Imaging of firn and bubbly ice in coaxial reflected light: a new technique for the characterization of these porous media

Laurent Arnaud (1) , Michel Gay (1) , Jean-Marc Barnola (1) , Paul Duval (1)

1 LGGE - Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysique de l'environnement

A new technique for characterizing the structure of firn and bubbly ice is presented. This technique, based on observation of etched (sublimation) surfaces in coax­ ial reflected light, enables one to see simultaneously the pore network of the firn or bubbles in the ice and the crystal boundaries. At the same time, the main stages of image proces­ sing used to transform the initial photographs into clean binary images are described.

Domaines: Géophysique [physics.geo-ph]; Géophysique [physics.geo-ph]; Milieux et Changements globaux

Laurent Arnaud, Michel Gay, Jean-Marc Barnola, Paul Duval. Imaging of firn and bubbly ice in coaxial reflected light: a new technique for the characterization of these porous media. Journal of Glaciology, 1998, 44 (147), pp.326-332. ⟨hal-00645895⟩