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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 April 2016
The structural and thermodynamical properties of water ice and ice mixtures containing CO, CO2, CH4, and NH3 are thought to be important for the evolution of cometary nuclei. Based on recent laboratory studies performed by several groups, an overview is given of the properties of various ices condensed at low temperatures and of their evolution during heating up to a temperature of about 200 K, typical of the perihelion temperature of a comet such as P/Halley. It is shown that the porous surface of amorphous water ice plays an important role in the retention of other volatiles. The kinetics of formation and of decomposition of clathrate hydrates are discussed. The molecular hydrates formed by NH3 are briefly presented, and the possibility of their occurrence in comet nuclei is discussed. With special attention drawn to amorphous ices and clathrate hydrates, a qualitative discussion of the influence of the physical properties of various types of ices on the thermal behavior of comet nuclei and on gas production rates of comets is presented.