Anisotropic ice flow

Abstract

The ice single crystal is one of the most anisotropic natural materials. At the scale of the polycrystal, the viscous behavior is also anisotropic, and it depends on the fabric that evolves from place to place and with depth. Fabric acts, therefore, in controlling the ice flow, but also as a marker of the cumulated deformation. For a single maximum fabric, like those observed below a dome, the flow can be enhanced by a factor up to 10 in comparison to the isotropic case. Moreover, the coupling between fabric evolution and anisotropic behavior can result in the development of heterogeneous flow and layer folding. For more details, the reader can refer to the two review papers from Placidi et al. (2006) and Gagliardini et al. (2009).