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Impact of known local and tropical volcanic eruptions of the past millennium on the WAIS Divide microparticle record
Author(s) -
Koffman Bess G.,
Kreutz Karl J.,
Kurbatov Andrei V.,
Dunbar Nelia W.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/grl.50822
Subject(s) - ice core , volcano , aerosol , atmospheric sciences , middle latitudes , mineral dust , geology , climatology , tephra , vulcanian eruption , environmental science , meteorology , geography , geochemistry
Abstract We present a new method for inferring the relative location (low‐ versus high‐southern latitude), and therefore the potential climatic impact, of past eruptions based on the particle size distribution (PSD) of micrometer‐sized ash measured continuously in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) Divide ice core. We find that particles from a high‐southern latitude eruption (Buckle Island, Antarctica (1839 Common Era, C.E.)) have a PSD with mode diameter ≥5 µm coarser than the background dust (mode 5.1 µm), while ash particles originating from stratospheric tropical eruptions, including Tambora (1815 C.E.), Kuwae (1458 C.E.), and Unknown (1258 C.E.), have PSDs with mode diameters ~0.6–1.5 µm finer than the background. In addition, volcanic ash particles from global‐scale eruptions are deposited ~3–6 months earlier and over a shorter time interval than sulfate aerosols. We hypothesize that this phasing is driven by differences in atmospheric processing and aerosol/particle transport and deposition.