Publication Date:
2014-04-15
Description:
Various attempts have been made to link tree-ring and ice-core records, something vital for the understanding of the environmental response to major volcanic eruptions in the past. Here we demonstrate that, by taking note of the spacing between events, it is possible to clarify linkages between tree-response, as witnessed by frost rings in bristlecone pines from Western North America and volcanic acid deposition in ice cores. The results demonstrate that in the 6th and 7th centuries of the current era, and presumably for all earlier dates, the key European ice chronologies from the North Greenland Ice Core Project, namely Dye3, GRIP, NGRIP and NEEM appear to have been wrongly dated by 7 years, with the ice dates being too old. Similar offsets are observed for the Antarctic Law Dome and West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide WDC06A ice-core chronologies that have been linked to the Greenland record. Importantly, the results clarify which frost rings in bristlecone pines are related to volcanic activity and which may be the result of other causes. In addition, it is possible to show that ice core researchers have used inappropriate linkages to tree effects to justify their chronology.
Print ISSN:
1814-9340
Electronic ISSN:
1814-9359
Topics:
Geosciences
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