Observations on buried glacier ice and massive segregated ice, western arctic coast, Canada

Abstract

The two main theories for the origin of the thick bodies of massive ground ice known to exist in the Western Canadian Arctic are (1) segregation‐injection and (2) buried glacier ice. Because buried glacier ice may contain significant quantities of stratified debris and may have experienced thawing and refreezing (regelation) on several occasions, it may be very difficult to distinguish between massive segregated ice and buried basal glacier ice. By use of cryostratigraphic and cryotextural (petrofabric) observations, massive ground ice bodies observed in the Sandhills Moraine, southern Banks Island, and the southern Eskimo Lakes region, Pleistocene Mackenzie Delta, are both interpreted as basal glacier ice. Other massive ground ice bodies which have been examined in the Western Canadian Arctic are best explained in terms of segregation‐injection.

Context of relict Wisconsinan glacial ice at Angus Lake, SW Banks Island, western Canadian Arctic and stratigraphic implications

“…The idea that relict glacial ice might occur on Banks Island has been suggested previously, e.g. in eastern Banks Island near Johnson Point, French & Eggington (1973); Vincent (1980Vincent ( , 1982 did not exclude such a possibility and, more recently, French & Harry (1990) have argued that the Sand Hills Moraine contains buried glacier ice.…”

“…that this ice was of glacial origin in the light of the continuing debate on the origin of buried massive ice (e.g Dallimore & Wolfe 1988;French & Harry 1990;Lorraine & Demeur 1985;. …”

Buried and Massive Ground Ice on the West Coast of Baidaratskaya Bay in the Kara Sea

“…При этом одни и те же залежи интерпретируются разными авторами как первичноповерхностные или как изначаль но внутригрунтовые . Исследователи пластовых льдов Канадской Арктики считают, что пласто вые залежи в основном внутригрунтовые, хотя часть из них представляет собой фрагменты ба зального ледникового льда [18,19,24] . А источ ником влаги для образования внутригрунтовых залежей выступают талые ледниковые воды, по ступавшие под гидростатическим давлением к кровле аградирующей мерзлоты вблизи края от ступающего покровного ледника [27] .…”

Stable Isotopic Stratification and Growth Patterns of Ground Ice in Permafrost on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China

“…The δD–δ 18 O relationship was only used to help determine the ground‐ice origin in the primary analysis, because the practice has recently been questioned (French and Harry, ; Mackay and Dallimore, ). The D‐excess–δD relation may also be used to determine the origin of ground ice (Meyer et al ., ; Raffi and Stenni, ).…”