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Long-range transport of volcanic ash to the Greenland ice sheet

Abstract

BETZER et al.1 reported the surprising discovery of 'giant' (>75 μm) mineral particles transported more than 10,000 km from their source. We have found volcanic ash containing glass shards as large as 300 μm in a section of Wisconsinian ice from the Dye 3 core in Greenland, which is similarly unexpected and raises interesting questions concerning the long-range aeolian transport of particulate matter. As the volcanic ash correlates well with similar ash in deep-sea sediment cores from the Atlantic, it also allows us to date the ice with some confidence.

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Ram, M., Gayley, R. Long-range transport of volcanic ash to the Greenland ice sheet. Nature 349, 401–404 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1038/349401a0

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