Isotopic composition and thermal regime of ice wedges in northern Victoria Land, East Antarctica

Special Issue : Stable isotopes and geochemistry of ground ice

Auteur(s) et Affiliation(s)

RAFFI, R.

Dep. of Earth Sciences, Sapienza Univ., Rome, Italie

STENNI, B.

Dep. of Geosciences, Univ., Trieste, Italie

MEYER, H.

Alfred Wegener Inst. for Polar and Marine Research, Research Unit, Potsdam, Allemagne

SLETTEN, R.S.

Univ. of Washington, Seattle, Etats-Unis

Description :
This paper reports the results of oxygen (andO 18) and hydrogen (andD) isotopic analyses of ice wedges and a five-year monitoring programme on the ice-wedge thermal regime at three sites in northern Victoria Land. The purpose of the study was to characterise isotopically the ice wedges, define the processes leading to the formation of their ice and to determine whether thermal conditions can trigger cracking and hence whether ice wedges are active under present-day climate conditions. The isotopic values and observations of hoarfrost crystals in ice-wedge cracks during summer field surveys indicate that sublimation processes control the formation of ice in wedges, especially at high elevations within this region.

Type de document :
Article de monographie

Source :
Permafrost and periglacial processes, issn : 1045-6740, 2011, vol. 22, n°. 1, p. 65-83, nombre de pages : 19, Références bibliographiques : 58 ref.

Date :
2011

Editeur :
Pays édition : Royaume-Uni, Chichester, Wiley

Langue :
Anglais