Employing X-Ray computed tomography for the analysis of intact ice core sections

Abstract

Ice core studies are crucial for understanding past climatic events. Currently a wide range of methods is available for studying ice cores. However, most of the methods have disadvantages related to the destruction of samples and their melting during the analyses. Computed tomography (CT) became a highly demanded technique during the last decade. The primary usage of CT does not prevent further processing of the ice samples. For CT the analysis cost is low, while the amount of useful information obtained is substantial. The analysis of the shallow ice core from Elbrus region using the X-Ray CT scanner is reported here. The scanner RCT-180 is capable to scan full core sections (1-m length, 10-cm diameter), it has a 150-180 μm spatial resolution and 100х100х1000 mm active area. For supporting the natural conditions of ice, a special cryothermos was designed, that prevents the sample from melting during the analysis. We were able to investigate the inner structure of ice core find the core disturbances and obtain a 3D pattern of ice density. The latter clearly provides much more information than the visual observation of the axial ice cross-section.