www.atmos-chem-phys.org/acp/3/1725 / Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Volcanic eruptions recorded in the Illimani ice core (Bolivia):

• Main Authors: Tambora Periods, M. De Angelis, H. Bonnaveira, J. -d. Taupin, R. J. Delmas
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2003
• Subjects: ice core
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.592.5616; http://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/docs/00/32/83/49/PDF/acp-3-1725-2003.pdf

Abstract. Acid layers of volcanic origin detected in polar snow and ice layers are commonly used to document past volcanic activity on a global scale or, conversely, to date po-lar ice cores. Although most cataclysmic eruptions of the last two centuries (Pinatubo, El Chichon, Agung, Krakatoa, Cosiguina, Tambora, etc.) occurred in the tropics, cold tropi-cal glaciers have not been used for the reconstruction of past volcanism. The glaciochemical study of a 137 m ice core drilled in 1999 close to the summit of Nevado Illimani (East-ern Bolivian Andes, 16◦37 ’ S, 67◦46 ’ W, 6350 m asl) demon-strates, for the first time, that such eruptions are recorded by both their tropospheric and stratospheric deposits. An 80-year ice sequence (1918–1998) and the Tambora years have been analyzed in detail. In several cases, ash, chloride and fluoride were also detected. The ice records of the Pinatubo (1991), Agung (1963) and Tambora (1815) eruptions are dis-cussed in detail. The potential impact of less important re-gional eruptions is discussed. 1