Ice Microstructure and Fabric of Guliya Ice Cap in Tibetan Plateau, and Comparisons with Vostok3G-1, EPICA DML, and North GRIP

This work is the first in the general natural ice literature to compare microstructures and fabrics of continent-type mountain ice in mid-low latitudes with polar ice in order to find out how they evolved based on similar fabric patterns of their vertically girdles. Microstructures and fabrics along the Guliya ice core on the Tibetan Plateau, China, were measured at a depth interval of approximately 10 m. The grain sizes increase unevenly with depth. The fabric patterns vary from the isotropic fabric, to broad single maximum, to vertical girdle, to single-maximum, and finally to multiple-maximum fabric. The grain growth rate of the Guliya core is faster than that of the Vostok3G-1, the EPICA DML, and the North GRIP. The vertical girdle fabric of the Guliya core forms at a high temperature and low strain rate. The strong single maximum fabric of the Guliya core appears in the mid-low part of the core with vertical uniaxial compression or simple shear. The thermal kinemics caused by the temperature can play a vital role in different stress cases to cast the similar or same fabric patterns. Normal grain growth, polygonization/rotation recrystallization, and migration recrystallization play roles different importance at different depths