Whodunit? Determining the source and eruptive characteristics of unidentified volcanic eruptions from ice and sediment core archives ...
The most complete records of explosive volcanism from the last 100,000 years are preserved in polar ice cores as deposits of sulfate aerosol and microscopic ash (tephra). These records are essential for reconstructing the history of past eruptions, including their stratospheric sulfur loading, as we...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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The University of St Andrews
2024
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| Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.17630/sta/778 https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/handle/10023/29279 |
| Summary: | The most complete records of explosive volcanism from the last 100,000 years are preserved in polar ice cores as deposits of sulfate aerosol and microscopic ash (tephra). These records are essential for reconstructing the history of past eruptions, including their stratospheric sulfur loading, as well as understanding the climatic impact of eruptions. However, few of these deposits have been linked with volcanic sources, leading to assumptions of eruptive source latitude, plume height and stratospheric sulfur loading, which are all essential for interpreting the climate forcing potential of eruptions. A fundamental limitation preventing the correlation of ice core volcanic deposits to eruptive sources is the difficulty of geochemically characterising extremely fine-grained (<10 μm) tephra with conventional analytical methods. This thesis provides a thorough assessment and recommended workflow for analysing <10 μm tephra, increasing potential for characterising cryptotephra from distant eruptions in ... |
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