Studies of Arctic Lake Ice

Abstract

Discussions of possible causes of preferred crystal orientations in fresh-water ice are presented, with data on ice orientations from several Arctic lakes. Evidently, initial ice orientations are determined by wind conditions. Orientation selection during growth at the bottom of the ice also takes place, but in the lake ice examined it is apparently largely unsystematic. Constitutional supercooling can cause c-axis-horizontal orientations, but it is not of sufficient magnitude in the lakes examined to have much effect. Striations are locally significant but erratic.