IngentaConnect Development of depth hoar and its effect on stable oxygen isotopi...

Authors: Feiteng, Wang; Zhongqin, Li; Huilin, Li; Mingjun, Zhang; Wenbin, Wang; Lin, Wang

Source: Annals of Glaciology, Volume 49, Number 1, October 2008 , pp. 135-138(4)

Publisher: International Glaciological Society

Abstract:

We report on the development of depth hoar and its relation to stable oxygen isotopic content in snow-firn stratigraphy in the percolation zone of Ürümqi glacier No. 1, eastern Tien Shan, China, during the period September 2004-August 2006. The essential condition for the development of depth hoar in the snow-firn pack is the temperature gradient. When the temperature gradient of the snow-firn pack reaches a maximum value of 13.0°C m⁻¹ in mid-October, depth hoar begins to develop. By the end of March, the depth hoar might account for 25% of the total snow-firn pack depth. From April to June, as the weather becomes warm, the transport of water vapor diminishes and melting-regelation metamorphism replaces metamorphism caused by the temperature gradient. As a result, the depth hoar turns into coarse-grained firn. Fractionation of the oxygen isotopic content also occurs during formation of the depth hoar. The bottom 15 cm of the depth-hoar δ¹⁸O values were depleted in the lighter isotopic species as the snow sublimated from the lower to the upper crystals, and the δ values increased from −9.4‰ to −7.0‰ from 8 September 2004 to 25 January 2005. The upper 10 cm of the depth-hoar δ¹⁸O values were enriched in the lighter isotopic species and the δ values decreased from −6.8‰ to −9.3‰ during the same period.

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Development of depth hoar and its effect on stable oxygen isotopic content in snow-firn stratigraphy on Ürümqi glacier No. 1, eastern Tien Shan, China