Analysis of A 870 M Deep Temperature Profile at Dome C

The French 870 m deep temperature profile gives us temperature differences with an accuracy of 0.01 deg (to obtain such an accuracy, the sensors must be applied against the walls of the bore hole). The error on the vertical gradient T' cannot be lessened by weighted running means. Thus, only a mean value of its derivative T" can be reached. Data have been analysed by assuming a two-dimensional flow over a plane horizontal bedrock. As a first step, the steady state at an ice divide has been calculated by solving the complete set of equations. The vertical strain-rate is a constant over two-thirds of the ice sheet. It appears that, at Dome C, sliding and no-sliding solutions are plausible, as well as cyclic oscillations between them. Next, the temperature response of the ice sheet to an impulse for the surface temperature has been computed, and convolved with surface palaeotemperatures deduced from the 180 profile, to obtain the time derivative Ṫ. Mean values of T', T" and Ṫ allow an estimation of the vertical velocity, which is much smaller than the balance one. Therefore, the ice sheet has thickened by 200 to 280 m during the last 10 ka.