Highly deformed basal ice in the Vostok core, Antarctica

• Published in: Geophysical Research Letters
• Main Authors: Souchez, R., Petit, J.R., Jouzel, J., Simões, J., de Angelis, M., Barkov, N., Stievenard, M., Vimeux, F., Sleewaegen, J., Lorrain, R.
• Other Authors: Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysique de l'environnement (LGGE), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement Gif-sur-Yvette (LSCE), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Direction de Recherche Fondamentale (CEA) (DRF (CEA)), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA), Glaces et Continents, Climats et Isotopes Stables (GLACCIOS), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Direction de Recherche Fondamentale (CEA) (DRF (CEA)), Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI), Russian Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), Géochrononologie Traceurs Archéométrie (GEOTRAC)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2002
• Subjects: 1040 Geochemistry: Isotopic composition/chemistry; 1827 Hydrology: Glaciology (1863); 4540 Oceanography: Physical: Ice mechanics and air/sea/ice exchange processes; 9310 Information Related to Geographic Region: Antarctica; [SDU.OCEAN]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Ocean; Atmosphere; [SDU.ENVI]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Continental interfaces; environment; Antarc*; Antarctica; ice core; Ice Sheet; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-03106876; https://hal.science/hal-03106876/document; https://hal.science/hal-03106876/file/2001GL014192.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1029/2001GL014192

International audience Our paper documents the build‐up of a highly deformed basal ice layer in the basal part of the Vostok ice core. This is done mainly on the basis of an isotopic composition investigation of the ice. Complex deformation in the lower 228 m of the ice sheet has resulted in folding and intermixing of ice at a submetric scale and, for the upper part of this basal sequence, in interbedding of ice layers from distinct origins at a larger scale. This complex deformation occurred at a temperature largely below the pressure‐melting point. The basal ice layer has built upwards and size‐selective incorporation of bed material into the ice has taken place. The documentation of this complex basal deformation has implications for the maximum age of ice that will be useful in paleoclimate studies and for ice sheet dynamics.