Smoking guns and volcanic ash: The importance of sparse tephras in Greenland ice cores

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Smoking guns and volcanic ash : The importance of sparse tephras in Greenland ice cores. / Plunkett, Gill; Sigl, Michael; Pilcher, Jonathan R.; McConnell, Joseph R.; Chellman, Nathan; Steffensen, J. P.; Büntgen, Ulf.

In: Polar Research, Vol. 39, 3511, 2020.

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

Harvard

Plunkett, G, Sigl, M, Pilcher, JR, McConnell, JR, Chellman, N, Steffensen, JP & Büntgen, U 2020, 'Smoking guns and volcanic ash: The importance of sparse tephras in Greenland ice cores', Polar Research, vol. 39, 3511. https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v39.3511

APA

Plunkett, G., Sigl, M., Pilcher, J. R., McConnell, J. R., Chellman, N., Steffensen, J. P., & Büntgen, U. (2020). Smoking guns and volcanic ash: The importance of sparse tephras in Greenland ice cores. Polar Research, 39, [3511]. https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v39.3511

Vancouver

Plunkett G, Sigl M, Pilcher JR, McConnell JR, Chellman N, Steffensen JP et al. Smoking guns and volcanic ash: The importance of sparse tephras in Greenland ice cores. Polar Research. 2020;39. 3511. https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v39.3511

Author

Plunkett, Gill ; Sigl, Michael ; Pilcher, Jonathan R. ; McConnell, Joseph R. ; Chellman, Nathan ; Steffensen, J. P. ; Büntgen, Ulf. / Smoking guns and volcanic ash : The importance of sparse tephras in Greenland ice cores. In: Polar Research. 2020 ; Vol. 39.

Bibtex

@article{dbde3701a9cf49ec87624d626666bc8e,
title = "Smoking guns and volcanic ash: The importance of sparse tephras in Greenland ice cores",
abstract = "Volcanic ash (fine-grained tephra) within Greenland ice cores can complement the understanding of past volcanism and its environmental and societal impacts. The presence of ash in sparse concentrations in the ice raises questions about whether such material represents primary ashfall in Greenland or resuspended (remobilized) material from continental areas. In this article, we investigate this issue by examining tephra content in quasi-annual samples from two Greenland ice cores during a period of ca. 20 years and considering their relationships with sulphur and particulate data from the same cores. We focus on the interval 815–835 CE as it encompasses a phase (818–822 CE) of heightened volcanogenic sulphur previously ascribed to an eruption of Katla, Iceland. We find that tephra is a frequent but not continuous feature within the ice, unlike similarly sized particulate matter. A solitary ash shard whose major element geochemistry is consistent with Katla corroborates the attribution of the 822±1 CE sulphur peak to this source, clearly showing that a single shard can signify primary ashfall. Other tephras are present in similarly low abundances, but their geochemistries are less certainly attributable to specific sources. Although these tephra shards tend to coincide with elevated sulphur and fine (<10 μm) particulates, they are not associated with increased coarse (>10 μm) particle concentrations that might be expected if the shards had been transported by dust storms. We conclude that the sparse shards derive from primary ashfall, and we argue that low tephra concentrations should not be dismissed as insignificant.",
keywords = "Dust storms, Katla, Primary ashfall, Resuspended volcanic ash, Tephrochronology, Volcanic eruptions",
author = "Gill Plunkett and Michael Sigl and Pilcher, {Jonathan R.} and McConnell, {Joseph R.} and Nathan Chellman and Steffensen, {J. P.} and Ulf B{\"u}ntgen",
year = "2020",
doi = "10.33265/polar.v39.3511",
language = "English",
volume = "39",
journal = "Polar Research",
issn = "0800-0395",
publisher = "Co-Action Publishing",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Smoking guns and volcanic ash

T2 - The importance of sparse tephras in Greenland ice cores

AU - Plunkett, Gill

AU - Sigl, Michael

AU - Pilcher, Jonathan R.

AU - McConnell, Joseph R.

AU - Chellman, Nathan

AU - Steffensen, J. P.

AU - Büntgen, Ulf

PY - 2020

Y1 - 2020

N2 - Volcanic ash (fine-grained tephra) within Greenland ice cores can complement the understanding of past volcanism and its environmental and societal impacts. The presence of ash in sparse concentrations in the ice raises questions about whether such material represents primary ashfall in Greenland or resuspended (remobilized) material from continental areas. In this article, we investigate this issue by examining tephra content in quasi-annual samples from two Greenland ice cores during a period of ca. 20 years and considering their relationships with sulphur and particulate data from the same cores. We focus on the interval 815–835 CE as it encompasses a phase (818–822 CE) of heightened volcanogenic sulphur previously ascribed to an eruption of Katla, Iceland. We find that tephra is a frequent but not continuous feature within the ice, unlike similarly sized particulate matter. A solitary ash shard whose major element geochemistry is consistent with Katla corroborates the attribution of the 822±1 CE sulphur peak to this source, clearly showing that a single shard can signify primary ashfall. Other tephras are present in similarly low abundances, but their geochemistries are less certainly attributable to specific sources. Although these tephra shards tend to coincide with elevated sulphur and fine (<10 μm) particulates, they are not associated with increased coarse (>10 μm) particle concentrations that might be expected if the shards had been transported by dust storms. We conclude that the sparse shards derive from primary ashfall, and we argue that low tephra concentrations should not be dismissed as insignificant.

AB - Volcanic ash (fine-grained tephra) within Greenland ice cores can complement the understanding of past volcanism and its environmental and societal impacts. The presence of ash in sparse concentrations in the ice raises questions about whether such material represents primary ashfall in Greenland or resuspended (remobilized) material from continental areas. In this article, we investigate this issue by examining tephra content in quasi-annual samples from two Greenland ice cores during a period of ca. 20 years and considering their relationships with sulphur and particulate data from the same cores. We focus on the interval 815–835 CE as it encompasses a phase (818–822 CE) of heightened volcanogenic sulphur previously ascribed to an eruption of Katla, Iceland. We find that tephra is a frequent but not continuous feature within the ice, unlike similarly sized particulate matter. A solitary ash shard whose major element geochemistry is consistent with Katla corroborates the attribution of the 822±1 CE sulphur peak to this source, clearly showing that a single shard can signify primary ashfall. Other tephras are present in similarly low abundances, but their geochemistries are less certainly attributable to specific sources. Although these tephra shards tend to coincide with elevated sulphur and fine (<10 μm) particulates, they are not associated with increased coarse (>10 μm) particle concentrations that might be expected if the shards had been transported by dust storms. We conclude that the sparse shards derive from primary ashfall, and we argue that low tephra concentrations should not be dismissed as insignificant.

KW - Dust storms

KW - Katla

KW - Primary ashfall

KW - Resuspended volcanic ash

KW - Tephrochronology

KW - Volcanic eruptions

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85088263274&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.33265/polar.v39.3511

DO - 10.33265/polar.v39.3511

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85088263274

VL - 39

JO - Polar Research

JF - Polar Research

SN - 0800-0395

M1 - 3511

ER -

ID: 247950850