Ice microstructure and fabric: an up-to-date approach for measuring textures
Journal of Glaciology, Vol. 52, No. 179, p. 619-630, 2006G. Durand, A. Svensson and D. Dahl-Jensen
Ice and Climate, The Niels Bohr Institute, Juliane Maries Vej 30, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
O. Gagliardini
Laboratoire de Glaciologie et Géphysique de l'Environnement (CNRS-UJF), 54 rue Molière, BP 96, 38402 Saint-Martin-d'Hères Cedex, France
T. Thorsteinsson
Institute of Earth Sciences, Building of Natural Sciences, Askja, Sturlugata 7, IS-101 Reykjavik, Iceland.
S. Kipfstuhl
Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Columbusstrasse, D-27568 Bremerhaven, Germany.
ABSTRACT.
Automatic c-axes analyzers have been developed over the past few years, leading to a large improvement in the data available for analysis of ice crystal texture. Such an increase in the quality and quantity of data allows for stricter statistical estimates. The current textural parameters, i.e. fabric (crystallographic orientations) and microstructure (grain-boundary networks), are presented. These parameters define the state of the polycrystal and give information about the deformation undergone by the ice. To reflect the findings from automatic measurements, some parameter definitions are updated and new parameters are proposed. Moreover, a MATLAB® toolbox has been developed to extract all the textural parameters. This toolbox, which can be downloaded online, is briefly described.