Holocene volcanic history as recorded in the sulfate stratigraphy of the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica Dome C (EDC96) ice core

• Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
• Main Authors: Castellano, E., Becagli, Silvia, Hansson, M., Hutterli, M., Petit, J.-R., Rampino, M. R., Severi, M., Steffensen, J. P., Traversi, Rita, Udisti, Roberto
• Other Authors: Università degli Studi di Firenze = University of Florence = Université de Florence (UniFI), Department of Physical Geography and Quaternary Geology, Stockholm University, Physics Institute, Universität Bern = University of Bern = Université de Berne (UNIBE), Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysique de l'environnement (LGGE), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Earth and Environmental Science Program, New York University New York (NYU), NYU System (NYU)-NYU System (NYU), Niels Bohr Institute Copenhagen (NBI), Faculty of Science Copenhagen, University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (UCPH)-University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (UCPH), European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2005
• Subjects: paleovolcanism; ice cores; climatic change; [SDU.STU.GL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Glaciology; Antarc*; Antarctic; Antarctica; Greenland; Greenland ice cores; ice core
• Online Access: https://insu.hal.science/insu-00373773; https://insu.hal.science/insu-00373773/document; https://insu.hal.science/insu-00373773/file/2004JD005259.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1029/2004JD005259

International audience A detailed history of Holocene volcanism was reconstructed using the sulfate record of the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica Dome C (EDC96) ice core. This first complete Holocene volcanic record from an Antarctic core provides a reliable database to compare with long records from Antarctic and Greenland ice cores. A threshold method based on statistical treatment of the lognormal sulfate flux distribution was used to differentiate volcanic sulfate spikes from sulfate background concentrations. Ninety-six eruptions were identified in the EDC96 ice core during the Holocene, with a mean of 7.9 events per millennium. The frequency distribution (events per millennium) showed that the last 2000 years were a period of enhanced volcanic activity. EDC96 volcanic signatures for the last millennium are in good agreement with those recorded in other Antarctic ice cores. For older periods, comparison is in some cases less reliable, mainly because of dating uncertainties. Sulfate depositional fluxes of individual volcanic events vary greatly among the different cores. A volcanic flux normalization (volcanic flux/Tambora flux ratio) was used to evaluate the relative intensity of the same event recorded at different sites in the last millennium. Normalized flux variability for the same event showed the highest value in the 1100-1500 AD period. This pattern could mirror changes in regional transport linked to climatic variations such as slight warming stages in the Southern Hemisphere (Southern Hemisphere Medieval Warming-like period?).