Articles | Volume 20, issue 10
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-5745-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-5745-2026
Research article
 | 
07 Oct 2026
Research article |  | 07 Oct 2026

Temperature dependence of grain size in Tibetan ice core

Zhengqiang He and Baiqing Xu

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Cited articles

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Clavette, R.: The Microstructural Heterogeneity of Ice in Jarvis Glacier, Alaska, Honors thesis, University of Maine, Orono, ME, USA, 2020. 
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We continuously measured ice crystal sizes along two ice cores from the Tibetan Plateau. We found that the pattern of crystal size variation with depth is similar to that in polar ice cores. Crystal sizes increase abruptly in refrozen ice layers, while they decrease in impurity-rich bands. Notably, in specific layers, crystal size is linked to δ18O, which means the crystal sizes in mountain glacier ice cores can retain temperature signals, helping us understand past climate change.
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