The Hekla 3 volcanic eruption recorded in a Scottish speleothem?

Recent research has demonstrated the presence of annual luminescent growth banding in a stalagmite from Sutherland, N.W. Scotland (Baker, Smart, Edwards and Richards, 1993). The banding record of this sample contains a short duration increase in annual band width, indicating a doubling of growth rat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Holocene
Main Authors: Baker, Andy, Smart, Peter L., Barnes, W.L., Edwards, R. Lawrence, Farrant, Andy
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publications 1995
Subjects:
Paleontology
Earth-Surface Processes
Ecology
Archeology
Global and Planetary Change
Sutherland
Hekla
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/095968369500500309
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/095968369500500309
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Summary:Recent research has demonstrated the presence of annual luminescent growth banding in a stalagmite from Sutherland, N.W. Scotland (Baker, Smart, Edwards and Richards, 1993). The banding record of this sample contains a short duration increase in annual band width, indicating a doubling of growth rate for a period of four years. Predicted growth rates derived from calcite precipitation kinetics are compared with observed growth-rate variability to demonstrate that such a doubling of growth rate would not be expected within the probable range of normal climate variation. The growth rate peak is dated to 1135 ± 130 BC by thermal ionization mass spectrometric 238 U- 234 U- 230 Th dating, not inconsistent with the timing of the Hekla 3 volcanic eruption. This event may explain the observed variation in growth rate, and provide a new source of evidence for interpretation of the effects of large explosive eruptions.

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