Stratospheric eruptions from tropical and extra-tropical volcanoes constrained using high-resolution sulfur isotopes in ice cores
The record of volcanic forcing of climate over the past 2500 years is based primarily on sulfate concentrations in ice cores. Of particular interest are large volcanic eruptions with plumes that reached high altitudes in the stratosphere, as these afford sulfate aerosols the longest residence time i...
Published in: | Earth and Planetary Science Letters |
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Online Access: | https://boris.unibe.ch/134825/1/Burke_2019_EPSL_accepted.pdf https://boris.unibe.ch/134825/8/1-s2.0-S0012821X19303395-main.pdf https://boris.unibe.ch/134825/ |
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ftunivbern:oai:boris.unibe.ch:134825 2023-08-20T04:00:43+02:00 Stratospheric eruptions from tropical and extra-tropical volcanoes constrained using high-resolution sulfur isotopes in ice cores Burke, Andrea Moore, Kathryn A. Sigl, Michael Nita, Dan C. McConnell, Joseph R. Adkins, Jess F. 2019 application/pdf https://boris.unibe.ch/134825/1/Burke_2019_EPSL_accepted.pdf https://boris.unibe.ch/134825/8/1-s2.0-S0012821X19303395-main.pdf https://boris.unibe.ch/134825/ eng eng Elsevier https://boris.unibe.ch/134825/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess Burke, Andrea; Moore, Kathryn A.; Sigl, Michael; Nita, Dan C.; McConnell, Joseph R.; Adkins, Jess F. (2019). Stratospheric eruptions from tropical and extra-tropical volcanoes constrained using high-resolution sulfur isotopes in ice cores. Earth and planetary science letters, 521, pp. 113-119. Elsevier 10.1016/j.epsl.2019.06.006 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2019.06.006> 530 Physics 540 Chemistry 550 Earth sciences & geology info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion PeerReviewed 2019 ftunivbern https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2019.06.006 2023-07-31T21:54:46Z The record of volcanic forcing of climate over the past 2500 years is based primarily on sulfate concentrations in ice cores. Of particular interest are large volcanic eruptions with plumes that reached high altitudes in the stratosphere, as these afford sulfate aerosols the longest residence time in the atmosphere, and thus have the greatest impact on radiative forcing. Sulfur isotopes measured in ice cores can be used to identify these large eruptions because stratospheric sulfur is exposed to UV radiation, which imparts a time-evolving mass independent fractionation (MIF) that is preserved in the ice. However, sample size requirements of traditional measurement techniques mean that the MIF signal may be obscured, leading to an inconclusive result. Here we present a new method of measuring sulfur isotopes in ice cores by multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, which reduces sample size requirements by three orders of magnitude. Our method allows us to measure samples containing as little as 10 nmol of sulfur, with a precision of 0.11‰ for δ34S and 0.10‰for D33S, enabling a high-temporal resolution over ice core sulfate peaks. We tested this method on known tropical (Tambora 1815 and Samalas 1257) and extra-tropical (Katmai/Novarupta 1912) stratospheric eruptions from the Tunu2013 ice core in Greenland and the B40 ice core from Antarctica. These high-resolution sulfur isotope records suggest a distinct difference between the signatures of tropical versus extra-tropical eruptions. Furthermore, isotope mass balance on sulfate from extra-tropical eruptions provides a means to estimate the fraction of sulfate deposited that was derived from the stratosphere. This technique applied to unidentified eruptions in ice cores may thus improve the record of explosive volcanism and its forcing of climate. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica Greenland ice core BORIS (Bern Open Repository and Information System, University of Bern) Greenland Earth and Planetary Science Letters 521 113 119 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
BORIS (Bern Open Repository and Information System, University of Bern) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivbern |
language |
English |
topic |
530 Physics 540 Chemistry 550 Earth sciences & geology |
spellingShingle |
530 Physics 540 Chemistry 550 Earth sciences & geology Burke, Andrea Moore, Kathryn A. Sigl, Michael Nita, Dan C. McConnell, Joseph R. Adkins, Jess F. Stratospheric eruptions from tropical and extra-tropical volcanoes constrained using high-resolution sulfur isotopes in ice cores |
topic_facet |
530 Physics 540 Chemistry 550 Earth sciences & geology |
description |
The record of volcanic forcing of climate over the past 2500 years is based primarily on sulfate concentrations in ice cores. Of particular interest are large volcanic eruptions with plumes that reached high altitudes in the stratosphere, as these afford sulfate aerosols the longest residence time in the atmosphere, and thus have the greatest impact on radiative forcing. Sulfur isotopes measured in ice cores can be used to identify these large eruptions because stratospheric sulfur is exposed to UV radiation, which imparts a time-evolving mass independent fractionation (MIF) that is preserved in the ice. However, sample size requirements of traditional measurement techniques mean that the MIF signal may be obscured, leading to an inconclusive result. Here we present a new method of measuring sulfur isotopes in ice cores by multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, which reduces sample size requirements by three orders of magnitude. Our method allows us to measure samples containing as little as 10 nmol of sulfur, with a precision of 0.11‰ for δ34S and 0.10‰for D33S, enabling a high-temporal resolution over ice core sulfate peaks. We tested this method on known tropical (Tambora 1815 and Samalas 1257) and extra-tropical (Katmai/Novarupta 1912) stratospheric eruptions from the Tunu2013 ice core in Greenland and the B40 ice core from Antarctica. These high-resolution sulfur isotope records suggest a distinct difference between the signatures of tropical versus extra-tropical eruptions. Furthermore, isotope mass balance on sulfate from extra-tropical eruptions provides a means to estimate the fraction of sulfate deposited that was derived from the stratosphere. This technique applied to unidentified eruptions in ice cores may thus improve the record of explosive volcanism and its forcing of climate. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Burke, Andrea Moore, Kathryn A. Sigl, Michael Nita, Dan C. McConnell, Joseph R. Adkins, Jess F. |
author_facet |
Burke, Andrea Moore, Kathryn A. Sigl, Michael Nita, Dan C. McConnell, Joseph R. Adkins, Jess F. |
author_sort |
Burke, Andrea |
title |
Stratospheric eruptions from tropical and extra-tropical volcanoes constrained using high-resolution sulfur isotopes in ice cores |
title_short |
Stratospheric eruptions from tropical and extra-tropical volcanoes constrained using high-resolution sulfur isotopes in ice cores |
title_full |
Stratospheric eruptions from tropical and extra-tropical volcanoes constrained using high-resolution sulfur isotopes in ice cores |
title_fullStr |
Stratospheric eruptions from tropical and extra-tropical volcanoes constrained using high-resolution sulfur isotopes in ice cores |
title_full_unstemmed |
Stratospheric eruptions from tropical and extra-tropical volcanoes constrained using high-resolution sulfur isotopes in ice cores |
title_sort |
stratospheric eruptions from tropical and extra-tropical volcanoes constrained using high-resolution sulfur isotopes in ice cores |
publisher |
Elsevier |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://boris.unibe.ch/134825/1/Burke_2019_EPSL_accepted.pdf https://boris.unibe.ch/134825/8/1-s2.0-S0012821X19303395-main.pdf https://boris.unibe.ch/134825/ |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica Greenland ice core |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica Greenland ice core |
op_source |
Burke, Andrea; Moore, Kathryn A.; Sigl, Michael; Nita, Dan C.; McConnell, Joseph R.; Adkins, Jess F. (2019). Stratospheric eruptions from tropical and extra-tropical volcanoes constrained using high-resolution sulfur isotopes in ice cores. Earth and planetary science letters, 521, pp. 113-119. Elsevier 10.1016/j.epsl.2019.06.006 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2019.06.006> |
op_relation |
https://boris.unibe.ch/134825/ |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2019.06.006 |
container_title |
Earth and Planetary Science Letters |
container_volume |
521 |
container_start_page |
113 |
op_container_end_page |
119 |
_version_ |
1774719923844546560 |