Late Quaternary volcanic activity in Marie Byrd Land: Potential 40Ar/39Ar-dated time horizons in West Antarctic ice and marine cores

Wilch, T. I.; McIntosh, William C.; Dunbar, Nelia W.

doi:10.1130/0016-7606(1999)111<1563:lqvaim>2.3.co;2

Cited by 82 publications

(86 citation statements)

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“…The two main eruptive source volcanoes in West Antarctica, Mount Takahe (76°18.8′S, 112°4.8′W) and Mount Berlin (76°3′S, 136°0′W), are located 350 km north and 670 km northwest of the WD drilling site, respectively. The composition of tephra erupted from these two volcanoes is similar but can be distinguished by examining the MgO content of the volcanic glass, which is significantly higher in Mount Takahe eruptions (up to 0.5 wt.%) than in Mount Berlin eruptions, many of which have undetectable levels of MgO (24,58).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Synchronous volcanic eruptions and abrupt climate change ∼17.7 ka plausibly linked by stratospheric ozone depletion

McConnell

Burke

Dunbar

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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International audienceGlacial-state greenhouse gas concentrations and Southern Hemisphere climate conditions persisted until ∼17.7 ka, when a nearly synchronous acceleration in deglaciation was recorded in paleoclimate proxies in large parts of the Southern Hemisphere, with many changes ascribed to a sudden poleward shift in the Southern Hemisphere westerlies and subsequent climate impacts. We used high-resolution chemical measurements in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide, Byrd, and other ice cores to document a unique, ∼192-y series of halogen-rich volcanic eruptions exactly at the start of accelerated deglaciation, with tephra identifying the nearby Mount Takahe volcano as the source. Extensive fallout from these massive eruptions has been found >2,800 km from Mount Takahe. Sulfur isotope anomalies and marked decreases in ice core bromine consistent with increased surface UV radiation indicate that the eruptions led to stratospheric ozone depletion. Rather than a highly improbable coincidence, circulation and climate changes extending from the Antarctic Peninsula to the subtropics—similar to those associated with modern stratospheric ozone depletion over Antarctica—plausibly link the Mount Takahe eruptions to the onset of accelerated Southern Hemisphere deglaciation ∼17.7 ka

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Synchronous volcanic eruptions and abrupt climate change ∼17.7 ka plausibly linked by stratospheric ozone depletion

McConnell

Burke

Dunbar

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…Over the past few decades, a range of studies on the volcanic products generated by these volcanoes (Baker et al, 1975;Palais and Kyle, 1988;Björck et al, 1991aBjörck et al, , 1993Hodgson et al, 1998;Smellie, 1999aSmellie, , b, 2001Fretzdorff and Smellie, 2002;Fretzdorff et al, 2004;Gibson and Zale, 2006;Kraus and Kurbatov, 2010) has contributed to the development of a tephrochronological framework that can be used to identify potential source volcanoes within the Antarctic continent. Unfortunately, published data on the timing of the volcanic activity and geochemistry of the erupted products are only available for a limited number of volcanic centers (LeMasurier and Thomson, 1990;Björck et al,1991a;Wilch et al, 1999;Smellie, 2002;Harpel et al, 2008;Kraus and Kurbatov, 2010;Smellie et al, 2011). Paucity of available samples is related to complicated fieldwork logistics (e.g., Smellie, 1999a), and thus prevents the development of a comprehensive database of chemical analyses from the Antarctic Peninsula region.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geochemical signatures of tephras from Quaternary Antarctic Peninsula volcanoes

Kraus¹,

Kurbatov

Yates

2013

andgeo

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ABSTRACT. In the northern Antarctic Peninsula area, at least 12 Late Pleistocene-Holocene volcanic centers could be potential sources of tephra layers in the region. We present unique geochemical fingerprints for ten of these volcanoes using major, trace, rare earth element, and isotope data from 95 samples of tephra and other eruption products. The volcanoes have predominantly basaltic and basaltic andesitic compositions. The Nb/Y ratio proves useful to distinguish between volcanic centers located on the eastern (Larsen Rift) and those situated on the western side (Bransfield Rift) of the Antarctic Peninsula. In addition, the Sr/Nb ratio (for samples with SiO 2 <63 wt%), along with Sr/Y, Ba/La, Zr/Hf and Th/Nb are suitable to unequivocally characterize material erupted from every studied volcanic center. Microprobe analyses on volcanic glass show that the samples are generally very poor in K 2 O, and that glass from Bransfield Rift volcanoes is enriched in SiO 2 , while that of Larsen Rift volcanoes tends towards elevated alkali contents. We propose an algorithm for the identification of the source volcano of a given tephra layer using the new geochemical fingerprints. This will contribute to the development of a regional tephrochronological framework needed for future correlations of tephra in climate archives (e.g., marine, lacustrine and ice cores). Keywords: Late Pleistocene, Holocene, Explosive volcanism, Tephra, Source volcano identification, Geochemical fingerprint, Antarctic Peninsula, Bransfield Rift, Larsen Rift. RESUMEN. Geoquímica de tefras de volcanes Cuaternarios de la Península Antártica. En la parte norte de la Península Antártica existen, por lo menos, 12 centros volcánicos del Pleistoceno Tardío-Holoceno que podrían representar las fuentes de horizontes de tefra reconocidos en la región. Se reportan aquí análisis químicos de 10 de estos volcanes, que incluyen análisis de elementos mayores, trazas, tierras raras y composición isotópica de 95 muestras de tefra u otros productos eruptivos. Los volcanes tienen, en su mayoría, composición basáltica a basáltico-andesítica. Las razones Nb/Y resultan útiles para distinguir entre centros volcánicos ubicados al lado oriental (Larsen Rift) de aquellos ubicados al lado occidental (Bransfield Rift) de la Península Antártica. Adicionalmente, las razones Sr/Nb (para muestras con SiO 2 <63 wt%), Sr/Y, Ba/La, Zr/Hf y Th/Nb sirven para caracterizar los productos generados por cada centro volcánico. Análisis de microsonda en vidrio muestran que las rocas estudiadas tienen bajos contenidos de K 2 O, y que vidrios de rocas provenientes de volcanes ubicados en el rift de Bransfield son ricos en SiO 2 , mientras que las de volcanes del rift de Larsen tienden hacía contenidos elevados de álcalis. Se propone un algoritmo para la identificación del volcán de origen de un horizonte de tefra cualquiera, basado en las distintivas composiciones geoquímicas aquí reportadas. Este estudio contribuirá al desarrollo de un marco tefrocronológico regional indispensable para ...

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“…This makes it potentially sensitive to ice sheet thinning and sea level rise, although recent research questions the extent of this instability (Anderson, 2007). However, the WAIS is situated over a crustal rift that is associated with volcanism (Winberry & Anandakrishnan, 2004) and several volcanoes protrude through the ice sheet (Wilch et al, 1999). In the event of an eruption, the altered thermal regime may release significant volumes of meltwater into the system, lubricating the bed and increasing the potential for a surge (Vogel, 2008).…”

Section: Ocean Volume Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Sea levels: science and society

Edwards

2008

Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment

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Late Quaternary volcanic activity in Marie Byrd Land: Potential 40Ar/39Ar-dated time horizons in West Antarctic ice and marine cores

Cited by 82 publications

References 0 publications

Synchronous volcanic eruptions and abrupt climate change ∼17.7 ka plausibly linked by stratospheric ozone depletion

Synchronous volcanic eruptions and abrupt climate change ∼17.7 ka plausibly linked by stratospheric ozone depletion

Geochemical signatures of tephras from Quaternary Antarctic Peninsula volcanoes

Sea levels: science and society

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