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Characteristics and Possible Source of a 1479 A.D. Volcanic Ash Layer in a Greenland Ice Core

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

R. Joseph Fiacco Jr. ,
Julie M. Palais ,
Mark S. Germani ,
Gregory A. Zielinski  and
Paul A. Mayewski
R. Joseph Fiacco Jr.
Affiliation:
Glacier Research Group, Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire 03824
Julie M. Palais
Affiliation:
Glacier Research Group, Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire 03824 Office of Polar Programs, National Science Foundation, Washington, DC 20550
Mark S. Germani
Affiliation:
McCrone Associates, Westmont, Illinois 60559
Gregory A. Zielinski
Affiliation:
Glacier Research Group, Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire 03824
Paul A. Mayewski
Affiliation:
Glacier Research Group, Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire 03824
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Abstract

A microparticle concentration peak in a GISP2 ice core contains volcanic glass shards of rhyolitic composition that correspond in age to the 1479-1480 A.D. Mt. St. Helens Wn eruption. These glass shards are compositionally similar to the Wn tephra and constitute 83% of the total particle population. The shards are very coarse-grained (up to 40 μm diameter), suggesting rapid transport from their source to Greenland. A major sulfate peak in the ice occurs approximately 4 months after deposition of the glass shards. This difference in depositional timing suggests primarily tropospheric transport of the ash and stratospheric transport of the sulfate aerosol. Large-scale climatic perturbations following this eruption were evidently negligible. Glaciochemical seasonal indicators suggest a late-fall to early-winter 1479 A.D. eruption.

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Articles
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Quaternary Research , Volume 39 , Issue 3 , May 1993 , pp. 267 - 273
Copyright
University of Washington

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