Typical microstructural characterization of ice and firn utilizes optical microscopy often involving examination of thin sections between crossed polarizers. However, such an approach, in addition to being of low resolution, does not provide complete information on the microstructure. In this paper, we show the utility of using scanning electron microscope-based techniques for examining ice cores and firn cores. We show that, compared to “traditional” methods, not only may additional information, such as a-axis orientations be obtained, which enables more sophisticated analyses of the orientation relationships between grains to be performed, but that some traditional methods, e.g. the pore-infiltration optical thin-section technique for examining firn, may give incorrect results (for grain size). In addition, we show how scanning electron microscopy can be used to determine the internal surface area and porosity in firn.