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Mapping textures of polar ice cores using 3D laboratory X-ray microscopy

Barbee, Olivia A. ; Oddershede, Jette ; Purushottam Raj Purohit, Ravi Raj Purohit ; Ånes, Håkon W. ; Engqvist, Jonas LU orcid ; Svensson, Anders LU ; Rathmann, Nicholas M. ; Blunier, Thomas ; Bachmann, Florian and Hall, Stephen LU (2026) In Journal of Glaciology 72.
Abstract

Deep ice cores from polar ice sheets enable reconstructions of Earth’s past climate. Ice core records are therefore crucial for projecting future climate change, but our ability to interpret them relies on our understanding of polycrystalline-ice microstructures and mechanics. In turn, these microstructures enable modeling of ice flow and large-scale effects of ice sheet evolution. Since drilling began in the 1950s, the ice textures and climate proxies developed to decipher ice core records have been analyzed in one-dimensional (1D) or two-dimensional (2D) spaces, necessitated by the analytical instruments of core-processing lines and laboratories. Here, we develop a three-dimensional (3D), non-destructive approach to textural analysis... (More)

Deep ice cores from polar ice sheets enable reconstructions of Earth’s past climate. Ice core records are therefore crucial for projecting future climate change, but our ability to interpret them relies on our understanding of polycrystalline-ice microstructures and mechanics. In turn, these microstructures enable modeling of ice flow and large-scale effects of ice sheet evolution. Since drilling began in the 1950s, the ice textures and climate proxies developed to decipher ice core records have been analyzed in one-dimensional (1D) or two-dimensional (2D) spaces, necessitated by the analytical instruments of core-processing lines and laboratories. Here, we develop a three-dimensional (3D), non-destructive approach to textural analysis that preserves the natural context of ice and complements standard methods. Our method combines lab-based absorption and diffraction contrast tomography to simultaneously visualize, measure, and spatially correlate ice grains and air bubbles from volumetric and 3D crystallographic perspectives, both lost during traditional sample preparations. We evaluate the representation of 3D versus 2D data and discuss how access to both c- and a-axis directions of grains may help constrain micromechanical models. We also built a specially designed cooling device for the laboratory X-ray system to extend observational volumes by several orders of magnitude over previous synchrotron-based measurements.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Journal of Glaciology
volume
72
article number
e38
pages
2 pages
publisher
Cambridge University Press
external identifiers
  • scopus:105035171616
ISSN
0022-1430
DOI
10.1017/jog.2026.10124
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press.
id
741211a3-7a39-42b8-bbdf-c06b4b77b265
date added to LUP
2026-04-17 12:13:43
date last changed
2026-04-24 07:10:28
@article{741211a3-7a39-42b8-bbdf-c06b4b77b265,
  abstract     = {{<p>Deep ice cores from polar ice sheets enable reconstructions of Earth’s past climate. Ice core records are therefore crucial for projecting future climate change, but our ability to interpret them relies on our understanding of polycrystalline-ice microstructures and mechanics. In turn, these microstructures enable modeling of ice flow and large-scale effects of ice sheet evolution. Since drilling began in the 1950s, the ice textures and climate proxies developed to decipher ice core records have been analyzed in one-dimensional (1D) or two-dimensional (2D) spaces, necessitated by the analytical instruments of core-processing lines and laboratories. Here, we develop a three-dimensional (3D), non-destructive approach to textural analysis that preserves the natural context of ice and complements standard methods. Our method combines lab-based absorption and diffraction contrast tomography to simultaneously visualize, measure, and spatially correlate ice grains and air bubbles from volumetric and 3D crystallographic perspectives, both lost during traditional sample preparations. We evaluate the representation of 3D versus 2D data and discuss how access to both c- and a-axis directions of grains may help constrain micromechanical models. We also built a specially designed cooling device for the laboratory X-ray system to extend observational volumes by several orders of magnitude over previous synchrotron-based measurements.</p>}},
  author       = {{Barbee, Olivia A. and Oddershede, Jette and Purushottam Raj Purohit, Ravi Raj Purohit and Ånes, Håkon W. and Engqvist, Jonas and Svensson, Anders and Rathmann, Nicholas M. and Blunier, Thomas and Bachmann, Florian and Hall, Stephen}},
  issn         = {{0022-1430}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{01}},
  publisher    = {{Cambridge University Press}},
  series       = {{Journal of Glaciology}},
  title        = {{Mapping textures of polar ice cores using 3D laboratory X-ray microscopy}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2026.10124}},
  doi          = {{10.1017/jog.2026.10124}},
  volume       = {{72}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}