Ice cores are regularly taken at designated landfast ice sites in Barrow
(mass balance site) and Wales (stable ice1 km off town) throughout the
ice-year and also at various other times and locations coinciding with the
different field components and observations. Through analyzing salinity
profiles, ice cores reveal information about the ice's growth history.
Physical characteristics, such as entrained sediment and superimposed ice
layers, reveal information about the environmental conditions under which
the ice grew and evolved. Rafting of ice layers, a process significantly
contributing to the thickening of first year ice, is often identifiable.
Stable isotopic signatures reveal the origin of the ice's sea water.
Structural and stratigraphic analysis helps assess growth mechanisms and
conditions, as well as provides important data for understanding sea ice
thermal, optical and dielectric properties and for percolation modeling.
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