INTERHEMISPHERIC TRANSPORT OF VOLCANIC ASH FROM A 1259 AD VOLCANIC-ERUPTION TO THE GREENLAND AND ANTARCTIC ICE SHEETS

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-mu-m) 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.