Growth processes of an inland Antarctic ice wedge, Mesa Range, northern Victoria Land

During the 16th Italian Antarctic Expedition (2000/01) a geomorphological survey of permafrost-related polygons was carried out in the Mesa Range area, upper Rennick Glacier. The investigated site is located in the uppermost reaches of Pain Mesa, which forms the northern sector of the Mesa Range. An...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annals of Glaciology
Main Authors: RAFFI, Rossana, Barbara Stenni, Onelio Flora, Stefano Polesello, Marina Camusso
Other Authors: Raffi, Rossana, Barbara, Stenni, Onelio, Flora, Stefano, Polesello, Marina, Camusso
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: INT GLACIOLOGICAL SOC 2004
Subjects:
chemical concentration
ice crystal
ice wedge
stable water isotope
tritium activity
Antarctic
Mesa Range
Pain Mesa
Rennick
Rennick Glacier
Victoria Land
Antarc*
Ice
permafrost
wedge*
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11573/213633
https://doi.org/10.3189/172756404781814195
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Summary:During the 16th Italian Antarctic Expedition (2000/01) a geomorphological survey of permafrost-related polygons was carried out in the Mesa Range area, upper Rennick Glacier. The investigated site is located in the uppermost reaches of Pain Mesa, which forms the northern sector of the Mesa Range. An ice wedge was found in a volcanic regolith at about 2200 m a.s.l. This altitude is below a well-defined erosional trimline, located at about 2380 m a.s.l. in this sector of Pain Mesa. The ice was sampled by inserting an ice screw, with an internal diameter of 14 mm, into the ice wedge in vertical sequences. Oriented block samples for thin sections were taken. A co-isotopic study was performed, measuring both oxygen (delta O-18) and hydrogen (delta D) isotope compositions. Tritium activity was measured, and major cations and anions were determined. The delta O-18 and delta D obtained showed a strong divergence from the snowfalls expected to occur at this elevation, with extremely negative d excess values. Sublimation processes were taken into account to define the origin of the ice forming the wedge. The tritium data obtained suggest that the growth process of the ice wedge might still be active today.

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