Johanna, Weikusat, Ilka, Bauder, Andreas, Grab, Melchior, Jouvet, Guillaume, Schwikowski, Margit, Maurer, Hansruedi
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: ETH Zurich 2021
• Subjects: ice core
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000474292; http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/474292

Crystal orientation fabric (COF) analysis provides information about the c-axis orientation of ice grains and the associated anisotropy and microstructural information about deformation and recrystallisation processes within the glacier. This information can be used to introduce modules that fully describe the microstructural anisotropy or at least direction-dependent enhancement factors for glacier modelling. The COF was studied at an ice core that was obtained from the temperate Rhonegletscher, located in the central Swiss Alps. Seven samples, extracted at depths between 2 and 79 m, were analysed with an automatic fabric analyser. The COF analysis revealed conspicuous four-maxima patterns of the c-axis orientations at all depths. Additional data, such as microstructural images, produced during the ice sample preparation process, were considered to interpret these patterns. Furthermore, repeated high-precision global navigation satellite system (GNSS) surveying allowed the local glacier flow direction to be ... : The Cryosphere, 15 (2) ...