Multi-proxy dating of Iceland's major pre-settlement Katla eruption to 822-823 CE
Investigations of the impacts of past volcanic eruptions on climate, environment, and society require accurate chronologies. However, eruptions that are not recorded in historical documents can seldom be dated exactly. Here we use annually resolved radiocarbon (C-14) measurements to isolate the 775...
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ftczacademyscien:oai:asep.lib.cas.cz:CavUnEpca/0477964 2024-02-04T10:00:21+01:00 Multi-proxy dating of Iceland's major pre-settlement Katla eruption to 822-823 CE Büntgen, U. (Ulf) Eggertsson, O. Wacker, L. Sigl, M. Ljungqvist, F. C. Di Cosmo, N. Plunkett, G. Krusic, P. J. Newfield, T. P. Esper, J. 2017 https://doi.org/10.1130/G39269.1 http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0274203 eng eng doi:10.1130/G39269.1 urn:pissn: 0091-7613 urn:eissn: 1943-2682 http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0274203 Late-Antique Ice core Greenland Volcano Europe info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2017 ftczacademyscien https://doi.org/10.1130/G39269.1 2024-01-09T17:39:40Z Investigations of the impacts of past volcanic eruptions on climate, environment, and society require accurate chronologies. However, eruptions that are not recorded in historical documents can seldom be dated exactly. Here we use annually resolved radiocarbon (C-14) measurements to isolate the 775 CE cosmogenic C-14 peak in a subfossil birch tree that was buried by a glacial outburst flood in southern Iceland. We employ this absolute time marker to date a subglacial eruption of Katla volcano at late 822 CE to early 823 CE. We argue for correlation between the 822-823 CE eruption and a conspicuous sulfur anomaly evident in Greenland ice cores, which follows in the wake of an even larger volcanic signal (ca. 818-820 CE) as yet not attributed to a known eruption. An abrupt summer cooling in 824 CE, evident in tree-ring reconstructions for Fennoscandia and the Northern Hemisphere, suggests a climatic response to the Katla eruption. Written historical sources from Europe and China corroborate our proposed tree ring-radiocarbon-ice core linkage but also point to combined effects of eruptions occurring during this period. Our study describes the oldest precisely dated, high-latitude eruption and reveals the impact of an extended phase of volcanic forcing in the early 9th century. It also provides insight into the existence of prehistoric woodland cover and the nature of volcanism several decades before Iceland's permanent settlement began. Article in Journal/Newspaper Fennoscandia Greenland Greenland ice cores ice core Iceland Katla The Czech Academy of Sciences: Publication Activity (ASEP) Greenland Katla ENVELOPE(-19.062,-19.062,63.631,63.631) Geology 45 9 783 786 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
The Czech Academy of Sciences: Publication Activity (ASEP) |
op_collection_id |
ftczacademyscien |
language |
English |
topic |
Late-Antique Ice core Greenland Volcano Europe |
spellingShingle |
Late-Antique Ice core Greenland Volcano Europe Büntgen, U. (Ulf) Eggertsson, O. Wacker, L. Sigl, M. Ljungqvist, F. C. Di Cosmo, N. Plunkett, G. Krusic, P. J. Newfield, T. P. Esper, J. Multi-proxy dating of Iceland's major pre-settlement Katla eruption to 822-823 CE |
topic_facet |
Late-Antique Ice core Greenland Volcano Europe |
description |
Investigations of the impacts of past volcanic eruptions on climate, environment, and society require accurate chronologies. However, eruptions that are not recorded in historical documents can seldom be dated exactly. Here we use annually resolved radiocarbon (C-14) measurements to isolate the 775 CE cosmogenic C-14 peak in a subfossil birch tree that was buried by a glacial outburst flood in southern Iceland. We employ this absolute time marker to date a subglacial eruption of Katla volcano at late 822 CE to early 823 CE. We argue for correlation between the 822-823 CE eruption and a conspicuous sulfur anomaly evident in Greenland ice cores, which follows in the wake of an even larger volcanic signal (ca. 818-820 CE) as yet not attributed to a known eruption. An abrupt summer cooling in 824 CE, evident in tree-ring reconstructions for Fennoscandia and the Northern Hemisphere, suggests a climatic response to the Katla eruption. Written historical sources from Europe and China corroborate our proposed tree ring-radiocarbon-ice core linkage but also point to combined effects of eruptions occurring during this period. Our study describes the oldest precisely dated, high-latitude eruption and reveals the impact of an extended phase of volcanic forcing in the early 9th century. It also provides insight into the existence of prehistoric woodland cover and the nature of volcanism several decades before Iceland's permanent settlement began. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Büntgen, U. (Ulf) Eggertsson, O. Wacker, L. Sigl, M. Ljungqvist, F. C. Di Cosmo, N. Plunkett, G. Krusic, P. J. Newfield, T. P. Esper, J. |
author_facet |
Büntgen, U. (Ulf) Eggertsson, O. Wacker, L. Sigl, M. Ljungqvist, F. C. Di Cosmo, N. Plunkett, G. Krusic, P. J. Newfield, T. P. Esper, J. |
author_sort |
Büntgen, U. (Ulf) |
title |
Multi-proxy dating of Iceland's major pre-settlement Katla eruption to 822-823 CE |
title_short |
Multi-proxy dating of Iceland's major pre-settlement Katla eruption to 822-823 CE |
title_full |
Multi-proxy dating of Iceland's major pre-settlement Katla eruption to 822-823 CE |
title_fullStr |
Multi-proxy dating of Iceland's major pre-settlement Katla eruption to 822-823 CE |
title_full_unstemmed |
Multi-proxy dating of Iceland's major pre-settlement Katla eruption to 822-823 CE |
title_sort |
multi-proxy dating of iceland's major pre-settlement katla eruption to 822-823 ce |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1130/G39269.1 http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0274203 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-19.062,-19.062,63.631,63.631) |
geographic |
Greenland Katla |
geographic_facet |
Greenland Katla |
genre |
Fennoscandia Greenland Greenland ice cores ice core Iceland Katla |
genre_facet |
Fennoscandia Greenland Greenland ice cores ice core Iceland Katla |
op_relation |
doi:10.1130/G39269.1 urn:pissn: 0091-7613 urn:eissn: 1943-2682 http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0274203 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1130/G39269.1 |
container_title |
Geology |
container_volume |
45 |
container_issue |
9 |
container_start_page |
783 |
op_container_end_page |
786 |
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1789965599471828992 |