Effects of impurities on the ice microstructure of Monte Perdido Glacier, Central Pyrenees, NE Spain
Monte Perdido Glacier, located in the central Pyrenees, is one of the southernmost glaciers in Europe. Due to climate change, this glacier is suffering an accelerated mass loss, especially in the last decades. If the current trends persist, this glacier is expected to disappear in the next 50 years....
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
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| Series: | Annals of Glaciology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0260305523000666/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1797639973420138496 |
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| author | Nicolás González-Santacruz Patricia Muñoz-Marzagon Miguel Bartolomé Ana Moreno Jennifer Huidobro Sérgio Henrique Faria |
| author_facet | Nicolás González-Santacruz Patricia Muñoz-Marzagon Miguel Bartolomé Ana Moreno Jennifer Huidobro Sérgio Henrique Faria |
| author_sort | Nicolás González-Santacruz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Monte Perdido Glacier, located in the central Pyrenees, is one of the southernmost glaciers in Europe. Due to climate change, this glacier is suffering an accelerated mass loss, especially in the last decades. If the current trends persist, this glacier is expected to disappear in the next 50 years. As part of the efforts of the scientific community to increase the knowledge about this glacier, this research presents the first microstructural characterization of the Monte Perdido Glacier, focused on a high-impurity concentration segment that belongs to an ice core drilled in 2017. The results reveal the ice has a layering defined by air bubbles and non-soluble impurities. The bubble-defined layering exhibits features of both a primary (sedimentary) and a secondary (strain-induced) origin. We found a clear inverse correspondence between the particle concentration and the grains' size and roundness index. A preliminary micro-Raman characterization of the particles shows the occurrence of atacamite, anatase (likely related to ancient mining activities in the vicinity of the glacier) and quartz. The latter could be an indicator of mineral dust, probably suggesting the arrival of dust-laden air masses from the north of the African continent. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T13:24:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-29731a5a31e44c97948d737e586b3760 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0260-3055 1727-5644 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T13:24:16Z |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Annals of Glaciology |
| spelling | doaj.art-29731a5a31e44c97948d737e586b37602023-11-03T08:19:23ZengCambridge University PressAnnals of Glaciology0260-30551727-564411410.1017/aog.2023.66Effects of impurities on the ice microstructure of Monte Perdido Glacier, Central Pyrenees, NE SpainNicolás González-Santacruz0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6379-319XPatricia Muñoz-Marzagon1Miguel Bartolomé2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2924-6261Ana Moreno3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7357-584XJennifer Huidobro4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8302-8583Sérgio Henrique Faria5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8825-7518Department of Geology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Leioa, Spain Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3), Leioa, SpainBasque Centre for Climate Change (BC3), Leioa, SpainDepartment of Geology, National Museum of Natural Sciences (CSIC), Madrid, Spain Swiss Institute for Speleology and Karst Studies (SISKA), La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland Department of Earth Sciences, Geological Institute, Zurich, SwitzerlandDepartment of Geoenvironmental Processes and Global Change, Pyrenean Institute of Ecology (CSIC), Zaragoza, SpainDepartment of Analytical Chemistry, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Leioa, SpainBasque Centre for Climate Change (BC3), Leioa, Spain IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, SpainMonte Perdido Glacier, located in the central Pyrenees, is one of the southernmost glaciers in Europe. Due to climate change, this glacier is suffering an accelerated mass loss, especially in the last decades. If the current trends persist, this glacier is expected to disappear in the next 50 years. As part of the efforts of the scientific community to increase the knowledge about this glacier, this research presents the first microstructural characterization of the Monte Perdido Glacier, focused on a high-impurity concentration segment that belongs to an ice core drilled in 2017. The results reveal the ice has a layering defined by air bubbles and non-soluble impurities. The bubble-defined layering exhibits features of both a primary (sedimentary) and a secondary (strain-induced) origin. We found a clear inverse correspondence between the particle concentration and the grains' size and roundness index. A preliminary micro-Raman characterization of the particles shows the occurrence of atacamite, anatase (likely related to ancient mining activities in the vicinity of the glacier) and quartz. The latter could be an indicator of mineral dust, probably suggesting the arrival of dust-laden air masses from the north of the African continent.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0260305523000666/type/journal_articleglacial rheologyglacial sedimentologyice coreice dynamicssnow chemistry |
| spellingShingle | Nicolás González-Santacruz Patricia Muñoz-Marzagon Miguel Bartolomé Ana Moreno Jennifer Huidobro Sérgio Henrique Faria Effects of impurities on the ice microstructure of Monte Perdido Glacier, Central Pyrenees, NE Spain Annals of Glaciology glacial rheology glacial sedimentology ice core ice dynamics snow chemistry |
| title | Effects of impurities on the ice microstructure of Monte Perdido Glacier, Central Pyrenees, NE Spain |
| title_full | Effects of impurities on the ice microstructure of Monte Perdido Glacier, Central Pyrenees, NE Spain |
| title_fullStr | Effects of impurities on the ice microstructure of Monte Perdido Glacier, Central Pyrenees, NE Spain |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of impurities on the ice microstructure of Monte Perdido Glacier, Central Pyrenees, NE Spain |
| title_short | Effects of impurities on the ice microstructure of Monte Perdido Glacier, Central Pyrenees, NE Spain |
| title_sort | effects of impurities on the ice microstructure of monte perdido glacier central pyrenees ne spain |
| topic | glacial rheology glacial sedimentology ice core ice dynamics snow chemistry |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0260305523000666/type/journal_article |
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