An official website of the United States government
Abstract Within the temperate ice of ice stream shear margins, high strain and accompanying recrystallization likely result in longitudinal foliation characterized by thin, steeply dipping ice layers with distinct variations in grain size and bubble content. The sensitivity of ice permeability to these factors, particularly grain size, implies that foliation causes shear‐margin ice to be hydraulically anisotropic. In this study, the permeability of foliated ice is measured in disks cut from cores from Athabasca Glacier, allowing permeability anisotropy to be assessed. We collected cores oriented normal and parallel to foliation from beneath the weathered crust of the glacier. Permeability values range from approximately m2and correlate with the textures and orientations of foliation layers. Results indicate that the anisotropic permeability of foliated ice can be approximated using a model that incorporates an empirical grain‐size/permeability relationship and a model of vein clogging by air bubbles. For water flow parallel to foliation, the arithmetic mean of the area‐weighted permeability closely approximates the bulk permeability; for flow perpendicular to foliation, measurements agree with the harmonic mean permeability, weighted to the thickness of each layer. These findings imply hydraulic anisotropy spanning several orders of magnitude in temperate glacier ice, with water flux governed by the most and least permeable layers in the flow‐parallel and flow‐perpendicular cases, respectively.
more »
« less
Meltwater Orientations Modify Seismic Anisotropy in Temperate Ice
Abstract Seismology is increasingly used to infer the magnitude and direction of glacial ice flow. However, the effects of interstitial meltwater on seismic properties remain poorly constrained. Here, we extend previous studies on seismic anisotropy in temperate ices to consider the role of melt preferred orientation (MPO). We used the ELLE numerical toolbox to simulate microstructural shear deformation of temperate ice with variable MPO strength and orientation, and calculated the effective seismic properties of these numerical ice‐melt aggregates. Our models demonstrate that even 3.5% melt volume is sufficient to rotate fast directions by up to 90°, to increase Vp anisotropy by up to +110%, and to modify Vs anisotropy by −9 to +36%. These effects are especially prominent at strain rates ≥3.17 × 10−12 s−1. MPO may thus obscure the geophysical signatures of temperate ice flow in regions of rapid ice discharge, and is therefore pivotal for understanding ice mass loss.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 2317263
- PAR ID:
- 10521188
- Publisher / Repository:
- DOI PREFIX: 10.1029
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Geophysical Research Letters
- Volume:
- 51
- Issue:
- 13
- ISSN:
- 0094-8276
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Dielectric anisotropy in ice alters the propagation of polarized radio waves, so polarimetric radar sounding can be used to survey anisotropic properties of ice masses. Ice anisotropy is either intrinsic, associated with ice‐crystal orientation fabric (COF), or extrinsic, associated with material heterogeneity, such as bubbles, fractures, and directional roughness at the glacier bed. Anisotropy develops through a history of snow deposition and ice flow, and the consequent mechanical properties of anisotropy then feed back to influence ice flow. Constraints on anisotropy are therefore important for understanding ice dynamics, ice‐sheet history, and future projections of ice flow and associated sea‐level change. Radar techniques, applied using ground‐based, airborne, or spaceborne instruments, can be deployed more quickly and over a larger area than either direct sampling, via ice‐core drilling, or analogous seismic techniques. Here, we review the physical nature of dielectric anisotropy in glacier ice, the general theory for radio‐wave propagation through anisotropic media, polarimetric radar instruments and survey strategies, and the extent of applications in glacier settings. We close by discussing future directions, such as polarimetric interpretations outside COF, planetary and astrophysical applications, innovative survey geometries, and polarimetric profiling. We argue that the recent proliferation in polarimetric subsurface sounding radar marks a critical inflection, since there are now several approaches for data collection and processing. This review aims to guide the expanding polarimetric user base to appropriate techniques so they can address new and existing challenges in glaciology, such as constraining ice viscosity, a critical control on ice flow and future sea‐level change.more » « less
-
Abstract Seismic anisotropy is controlled by aligned rock‐forming minerals, which most studies attribute to solid‐state shear with less consideration for magmatic fabric in plutonic rocks (rigid‐body rotation of crystals in the presence of melt). Our study counters this traditional solid‐state bias by evaluating contributions from fossil magmatic fabric. We collected samples from various tectonic settings, identified mineral orientations with electron backscatter diffraction and neutron diffraction, and calculated their bulk rock elastic properties. Results indicate that magmatic fabric may lead to moderate to strong anisotropy (3%–9%), comparable to solid‐state deformation. Also, magmatically aligned feldspar may cause foliation‐perpendicular fast velocity, a unique orientation that contrasts with a fast foliation typical of solid‐state deformation. Therefore, magmatic fabric may be more relevant to seismic anisotropy than previously recognized. Accordingly, increased considerations of magmatic fabric in arcs, batholiths, and other tectonic settings can change and potentially improve the prediction, observation, and interpretation of crustal seismic anisotropy.more » « less
-
Abstract Ice shelves regulate the ice‐ocean boundary by buttressing the flux of grounded ice into the ocean and are vulnerable to basal melt, which can lead to ice‐shelf thinning and loss of buttressing. Localized, enhanced basal melt can form basal channels, which may impact ice‐shelf stability. Here we investigate the evolution of the Getz Ice Shelf Basal Channel (GISBC) in West Antarctica using a novel suite of geophysical data, including Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica (REMA) digital elevation models, ICESat‐1 and ‐2 altimetry, Operation IceBridge altimetry and radar, and InSAR‐derived ice flow velocities. We describe basal‐channel and ice‐shelf change in both Eulerian and Lagrangian frameworks and document changes in the channel's shape and its lateral motion and estimate basal melting. We find a high degree of spatial and temporal variability in GISBC evolution, with several locations of active basal incision. Incision occurs at rates of up to 22 m a−1at the head of the channel, which is extending toward the grounding line at a rate of ~1 km a−1. Freeboard heights over areas of rapid basal incision are out of hydrostatic equilibrium. The GISBC is also migrating to the northwest, perpendicular to the northeasterly ice flow direction, at an average rate of 70–80 m a−1. The spatiotemporal variability of evolution of the GISBC motivates further characterization of basal channels and their impact on ice‐shelf stability, so that these effects may more readily be incorporated in ice‐ocean models predicting ice flow and sea‐level rise.more » « less
-
Spatiotemporal Drivers of Hydrochemical Variability in a Tropical Glacierized Watershed in the AndesAbstract There is a critical knowledge gap about how glacier retreat in remote and rapidly warming tropical montane watersheds will impact solute export, which has implications for downstream geochemical cycling and ecological function. Because tropical glacierized watersheds are often uniquely characterized by year‐round ablation, upslope vegetation migration, and significant groundwater flow, baseline understanding is needed of how spatiotemporal variables within these watersheds control outlet hydrochemistry. We implemented a recently developed reactive transport watershed model, BioRT‐Flux‐PIHM, for a sub‐humid glacierized watershed in the Ecuadorian Andes with young volcanic soils and fractured bedrock. We found a unique simulated concentration and discharge (C‐Q) pattern that was mostly chemostatic but superimposed by dilution episodes. The chemostatic background was attributed to large simulated contributions of groundwater (subsurface lateral flow) to streamflow, of which a notable fraction (37%) comprised infiltrated ice‐melt. Relatively constant concentrations were further maintained in the model because times and locations of lower mineral surface wetting and dissolution were offset by concentrating effects of greater evapotranspiration. Ice‐melt did not all infiltrate in simulations, especially during large precipitation events, when high surface runoff contributions to discharge triggered dilution episodes. In a model scenario without ice‐melt, major ion concentrations, including Na+, Ca2+, and Mg2+, became more strongly chemostatic and higher, but weathering rates decreased, attenuating export by 23%. We expect this reduction to be exacerbated by higher evapotranspiration and drier conditions with expanded vegetation. This work brings to light the importance of subsurface meltwater flow, ecohydrological variability, and interactions between melt and precipitation for controlling hydrochemical processes in tropical watersheds with rapidly retreating glaciers.more » « less
