We measured the times to nucleate CO 2 hydrates from CO 2 dissolved water under pressure and 8.6 K supercooling using different methods to prepare the water. These times ranged from 50 min to more than 7200 min, depending on the preparation method. The nucleation rates were calculated by fitting the observed nucleation probability distributions to a nucleation rate equation. The nucleation rates significantly increased when the water had previously frozen as ice and melted (freezing-memory effect), except when the meltwater was heated to 298 K before nucleation. The nucleation rates also increased with O 2 -saturated meltwater, but decreased with degassed water.

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[1] The evolution of the structure of a 112.59 m long firn core recovered at Dome Fuji, East Antarctica, was investigated in order to improve understanding of firn densification and bubble formation processes, which are important for interpreting local insolation proxies used for astronomical dating of deep ice cores. Using selected samples, we measured physical properties including (1) the relative dielectric permittivities in both the vertical and horizontal planes, (2) the bulk density at a resolution of millimeters, (3) the three-dimensional geometric structure of pore space, and (4) crystal orientation fabrics. We found that the firn at Dome Fuji contains horizontal strata with thicknesses of several centimeters. Near the surface of the ice sheet, these strata are characterized by contrasting bulk density. Earlier field studies suggest that summer insolation causes densification of surface firn. Down to $30 m, density maxima exhibited a clear positive correlation with the strength of structural anisotropy and c axis clustering around the vertical. In contrast, the correlation is negative in deeper firn, confirming previous findings that initially less dense firn became denser than initially dense firn. In addition, numerous examples of textures indicating that deformation preferentially occurred in weaker layers were found. Moreover, the initially dense firn layers were more permeable for air near the bottom of firn. We propose a model linking firn properties with conditions for the gas transport processes near the bottom of firn. The model explains how stronger insolation can lead to bulk ice with a lower O 2 /N 2 ratio and smaller total gas content.Citation: Fujita, S., J. Okuyama, A. Hori, and T. Hondoh (2009), Metamorphism of stratified firn at Dome Fuji, Antarctica: A mechanism for local insolation modulation of gas transport conditions during bubble close off,

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Ice cores from Penny Ice Cap, Baffin Island, Canada, provide continuous Holocene records of oxygen isotopic composition (delta18O, proxy for temperature) and atmospheric impurities. A time scale was established with the use of altered seasonal variations, some volcanic horizons, and the age for the end of the Wisconsin ice age determined from the GRIP and GISP2 ice cores. There is pre-Holocene ice near the bed. The change in delta18O since the last glacial maximum (LGM) is at least 12.5 per mil, compared with an expected value of 7 per mil, suggesting that LGM ice originated at the much higher elevations of the then existing Foxe Dome and Foxe Ridge of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. The LGM delta18O values suggest thick ice frozen to the bed of Hudson Bay.