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Molar gas ratios of air entrapped in ice: A new tool to determine the origin of relict massive ground ice bodies in permafrost

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 July 2007

Raphaelle Cardyn ,
Ian D. Clark ,
Denis Lacelle ,
Bernard Lauriol ,
Christian Zdanowicz  and
Fabrice Calmels
Raphaelle Cardyn
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Ottawa, 140 Louis Pasteur, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1N 6N5
Ian D. Clark
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Ottawa, 140 Louis Pasteur, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1N 6N5
Denis Lacelle*
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Ottawa, 140 Louis Pasteur, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1N 6N5
Bernard Lauriol
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of Ottawa, 60 University St., Ottawa, ON, Canada K1N 6N5
Christian Zdanowicz
Affiliation:
National Glaciology Programme, Geological Survey of Canada (NRCan), 601 Booth St., Ottawa, ON, Canada K1A 0E8
Fabrice Calmels
Affiliation:
Centre d'Études Nordiques, Université Laval, Sainte-Foy, QC, Canada G1K 7P4
*
*Corresponding author. Current address: Canadian Space Agency, 6767 route de l'aeroport, St-Hubert, QC, Canada J3Y 8Y9. Fax: +1 450 926 4766.E-mail addresses:rcardyn@isotrace.co.nz (R. Cardyn), idclark@uottawa.ca (I.D. Clark), denis.lacelle@space.gc.ca (D. Lacelle), blauriol@uottawa.ca (B. Lauriol), czdanowi@nrcan.gc.ca (C. Zdanowicz), fabrice.calmels.1@ulaval.ca (F. Calmels).
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Abstract

The molar ratios of atmospheric gases change during dissolution in water due to differences in their relative solubilities. We exploited this characteristic to develop a tool to clarify the origin of ice formations in permafrost regions. Extracted from ice, molar gas ratios can distinguish buried glacier ice from intrasedimental ground ice formed by freezing groundwaters. An extraction line was built to isolate gases from ice by melting and trapping with liquid He, followed by analysis of N2, O2,, Ar, 18OO2 and 15NN2, by continuous flow mass spectrometry. The method was tested using glacier ice, aufeis ice (river icing) and intrasedimental ground ice from sites in the Canadian Arctic. O2/Ar and N2/Ar ratios clearly distinguish between atmospheric gas in glacial ice and gases from intrasedimental ground ice, which are exsolved from freezing water. δ15NN2 and δ18OO2 in glacier ice, aufeis ice and intrasedimental ground ice do not show clear distinguishing trends as they are affected by various physical processes during formation such as gravitational settling, excess air addition, mixing with snow pack, and respiration.

Keywords

Molar gas ratiosGlacier iceMassive ground icePermafrostCanadian Arctic
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 68 , Issue 2 , September 2007 , pp. 239 - 248
Copyright
University of Washington

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