Tree ring effects and ice core acidities clarify the volcanic record of the first millennium
In 2012 Plummer et al., in presenting the volcanic chronology of the Antarctic Law Dome ice core, chose to list connections to acid layers in other ice cores and also possible chronological coincidences between ice acid dates and the precise dates of frost damage, and/or reduced growth in North Amer...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Copernicus Publications
2015-01-01
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| Series: | Climate of the Past |
| Online Access: | http://www.clim-past.net/11/105/2015/cp-11-105-2015.pdf |
| _version_ | 1811316046154432512 |
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| author | M. G. L. Baillie J. McAneney |
| author_facet | M. G. L. Baillie J. McAneney |
| author_sort | M. G. L. Baillie |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In 2012 Plummer et al., in presenting the volcanic chronology of the
Antarctic Law Dome ice core, chose to list connections to acid layers in
other ice cores and also possible chronological coincidences between ice acid
dates and the precise dates of frost damage, and/or reduced growth in North
American bristlecone pines. We disagree with the chronological links
indicated by Plummer et al. for the period before AD 700, and in this paper
we show that a case can be made that better linkages between ice acid and
tree ring effects occur for this period if the ice chronologies are
systematically moved forward by around 7 years, consistent with a hypothesis
published by Baillie in 2008. In the paper we seek to explore
the proposition that frost damage rings in North American bristlecone pines
are a very useful indicator of the dates of certain large explosive volcanic
eruptions; the dating of major eruptions being critical for any clear
understanding of volcanic forcing. This paper cannot prove that there is an
error in the Greenland Ice Core Chronology 2005 (GICC05), and in equivalent
ice chronologies from the Antarctic, however, it does provide a coherent
argument for an apparent ice dating offset. If the suggested offset were to
prove correct it would be necessary to locate where the error occurs in the
ice chronologies and in this regard the dating of the increasingly
controversial Icelandic Eldgjá eruption in the AD 930s, and the
China/Korean Millennium eruption which occurs some 7 years after Eldgjá,
may well be critical. In addition, if the offset were to be substantiated it
would have implications for the alleged identification of tephra at 429.3 m
in the Greenland GRIP core, currently attributed to the Italian volcano
Vesuvius and used as a critical zero error point in the GICC05 chronology. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T11:42:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-945f4e5ea19744708cd62c27973b92ec |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1814-9324 1814-9332 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T11:42:00Z |
| publishDate | 2015-01-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Climate of the Past |
| spelling | doaj.art-945f4e5ea19744708cd62c27973b92ec2022-12-22T02:48:17ZengCopernicus PublicationsClimate of the Past1814-93241814-93322015-01-0111110511410.5194/cp-11-105-2015Tree ring effects and ice core acidities clarify the volcanic record of the first millenniumM. G. L. Baillie0J. McAneney1School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Elmwood Avenue, Queen's University, Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland, UKIndependent Researcher, Bangor, Northern Ireland, UKIn 2012 Plummer et al., in presenting the volcanic chronology of the Antarctic Law Dome ice core, chose to list connections to acid layers in other ice cores and also possible chronological coincidences between ice acid dates and the precise dates of frost damage, and/or reduced growth in North American bristlecone pines. We disagree with the chronological links indicated by Plummer et al. for the period before AD 700, and in this paper we show that a case can be made that better linkages between ice acid and tree ring effects occur for this period if the ice chronologies are systematically moved forward by around 7 years, consistent with a hypothesis published by Baillie in 2008. In the paper we seek to explore the proposition that frost damage rings in North American bristlecone pines are a very useful indicator of the dates of certain large explosive volcanic eruptions; the dating of major eruptions being critical for any clear understanding of volcanic forcing. This paper cannot prove that there is an error in the Greenland Ice Core Chronology 2005 (GICC05), and in equivalent ice chronologies from the Antarctic, however, it does provide a coherent argument for an apparent ice dating offset. If the suggested offset were to prove correct it would be necessary to locate where the error occurs in the ice chronologies and in this regard the dating of the increasingly controversial Icelandic Eldgjá eruption in the AD 930s, and the China/Korean Millennium eruption which occurs some 7 years after Eldgjá, may well be critical. In addition, if the offset were to be substantiated it would have implications for the alleged identification of tephra at 429.3 m in the Greenland GRIP core, currently attributed to the Italian volcano Vesuvius and used as a critical zero error point in the GICC05 chronology.http://www.clim-past.net/11/105/2015/cp-11-105-2015.pdf |
| spellingShingle | M. G. L. Baillie J. McAneney Tree ring effects and ice core acidities clarify the volcanic record of the first millennium Climate of the Past |
| title | Tree ring effects and ice core acidities clarify the volcanic record of the first millennium |
| title_full | Tree ring effects and ice core acidities clarify the volcanic record of the first millennium |
| title_fullStr | Tree ring effects and ice core acidities clarify the volcanic record of the first millennium |
| title_full_unstemmed | Tree ring effects and ice core acidities clarify the volcanic record of the first millennium |
| title_short | Tree ring effects and ice core acidities clarify the volcanic record of the first millennium |
| title_sort | tree ring effects and ice core acidities clarify the volcanic record of the first millennium |
| url | http://www.clim-past.net/11/105/2015/cp-11-105-2015.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mglbaillie treeringeffectsandicecoreaciditiesclarifythevolcanicrecordofthefirstmillennium AT jmcaneney treeringeffectsandicecoreaciditiesclarifythevolcanicrecordofthefirstmillennium |