Atmospherically transported volcanic dust in South Pacific deep sea sedimentary cores at distances over 3000 km from the eruptive source

Abstract

Analyses of deep-sea sedimentary cores from the southwest and southcentral Pacific reveal very similar time patterns in the accumulation of atmospherically transported volcanic dust. A series of volcanic eruptions on the Balleny Islands between 1.8 and 1.6 my ago will be recorded in high latitude marine sediments of the entire South Pacific. The results of this study indicate that the history of the world's atmospheric volcanic activity is clearly amenable to definition by study of selected deep-sea sedimentary core traverses.