Influence of hydroxyl-bearing minerals on the isotopic composition of ice from the basal zone of an ice sheet

ABSTRACT ONE of the important questions in ice-core studies is the extent to which isotope measurements made on ice loaded with bedrock debris can be trusted when interpreting the climate

record from ice-core data. Here we show that the isotopic characteristics of basal ice containing debris from beneath the Greenland ice sheet can be understood only if isotope exchange

between hydroxyl-bearing minerals and water is taken into account. Sub-glacial abrasion of clays and micas increases the number of broken bonds at the border of the mineral structure,

promotes cleavage and so increases the rate at which these minerals exchange oxygen and hydrogen isotopes with water. One implication of our results is to call into question the recent

suggestion1 that the basal ice of the Greenland ice sheet is 'superimposed ice', and that therefore extensive melting must have taken place during the last inter-glacial. The

enrichment in 18O of the basal ice, thought to be acquired during the formation of the superimposed ice, may in fact be the result of isotope exchange with hydroxyl-bearing minerals. Access

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SIMILAR CONTENT BEING VIEWED BY OTHERS LARGE CALCIUM ISOTOPE FRACTIONATIONS BY ZEOLITE MINERALS FROM ICELAND Article Open access 01 October 2021 JAROSITE FORMATION IN DEEP ANTARCTIC ICE

PROVIDES A WINDOW INTO ACIDIC, WATER-LIMITED WEATHERING ON MARS Article Open access 19 January 2021 METASOMATISM OF THE CARBONATE ROCKS OF THE CONTACT ZONE WITH THE BASALT Article Open

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AFFILIATIONS * Faculté des Sciences, CP 160, Université Libre de Bruxelles, B-1050, Brussels, Belgium R. Souchez, M. Lemmens, R. Lorrain & J.-L. Tison * Laboratoire de Géochimie

Isotopique, CEN, Saclay, F-91191, Gif-sur-Yvette, France J. Jouzel * DLPC, Laboratoire de Glaciologie et de Géophysique de I'Environnement, BP 96, 38402, Samt-Martin-d'Hères Cedex,

France J. Jouzel * Department of Geography, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9XP, UK D. Sugden Authors * R. Souchez View author publications You can also search for this author

inPubMed Google Scholar * M. Lemmens View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * R. Lorrain View author publications You can also search for this

author inPubMed Google Scholar * J.-L. Tison View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * J. Jouzel View author publications You can also search for

this author inPubMed Google Scholar * D. Sugden View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT

THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Souchez, R., Lemmens, M., Lorrain, R. _et al._ Influence of hydroxyl-bearing minerals on the isotopic composition of ice from the basal zone of an ice sheet.

_Nature_ 345, 244–246 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1038/345244a0 Download citation * Received: 16 February 1990 * Accepted: 20 March 1990 * Issue Date: 17 May 1990 * DOI:

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