Isotopic diffusion in ice enhanced by vein-water flow

• Published in: The cryosphere Vol. 17; no. 7; pp. 3063 - 3082
• Main Author: Ng, Felix S. L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Katlenburg-Lindau Copernicus GmbH 26.07.2023; Copernicus Publications
• Subjects: Analysis; Core sampling; Cores; Coring; Crystals; Diffusion; Diffusion coefficients; Diffusion length; Diffusion rate; Diffusivity; Domes; Firn; Flow velocity; Glaciation; Grain boundaries; Grain size; Holocene; Holocene ice; Hydrology; Ice; Ice cores; Ice sheets; Information processing; Information retrieval; Isotopes; Modulation; Self diffusion; Short circuits; Single crystals; Smoothing; Stable isotopes; Surface temperature; Water flow; Wavelength; Antarctica; Greenland

Diffusive smoothing of signals on the water stable isotopes (18O and D) in ice sheets fundamentally limits the climatic information retrievable from these ice-core proxies. Past theories explained how, in polycrystalline ice below the firn, fast diffusion in the network of intergranular water veins...