Measured electrical properties of snow and glacial ice

Abstract

The electrical proper tie;:; of s now an d glacial ice n ear 0° C h ave been observed over the frequ ency range from 20 cycles per seco nd to 200 kil ocycles per seco nd. In general , the co ndu ctiv ity of s now an d glacial icc is fo und to be much hig her tha n t hat fOI' purc ice. T hi s is particularly so at fr equ encies below 2 kilocycles per second. Th e magnitude of t h e complex con du ctivity for glacia l icc appears Lo in crease wit h temperat ure at frequ encies below 200 cycles per seco nd a nd Lo d eCl'case with temperaLure a bove this fr equency. I Contribut ion from Central R.adio Propaga tion Laboratory, National Bureau of Standards, Boulder, Colo. ' The studi es contaiJl e<l in t his paper werc sponsored by the Omce of l aval Research und er Contract No. NR 371-29 1. 3 Fig ures io brackets indicate th e literature rcfcrences at tbe end of this paper.

Field Measurements of Dielectric Absorption in Antarctic Ice and Snow at Very High Frequencies

“…The m easurem ents at V.H.F . by W estphal (p ersonal communication and in Ragle and others , 1964), Cook (1960) and the present author agree well with data extrapolated from m easurem ents on the relaxation spectrum of ice b y Auty and Cole ( 1952 ), Watt and Maxwell ( 1960) Watt and MaxweLL ( 1960 ). Field measurements on the relaxation spectrum of ice , Athabasca Glacier, Canada .…”

Experimental Results of VLF Dipole Tests on the Greenland Ice Cap

“…The. electrode-snow interface or contamination of the snow and ice with materiar such as wind-blown salt-water spray and micrometeorite dust, may all contribute to the deviation from the theoreticaL The fourelectrode results are similar to more extensive results from measurements at other locations and over wider frequency ranges made by Watt and Maxwell [1960].…”

The Electrical, Structural and Topographical Characteristics of Arctic Sea Ice. Volume 1

“…However, if there is a finite DC conductivity, ar will approach arDC rather than zero. This has been demonstrated experimentally in glacier ice by Watt and Maxwell [ 1960]. They show a o-varying as w down to about 100 c/o.…”

“…These salt nucleii in the air then serve as condensation nucleii around which raindrops or snowflakes can form. While no direct evidence for such slightly saline snowflakes has been found, electrical measurements by Watt and Maxwell [ 1960] on Greenland glacier ice show an abnormally high conductivity at low frequencies which may be caused by such occluded salts.…”