Stratigraphy, stable isotopes and salinity in multi-year sea ice from the rift area, south George VI Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula

• Main Authors: Tison, Jean-Louis, Morris, Elizabeth E.M., Souchez, Roland, Jouzel, Jean
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 1991
• Subjects: Géologie et minéralogie; Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; George VI Ice Shelf; Antarc*; ice core; Ice Shelf; Journal of Glaciology; Sea ice
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2013/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/219163

Results from a detailed profile in a 5.54m multi-year sea-ice core from the rift area in the southern part of George VI Ice Shelf are presented. Stratigraphy, stable isotopes and Na content are used to investigate the growth processes of the ice cover and to relate them to melting processes at the bottom of the ice shelf. The thickest multi-year sea ice in the sampling area appears to be second-year sea ice that has survived one melt season. Combined salinity/stable-isotope analyses show large-scale sympathetic fluctuations that can be related to the origin of the parent water. Brackish ice occurs between 450 and 530cm in the core. It is demonstrated that this results from the feezing of brackish water formed by mixing of normal sea water with melted basal shelf ice, with dilution percentages of maximum 80% fresh water. -from Authors SCOPUS: NotDefined.j info:eu-repo/semantics/published