FIRN DENSIFICATION BY GRAIN-BOUNDARY SLIDING : A FIRST MODEL
- 1 March 1987
- journal article
- Published by EDP Sciences in Le Journal de Physique Colloques
- Vol. 48 (C1) , C1-249
- https://doi.org/10.1051/jphyscol:1987135
Abstract
Densification in highly porous, isothermal firn occurs primarily by Newtonian sliding on grain boundaries, but the coordination number increases with density and restricts further sliding. At a relative density of about 0.6 the coordination number approaches 6 and sliding ceases to be a primary mechanism of densification ; the resulting decrease in densification rate causes the critical point in depth-density profiles. A simple model for densification by boundary sliding yields a good fit to observed profiles. The viscosities so obtained give an activation energy equal to that for grain-boundary diffusionKeywords
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