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Inter‐hemispheric Transport of Volcanic Ash from a 1259 A.D. Volcanic Eruption to the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets
Author(s) -
Palais J. M.,
Germani M. S.,
Zielinski G. A.
Publication year - 1992
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 - 10.1029/92gl00240
Subject(s) - geology , volcano , ice core , groenlandia , volcanic glass , geochemistry , volcanic ash , arctic , volcanism , ice sheet , volcanic rock , oceanography , paleontology , tectonics
A strong volcanic sulfuric acid signal corresponding to an age of 1259 A.D. has been reported in ice cores from Greenland, Antarctica, and Arctic Canada. Tiny (< 5 μm) volcanic glass shards were reported previously in samples from this layer in an ice core from the South Pole. Here we report the discovery of volcanic glass shards from a contemporaneous layer in an ice core from Summit, Greenland. The major element composition of the glass shards in the Greenland sample are identical to those from the South Pole, confirming the assumption that has been made previously that the sulfuric acid signal in the ice cores is an inter‐hemispheric time stratigraphic marker. The composition of these glass shards is similar to those produced by a 550–700 yrs. B.P. eruption of El Chichon volcano in Mexico, suggesting that it may be the source of the widely dispersed material.