TY - JOUR
T1 - On the sedimentological character of Alpine basal ice facies
AU - Hubbard, Bryn
AU - Sharp, Martin
AU - Lawson, Wendy J.
PY - 1996
Y1 - 1996
N2 - Seven basal ice facies have been defined on the basis of research at eleven glaciers in the western Alps. The concentration and texture of the debris incorporated in these facies are described. Grain-size distributions are characterised in terms of their: (i) mean size and dispersion, (ii) component Gaussian modes, and (iii) self-similarity. Firnified glacier ice contains low concentrations (≈0.2 g l-1) of well-sorted and predominantly fine-grained debris that is not self-similar over the range of particle diameters assessed. In contrast, basal ice contains relatively high concentrations (≈4-4000 g l-1 by facies) of polymodal (by size fraction against weight) debris, the texture of which is consistent with incorporation at the glacier bed. Analysis by grain-size against number of particles suggests that these basal facies debris textures are also self-similar. This apparent contradiction may be explained by the insensitivity of the assessment of self-similarity to variations in mass distribution. Comparison of typical size-weight with size-number distributions indicates that neither visual nor statistical assessment of the latter may be sufficiently rigorous to identify self-similarity. Apparent fractal dimensions may indicate the relative importance of fines in a debris distribution. Subglacially derived basal facies debris has a mean fractal dimension of 2.74. This value suggests an excess of fines relative to a self-similar distribution of cubes, which has a fractal dimension of 2.58. Subglacial sediments sampled from the forefield of Skalafellsjökull, Iceland, haye-fractal dimensions of 2.91 (A-horizon) and 2.81 (B-horizon). Debris from the A-horizon, which is interpreted as having been pervasively deformed, both most closely approaches self-similarity and has the highest fractal dimension of any of the sample groups analyzed.
AB - Seven basal ice facies have been defined on the basis of research at eleven glaciers in the western Alps. The concentration and texture of the debris incorporated in these facies are described. Grain-size distributions are characterised in terms of their: (i) mean size and dispersion, (ii) component Gaussian modes, and (iii) self-similarity. Firnified glacier ice contains low concentrations (≈0.2 g l-1) of well-sorted and predominantly fine-grained debris that is not self-similar over the range of particle diameters assessed. In contrast, basal ice contains relatively high concentrations (≈4-4000 g l-1 by facies) of polymodal (by size fraction against weight) debris, the texture of which is consistent with incorporation at the glacier bed. Analysis by grain-size against number of particles suggests that these basal facies debris textures are also self-similar. This apparent contradiction may be explained by the insensitivity of the assessment of self-similarity to variations in mass distribution. Comparison of typical size-weight with size-number distributions indicates that neither visual nor statistical assessment of the latter may be sufficiently rigorous to identify self-similarity. Apparent fractal dimensions may indicate the relative importance of fines in a debris distribution. Subglacially derived basal facies debris has a mean fractal dimension of 2.74. This value suggests an excess of fines relative to a self-similar distribution of cubes, which has a fractal dimension of 2.58. Subglacial sediments sampled from the forefield of Skalafellsjökull, Iceland, haye-fractal dimensions of 2.91 (A-horizon) and 2.81 (B-horizon). Debris from the A-horizon, which is interpreted as having been pervasively deformed, both most closely approaches self-similarity and has the highest fractal dimension of any of the sample groups analyzed.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0030430601&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3189/1996aog22-1-187-193
DO - 10.3189/1996aog22-1-187-193
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0030430601
SN - 0260-3055
VL - 22
SP - 187
EP - 193
JO - Annals of Glaciology
JF - Annals of Glaciology
ER -