Dielectric Permittivity Measurements on Ice Cores: Implications for Interpretation of Radar to Yield Glacial Unfrozen Water Content

摘要

The dielectric permittivity of glaciers and ice caps can be measured in field or airborne surveys using ice-penetrating radar. Permittivity contrasts in polar ice caps indicate ice stratigraphy and age, whereas those in temperate glaciers have been interpreted as changes in unfrozen water content, which is an important control on glacier mechanics. Many previous workers have assumed simple relationships between permittivity (inferred from radar velocity) and unfrozen water content, but these relationships have never been verified in the laboratory. Here, we present measurements of the dielectric properties of ice cores from a temperate glacier in Switzerland, using the Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) technique, which has a measurement frequency close to that of radar. The objectives of the measurement were to quantify the effects of intercrystalline unfrozen water and air content on ice dielectric permittivity. TDR probes were specially designed and built for ice core measurement to allow them to be pressed onto the ice core surface, and to maximize the signal travel time.