As outlined in the Summary and Field Measurements pages, the pore structure plays an important role in controlling the physical properties of the ice, including the transfer of heat and mass through the ice cover.

The Quicktime animation (ca. 2 MB large) shown below has been reconstructed from a set of serial sections taken at regular intervals across an ice sample (with a contrast agent applied to the ice to render pores visible). The animation shows the pores in the lowermost centimeters of the ice cover rotating around a horizontally aligned axis of rotation (section ca. 15 mm wide). Note the arrays of parallel brine layers (white) as well as smaller circular cross-section brine channels terminating at the bottom of the ice (similar features visible in the core photograph shown in Field Measurements Section).