Dataset: ice_properties
Deployment: LMG0106

ice core physical properties

Principal Investigator:

Chris H. Fritsen (Desert Research Institute, DRI)

BCO-DMO Data Manager:

Nancy Copley (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, WHOI BCO-DMO)

Project:

U.S. GLOBEC Southern Ocean (SOGLOBEC)

Coordinated Deployments:

NBP0104

Data URL:

https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset-deployment/452651/data

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Description

A key component of our program was ice properties studies. The goal was to describe the physical and morphological properties of the snow cover and the ice cover. This includes determining the distribution of snow depth, ice thickness, and flooded ice, as well as the salinity and crystallographic structure of the ice. There were three elements to this work: snow and ice surveys, ice cores, and snow pits.

In 2001, over 120 ice cores, at more than 30 sites were taken for analysis. Typically four cores were taken at each site; one for temperature, salinity, and oxygen isotopes; one for structural analysis; and two for biology. In 2002, cores were taken at 21 sites and analyzed for temperature, salinity, oxygen isotopes, and structure.

Related datasets:
ice thickness, snow pits, sea ice, ice optics

Methods & Sampling

Dataset acquisition description

A Sipre 3-inch core barrel was used. The cores were drilled by hand to avoid contamination by oil and gasoline. Both the ice core length and the ice thickness were recorded. There was often a discrepancy between these values due to gaps in the core or the inability to obtain a core sample from the bottom part of the ice floe.

Vertical thin sections were made from the structure cores. These thin sections were photographed using transmitted natural light and through crossed-polaroids to analyze the crystallographic structure of the ice. The relative amounts of granular and columnar ice were determined. Averaging all cores together there was 66% granular ice and 34% columnar in 2001. In 2002, there was 78% granular and 22% columnar ice. The structural analysis of the thin sections was performed by A.J. Gow.

Data Processing Description

Dataset Processing Description

More information about this dataset deployment

Funding

Award Number	Funding Source
ANT-9910098	NSF Antarctic Sciences

Instruments

Ice Corer

Supplied Name:

Supplied Description:

Instrument Type

Generic Name: Ice Corer

Community Identifier: http://vocab.nerc.ac.uk/collection/L05/current/56/

Generic Description:

An ice corer is used to drill into deep ice and remove long cylinders of ice from which information about the past and present can be inferred. Polar ice cores contain a record of the past atmosphere - temperature, precipitation, gas content, chemical composition, and other properties. This can reveal a broad spectrum of information on past environmental, and particularly climatic, changes. They can also be used to study bacteria and chlorophyll production in the waters from which the ice core was extracted.

Parameters

Supplied Name	Supplied description	Supplied Units	Standard Name
sample_id	sample identification	unitless	sample
core_len	core length	centimeters?	length
freebrd	freeboard...?	?	no_bcodmo_term
depth_cm	depth in core; mid-point of interval sampled	centimeters	depth_core
temp	temperature	degree Celsius	temp
brine_vol	volume of brine in the core	?	volume
depth_interval	depth interval between samples	centimeters	depth_interval
sal	salinity	PSU?	sal
d180	delta-18O; ratio of stable isotopes (oxygen-18:oxygen-16)	per mil	d18O
crystal_desc	description of ice crystals: g=granular; c=columnar	unitless	no_bcodmo_term
station_desc	description of station	unitless	station_desc
comments	comments	unitless	comment

Database

Contribute Data

Dataset: ice_properties
Deployment: LMG0106

Dataset acquisition description

Dataset Processing Description

Database

Contribute Data

Dataset: ice_propertiesDeployment: LMG0106

Dataset acquisition description

Dataset Processing Description

Dataset: ice_properties
Deployment: LMG0106