Volumes and Issues  Contents of Issue 6  Special Issue  
Clim. Past Discuss., 2, 1187-1219, 2006
www.clim-past-discuss.net/2/1187/2006/
© Author(s) 2006. This work is licensed
under a Creative Commons License.


Change of the ice rheology with climatic transitions – implication on ice flow modelling and dating of the EPICA Dome C core

G. Durand1, F. Gillet-Chaulet2, A. Svensson1, O. Gagliardini2, S. Kipfstuhl3, J. Meyssonnier2, F. Parrenin2, P. Duval2, and D. Dahl-Jensen1
1Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
2Laboratoire de Glaciologie et de Géophysique de l'Environnement, Saint Martin d'Hères, France
3Alfred Wegener Institute, Bremerhaven, Germany

Abstract. The study of the distribution of the crystallographic orientations (the fabric) along ice cores supplies information on the past and current ice flows of ice-sheets. Beside the usually observed formation of a vertical single maximum fabric, the EPICA Dome Concordia ice core (EDC) shows an abrupt and unexpected strenghtening of its fabric during termination II around 1750 m depth. Such strengthenings were already observed for sites located on an ice-sheet. This suggests that horizontal shear could occur along the EDC core. Moreover, the change in the fabric leads to a modification of the viscosity between neighbouring ice layers. Through the use of an anisotropic ice flow model, we quantify the change in viscosity and investigate its implication on ice flow and dating.

Discussion Paper (PDF, 810 KB)   Interactive Discussion (Closed, 4 Comments)   Final Revised Paper (CP)

Citation: Durand, G., Gillet-Chaulet, F., Svensson, A., Gagliardini, O., Kipfstuhl, S., Meyssonnier, J., Parrenin, F., Duval, P., and Dahl-Jensen, D.: Change of the ice rheology with climatic transitions – implication on ice flow modelling and dating of the EPICA Dome C core, Clim. Past Discuss., 2, 1187-1219, 2006.   Bibtex   EndNote   Reference Manager