Our objective is to measure the mechanical properties of anisotropic ice of the EPICA ice core, from Dome Concordia, Antarctica, through the full depth of the borehole in deformation experiments under simulated ice-sheet conditions of temperature and pressure. We propose to undertake experiments on the EPICA core using both a conventional triaxial-test apparatus and a new, true, triaxial-test apparatus incorporating automated tomographic imaging of the ice-fabric evolution during deformation. We present the design of this new apparatus together with our testing methodology for EPICA ice. The new apparatus is capable of deforming an ice specimen, up to 200 mm × 100 mm × 40 mm, under servo-controlled biaxial loading with a superimposed confining pressure of 50 MPa and at temperatures down to –40°C. Highly unusual problems arising from the true triaxial nature of the apparatus and tomographic imaging are discussed.

The shallow-ice microstructure at Dome Concordia, Antarctica, has been studied between 100 m and 580 m. An original digital-image-processing technique has been specially developed to extract ice microstructure (grain boundaries) from thin sections prepared during the two first scientific EPICA field seasons (1997/98 and 1998/99). Using this, not only the mean crystal size, but also crystal-size distributions and shape anisotropy were determined. The mean crystal-size profile as well as crystal-size distributions reveal normal grain growth up to 430 m. Between 430 m and 500 m, a marked decrease of crystal size is observed and compared with a similar trend obtained in the "old" Dome C ice core formerly associated with the Holocene/Last Glacial transition (Duval and Lorius, 1980). This seems to indicate a slightly lower accumulation rate (by <10%) at Dome C. The shapes of the crystal-size distributions, though very similar, do evolve with depth and seem to be sensitive to climatic changes. An increasing flattening of crystal shape is observed with depth. This allowed estimation of the vertical strain rate in the shallow part of the ice sheet.

During the 1997/98 field season, Sweden, Norway and The Netherlands performed a pre-site survey for EPICA in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. This paper summarizes the results and pays special attention to the high spatial gradients found in snow layering and temperatures. The sites were "Camp Victoria" (CV) on Amundsenisen (76° S, 8° W; 2400 m a.s.l.), approximately 550 km from the coast, and "Camp Maudheimvidda" (CM) on Maudheimvidda (74° S 13° W; 362 m a.s.L), some 140 km from the coast.

The drilling programme included both medium-long firn/ice cores and shallow firn cores. These were analysed by means of δ18O, DEP, ECM,β activity, density, and ion content. The combined results suggests a mean annual accumulation rate of 60 mm. we. for CV and 220 mm. we. for CM.

Variability measurements of spatial snow layering were performed at two scales; over tens of kilometres by radar and over a few metres by pits and high-resolution radar soundings. Results, as measured by relative standard deviation, were typically 10% on the polar plateau and as high as 50% near the coast.

The 10 m temperature measurements were –38.5°C (std dev. = 0.5°) for CV and –17.6°C (std dev.=0.15°) for CM.

Snow chemistry was sampled at each medium-long-core drill site. Comparison of δ18O profiles from snow pits and the uppermost part of the CV medium-long core showed large variations. Mean δ18O valuesover 2 m profiles varied between 41.6%, and 39.7%o within a horizontal distance of 50 m.

The comparison between electric (electric-conductivity measurement (ECM) and dielectric profiling (DEP)) and chemical sulphate and chloride) depth profiles along the first 400 m of the EPICA-Dome C ice core revealed a very good fit, especially for peaks related to volcanic emissions. From the comparison between these profiles, a dominant contribution of sulphuric acid to the ionic balance of Antarctic ice for the Holocene was confirmed. A progressive increase with depth was observed for chloride concentrations, showing a change of relative contribution between sulphate and chloride. A higher increase of chloride was evident between 270 and 360 m depth, probably due to a change in source or transport processes or to an increase of the annual snow-accumulation rate. The DEP, ECM and sulphate ice signatures of Tambora (AD 1816) and El Chichon (?) (AD 1259) eruptions are described in detail. A characteristic peak series, due to HCl deposition, was identified at 103–109 m depth from the ECM, DEP and chloride profiles.

The European Programme for Ice Coring in Antarctica includes a comprehensive pre-site survey on the inland ice plateau of Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. The German glaciological programme during the 1997/98 field season was carried out along a 1200 km traverse on Amundsenisen and involved sampling the snow cover in pits and by shallow firn cores. This paper focuses on the accumulation studies. The cores were dated by dielectric-profiling and continuous-flow analysis. Distinct volcanogenic peaks and seasonal signals in the profiles served to establish a depth time-scale. The eruptions of Krakatoa, Tambora, an unknown volcano, Kuwae and El Chichon are well-documented in the ice. Variations of the accumulation rates over different times were inferred from the depth time-scales. A composite record of accumulation rates for the last 200 years was produced by stacking 12 annually resolved records. According to this, accumulation rates decreased in the 19th century and increased in the 20th century. The recent values are by no means extraordinary, as they do not exceed the values at the beginning of the 19th century. Variations in accumulation rates are most probably linked to temperature variations indicated in δ18O records from Amundsenisen.

A large-scale force budget was applied using a combination of remote-sensing and field data from Jutulstraumen, Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. In the grounded area, more than 95 % of ice flow is balanced by basal friction. In a partly floating section near the grounding-line area, on average lateral drag provides 38% of resistance to flow.

Measurement uncertainties were propagated through the calculation of forces. The accuracies of strain rates derived from satellite data (Landsat thematic mapper) were found adequate to calculate meaningful force-balance terms. For the floating section, where lateral forces contribute to controlling flow, the main contribution to errors in the force budget is uncertainty in the rate factor for the flow law of ice. For grounded sections, the uncertainty in ice thickness, as measured by ground-penetrating radar, contributes more or less equally to errors in the force budget as does that in the rate factor.

A new plano-altimetric map of the Dome Concordia (Dome C) area was drawn up from 1995/96 kinematic double-frequency global-positioning-system (GPS) data of two different projects, as well as static GPS data from a geodetic net for deformation analysis and ice-flow velocity measurements covering an area of about 2000 km2.

The GPS surveys were carried out for EPICA during the 10th and 11th Italian Expeditions to choose the optimal location for deep ice-core drilling at Dome C. The accuracy of the kinematic survey was tested by analysing the height-value differences at intersections between different profiles; values ranged from 50–150 mm.

The new map was compared with the 1993 kinematic interferential GPS data and residuals between the 1993 and 1995 data were calculated. The surface topographic values were used to calculate the elevation of the Dome C area bedrock, obtained from the reference ground-based and airborne radio-echo-sounding surveys.

Data from radio-sounding measurements have been analysed to determine the ice thickness and the bottom morphology of Drygalski Ice Tongue, Antarctica. The morphology and the structure of the bottom surface has been studied through an electromagnetic interpretation. A function that includes the gain/loss due to the geometrical shape of the reflecting surfaces has been calculated. Such a function has been evaluated assuming some physical electromagnetic quantities (the temperature of the glacier, the complex dielectric permittivity of ice, sea ice and sea water). The ice-water interface shows both concave and convex faces toward the sounding system, producing a focusing or deocusing effect, detected as absolute (or relative) amplitude variation in the echo signal. It is shown that the calculated function follows quite well the observed bottom rippled surface of the glacier tongue estimated from the time-arrival measurements of the echo signal.

This paper presents a new compilation of gridded datasets for three-dimensional modelling of the Antarctic ice sheet. These are for surface elevation, ice thickness, bedrock elevation and accumulation rate as interpolated on a 281 × 281 mesh with 20 km spacing, and encompass all the ice sheet and surrounding continental shelf. Data sources include the Bamber digital-elevation model from ERS-1 radar-altimeter data, a redigitization of available ice-thickness data, the Giovinetto accumulation data, recent ice-thickness data from British and German expeditions as well as accumulation data from German and Norwegian expeditions. In particular, new data were incorporated for the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf and for Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, arising from the EPICA pre-site survey. Special attention was devoted to matching the various data sources carefully, both among themselves and across the grounding line and below the ice shelves, to enable ice-sheet expansion and retreat in dynamic situations. As an application, the balance flow is calculated over the entire ice sheet using a two-dimensional finite-difference scheme and compared with a previous assessment. This brought to light the existence of ice-streaming features extending well inland. A detailed zoom over Dronning Maud Land exhibits the general flow characteristics of interest for locating a future deep-drilling site. As a by-product, an updated value of 26.4 × 106km3 was obtained for the total volume of the ice sheet and ice shelves, or equivalent to 61.1 m of global sea-level rise after removal of the ice sheet and subsequent oceanic invasion and isostatic rebound. The total accumulation over the grounded ice sheet, including the Antarctic Peninsula, is 1924 Gta−1, or between 5 and 20% higher than earlier estimates. Including all the ice shelves, the value is 2344 Gt a−1.

Ekström Ice Shelf and its catchment area form a comparatively small (∼29 000 km2) drainage system in northern Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. Aerial-altimetry and radio-echo-sounding data of this region have been used to derive detailed maps of ice-surface and bedrock topographies and ice thickness. With the new database the volumes of the floating and grounded ice in the drainage system are calculated to be ∼3200 km3 and ∼16 000 km3, respectively. This corresponds to a total ice mass of ∼17 000 Gt. Four significant graben-like depressions in the bedrock topography have been identified, which incline from inland towards the grounding line and are up to ∼16 km wide there. These structures coincide with the particular zones of concentrated ice flux into the ice shelf. The total mean annual mass discharge over the grounding line of the larger western part and the smaller eastern part of Ekström Ice Shelf is estimated to be about 3.7 Gt and 0.4 Gt, respectively. Both parts represent individual ice-shelf systems with different catchment areas, geometric characteristics and flow regimes.

The modern dynamic and thermodynamic state of the entire Antarctic ice sheet is computed for a 242 200 year paleoclimatic simulation with the three-dimensional polythermal ice-sheet model SICOPOLIS. The simulation is driven by a climate history derived from the Vostok ice core and the SPECMAP sea-level record. In a 872 km × 436 km region in western Dronning Maud Land (DML), where a deep ice core is planned for EPICA, new high-resolution ice-thickness data are used to compute an improved bedrock topography and a locally refined numerical grid is applied which extends earlier work (Calov and others, 1998). The computed fields of basal temperature, age and shear deformation, together with the measured accumulation rates, give valuable information for the selection of a drill site suitable for obtaining a high-resolution climate record for the last glacial cycle. Based on these results, a possible drill site at 73°59′ S, 00°00′ E is discussed, for which the computed depth profiles of temperature, age, velocity and shear deformation are presented. The geographic origin of the ice column at this position extends 320 km upstream and therefore does not leave the DML region.

The Antarctic ice sheet plays a major role in the global system and the large ice streams discharging into the circumpolar sea represent its gateways to the world’s oceans. Satellite radar-altimeter data provide an opportunity for mapping surface elevation at kilometer resolution with meter accuracy. Geostatistical methods have been developed to accomplish this. We distinguish two goals in mapping the Antarctic ice surface: (a) construction of a continent-wide atlas of maps and digital terrain models, and (b) calculation of maps and models suitable for the study of individual glaciers, ice streams and ice shelves. The atlases consist of accurate maps of ice-surface elevation compiled from Seasat, Geosat and ERS-1 altimeter data, covering all of Antarctica surveyed by Geosat (to 72.1° S) and by ERS-1 (to 81.5° S). With a 3 km grid they are the highest-resolution maps available today with continent-wide coverage. The resolution permits geophysical study and facilitates monitoring of changes in ice-surface elevation and changes in flux across the ice-ocean boundary, which is essential for monitoring sea-level changes.

Information on deformation modes, fabric development and recrystallization processes was obtained by study of deep ice cores from polar ice sheets. It is shown that intracrystalline slip is the main deformation mechanism in polar ice sheets. Grain-boundary sliding does not appear to be a significant deformation mode. Special emphasis was laid on the occurrence of "laboratory" tertiary creep in ice sheets. The creep behavior is directly related to recrystallization processes. Grain-boundary migration associated with grain growth and rotation recrystallization accommodates dislocation slip and counteracts strain hardening. The fabric pattern is similar to that induced only by slip, even if rotation recrystallization slows down fabric development. Fabrics which develop during tertiary creep, and are associated with migration recrystallization, are typical recrystallization fabrics. They are associated with the fast boundary migration regime as observed in temperate glaciers. A decrease of the stress exponent is expected from 3, when migration recrystallization occurs, to a value ≤ 2 when normal grain growth occurs.

Laboratory-ice deformation experiments are described that use an apparatus designed to apply a simple-shear stress configuration. Ice samples are deformed by applying horizontal parallel forces, with no vertical forces imposed, and with no attempt made to restrain sample dimension in the vertical direction. The vertical dimensions of the samples however are measured and, for a sample initially of rectangular vertical cross section, it is found that there is an apparent strain (compression) in this direction that increases with the shear strain. For samples initially with a 30° "back-cut" shape, a vertical (extension) strain is evident during approximately the first 20% horizontal strain until the sample has deformed to near the rectangular section shape. For a sample with length-to-height ratio of 10 the maximum vertical strain was about 1%. At this maximum vertical strain, the strain rate in the vertical direction is zero and the sample is undergoing a close approximation to plane laminar (simple shear) flow. It is then followed by a vertical (compression) strain until termination of the experiment. The greater the ratio of length-to-height for the test samples, the less the vertical stain and the greater the strain period over which approximate plane laminar flow persists. This 20% horizontal strain is sufficient to ensure, for a sample of initially isotropic ice, that tertiary steady state has been attained, and the resulting crystal fabrics indicate a strong single-maximum pattern similar to those found deep in polar ice sheets. The single-maximum pattern is however lightly elongated perpendicular to the shear direction.

A plane, gravity-driven, steady flow of an isothermal ice sheet over a horizontal bedrock, with no-slip basal conditions, is considered. The ice is modelled as a linearly viscous, incompressible and anisotropic fluid, with evolving orthotropic fabric that depends on local strain rates and deformations. For a fixed, free-surface elevation, the ice-accumulation rates necessary to maintain the prescribed geometry are calculated by using the finite-element method, together with the velocities and stresses. Numerical simulations have been carried out for different combinations of enhancement factors for compression and shear in order to investigate their effect on the rate of flow. The results obtained have shown that, apart from the near-divide region, the global flow rate is nearly proportional to the magnitude of the shear-enhancement factor and is very little sensitive to the value of the compression enhancement factor. Normalized velocity-depth profiles have been compared for the anisotropic and isotropic ice and it has been found that significant differences occur only in a region near the ice divide. Direct shear stresses are little affected by the ice anisotropy, but the longitudinal deviatoric stresses in a part of the ice sheet are significantly increased compared to the isotropic ice flow.

Improved knowledge of geometrical boundary conditions, such as bedrock geometry and surface topography, can contribute significantly to glaciological studies including ice-sheet-flow modelling. Precise thickness and altimetric data allow an estimation of ice-flow direction, the balance velocity and the basal shear stress. These parameters are calculated along a 1160 km profile in East Antarctica using a relationship between shear stress, basal temperature, the Glen flow exponent and a parameter related to strain rate. Strong variations of the flow-law parameters and basal conditions are found to play a major role in the ice-flow pattern. Sliding, anisotropy and longitudinal stress strongly perturb the validity of the law, but their signature can be identified.

A flow law for polar ice is derived, which takes into account the effect of deformation-induced anisotropy due to hexagonal single-crystal symmetry. Attention is focused on the main effect of crystal-lattice rotation. Existence of a continuous so-called orientation-distribution function ODF, for the crystals is assumed. With its help the microscale constitutive behaviour is transformed to the large-scale. This transformation is simplified by imposing different consistency conditions (CC) due to Voigt-Taylor (VT) and Sachs-Reuss(SR), respectively. Here we take the grain interaction into account by linearly combining the VTand the SR conditions, i.e. by one additional parameter determining the relative weight of the two. A coupled finite-element-finite-volume approach is used to account for fabric evolution at the ice-sheet scale. For different CC, VT and SR, an orientation update is derived for planar flow, which results in only three additional degrees of freedom at each finite-element integration point to account for orthotropic material symmetry. Computations for the GRIP-core data demonstrate that a better fit can be obtained than with VT or SR alone.

The main homogenization schemes used to model the behaviour of polycrystalline ice are assessed by studying the particular case of a two-dimensional polycrystal which represents natural S2–columnar ice. The results of the uniform-stress, uniform-strain-rate and one-site self-consistent models are compared to finite-element computations. The comparisons were made using the same model of grain, described as a continuous transversely isotropic medium, in the linear and non-linear cases. The uniform-stress and uniform-strain-rate models provide upper and lower bounds for the macroscopic fluidity which are too far from each other to be useful when a degree of anisotropy relevant to ice is considered. Although the self-consistent model gives a weak representation of the interaction between a grain and its surroundings, due to the strong anisotropy of the ice crystal, the resulting macroscopic behaviour is found to be acceptable when compared to the results from finite-element computations.

Creep tests carried out on specimens of isotropic ice containing a monocrystalline inclusion allow us to observe some strain heterogeneities that develop during the deformation of polycrystalline ice. Different kinds of heterogeneities, some of them leading to strain localization, are observed and described, and mechanisms are proposed to explain how they arise. However, when the inclusion has a very regular shape with no geometric singularity (e.g. circular shape) and is embedded in a fine-grained isotropic matrix, the observations lead us to assume homogeneous deformation of the inclusion, with no strain localization except that associated with basal glide.