DELTA-O-18 VARIATIONS IN SNOW ON THE DEVON ISLAND ICE CAP, NORTHWEST-TERRITORIES, CANADA

On the southeast side there is an increasing depletion of 18O in the snow with increasing elevation. This pattern is attributed to the effect of orographic uplift of air masses moving over the ice cap from the southeast, which promotes condensation and precipitation due to adiabatic cooling. On the northwest side of the ice cap there is no evidence of any further depletion of 18O in snow. The delta values of ice in the ablation zone on the Sverdrup Glacier show the combined effect of ice movement from the accumulation to the ablation zone and climatic change during the period of movement from cold to warm and back to cold conditions again. -from Authors