Aerosols and Ancient History in Greenland Ice

Dr. Joseph McConnell, Desert Research Inst., will give a lecture on “Aerosols and Ancient History in Greenland Ice.” Sponsored by the Science Center and Geosciences Dept.

Abstract: Aerosol records developed from polar ice cores are powerful tools for reconstructing the timing and extent of past natural and anthropogenic changes in Earth’s environment during recent centuries to millennia. Recent analytical advances enable development of accurately dated aerosol records of sea spray, windblown dust, biomass burning, volcanism, and industrial activities. Here we used high-depth-resolution, ice-core measurements to develop a 1900-year, sub-annually resolved record of lead pollution in northcentral Greenland and estimated annual atmospheric emissions starting in 1100 BC during the late Iron Age and extending through antiquity and late antiquity to the early Middle Ages in Europe. We describe how this unique pollution record was developed, discuss inherent uncertainties in this and all ice-core aerosol records, and interpret our record in terms of its historical implications. We also review recent efforts to link explosive volcanism, climate, and societal impacts using high-resolution ice-core records, as well as briefly discuss how such ice-core records might be extended to earlier or later periods in human history.