Abstract. Understanding the slow densification process of polar firn into ice is essential in order to constrain the age difference between the ice matrix and entrapped gases. The progressive microstructure evolution of the firn column with depth leads to pore closure and gas entrapment. Air transport models in the firn usually include a closed porosity profile based on available data. Pycnometry or melting-refreezing techniques have been used to obtain the ratio of closed to total porosity and air content in closed pores, respectively. Xray-computed tomography is complementary to these methods, as it enables one to obtain the full pore network in 3-D. This study takes advantage of this nondestructive technique to discuss the morphological evolution of pores on four different Antarctic sites. The computation of refined geometrical parameters for the very cold polar sites Dome C and Lock In (the two Antarctic plateau sites studied here) provides new information that could be used in further studies. The comparison of these two sites shows a more tortuous pore network at Lock In than at Dome C, which should result in older gas ages in deep firn at Lock In. A comprehensive estimation of the different errors related to X-ray tomography and to the sample variability has been performed. The procedure described here may be used as a guideline for further experimental characterization of firn samples. We show that the closed-to-total porosity ratio, which is classically used for the detection of pore closure, is strongly affected by the sample size, the image reconstruction, and spatial heterogeneities. In this work, we introduce an alternative parameter, the connectivity index, which is practically independent of sample size and image acquisition conditions, and that accurately predicts the close-off depth and density. Its strength also lies in its simple computation, without any assumption of the pore status (open or close). The close-off prediction is obtained for Dome C and Lock In, without any further numerical simulations on images (e.g., by permeability or diffusivity calculations).
During the deformation of polar ice, a fabric develops which results in a macroscopically anisotropic behaviour. Since the plastic anisotropy of the ice single crystal is very high, the effect of a strong (single maximum) fabric on the macroscopic flow law cannot be neglected when simulating the flow of an ice sheet. As this is already a difficult task when using the familiar isotropic power law for ice, the fabric evolution and related macroscopic mechanical behaviour model, to be implemented in such a simulation, must be realistic yet simple enough to achieve results within a reasonable level of complexity, at least as a first step.To this aim, we propose to model polar ice as a transversely isotropic medium; while simplifying the problem, this captures the essential features of the in-situ observed fabrics. The macroscopic mechanical behaviour of the ice polycrystal is obtained by using an orientation distribution function (ODF) for the c axes of the grains, which characterizes the fabric, and a self-consistent scheme, considering each single crystal as transversely isotropic. The evolution of the ODF is described by a conservation equation. In the first stage, this model was run in the simple cases of uniaxial compression and tension along the orthotropy symmetry axis.
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