Anisotropy of ice Ih: Developement of fabric and effects of anisotropy on deformation

The anisotropy arising from preferred crystal orientation of ice I _h is examined. To understand plastic anisotropy of polycrystalline materials it is necessary to examine the behavior at the single crystal level. Ice crystals have extremely strong plastic anisotropy that strongly influences the bulk behavior. There are several ways to relate single crystal deformation to the bulk behavior. Two approaches are used here. The first one is to assume a homogeneous stress throughout the bulk, which allows us to derive analytical relations between stress and strain rate. The anisotropy affects the strain rate-stress relationship significantly. For example strongly anisotropic ice, with a vertically symmetric fabric, can deform transversely to the applied stress in pure shear, be nearly undeformable in vertical compression, and shear easily in simple shear. The second approach takes the interaction between neighboring crystals into account, and recrystallization processes are also considered. Comparison of fabric evolution using the model and fabric from the GRIP ice core indicates that nearest neighbor interaction is necessary to explain observations. Quantification of the interaction is complicated by recrystallization processes.; A consistent method of characterizing measured fabric is needed to verify models of fabric development. Here the elastic anisotropy of ice plays a central role, and relations between fabric and elastic wave velocities are used to characterize fabric. As always, several other methods are possible, but comparison indicates that sonic measurements give an accurate estimate for deformation effects from vertically symmetric fabric especially in simple shear.; The deformation of the borehole at Dye 3, Greenland, has been measured with borehole inclinometry. Sonic velocity measurements done in the borehole allow us to model the deformation using an anisotropic flow law. Anisotropy alone cannot explain all the deformation. The additional processes responsible for the extra deformation are still unknown.; The anisotropy effects the deformation of polycrystalline ice, and therefore the flow of ice sheets. Criteria for folding is modified by the anisotropy. Anisotropy of polycrystalline ice must be taken into account when modeling the flow of ice sheets and interpreting ice core records.