Melting–Refreezing at the Glacier Sole and the Isotopic Composition of the Ice

Abstract

A model for the isotopic composition inδD andδ¹⁸O of ice formed by refreezing at the glacier sole is developed. This model predicts relatively well the distribution of points representing samples from basal layers of an Arctic and an Alpine glacier on aδD–δ¹⁸O diagram. The frozen fraction which is the part of the liquid that refreezes can be determined for each basal ice layer. This may have implications on the study of the ice–water system at the ice–rock interface.