The Dielectric Properties of Antarctic Ice

Abstract

AbstractTwo 0.5 m cores from "Byrd" station, Antarctica have been studied in the laboratory, one from a shallow depth (155 m) and the other from the zone where recrystallization has given a verticalc-axis fabric, and the airin situis thought to be in clathrate form (1 424 m). The dielectric response has been studied in the frequency range 60 Hz to 10 kHz, and in the temperature range — 6° C to —6o° C. The behaviour observed is markedly different from that of "pure" polycrystalline ice such as may be made by slowly freezing distilled de-ionized water and is thus at variance with the conclusions of Rogers (unpublished) who deduced, from measurements of the admittance of a dipole probe lowered through the fluid-filled drill hole at "Byrd", that the ice surrounding the hole had a dielectric response similar to that of "pure" ice. The Antarctic ice is shown to have properties similar to those of the ice from "Camp Century" and "Site 2" in Greenland studied by Paren (1973). In an attempt to discover what factors determine the difference in electrical behaviour between polar ice and pure ice, some samples were melted and subsequently refrozen slowly. Their dielectric response was similar to that of pure polycrystalline ice. These results are discussed in connection with the impurity content and growth conditions of the ices.