Lead, Ba and Bi in Antarctic Law Dome ice corresponding to the 1815 AD Tambora eruption: an assessment of emission sources using Pb isotopes

Abstract

Lead, Ba and Bi concentrations and Pb isotopic compositions have been measured in Antarctic Law Dome (66.8°S, 112.4°E) ice dated from 1814 AD to 1819 AD by thermal ionisation mass spectrometry to investigate the possible deposition of heavy metals from the 1815 AD eruption of Tambora volcano (8.5°S, 117.4°E) in Indonesia. Although volcanic S emissions from Tambora (observed as SO 4 2−) are present in the Antarctic ice core record, there are grounds to question the origin of the Pb and Bi also deposited at Law Dome from late 1817, as the Pb isotope data suggest this Pb originated from Mount Erebus (77.5°S, 167.2°E) on Ross Island, Antarctica. It is shown that at least 97% of any Pb and Bi emitted from Tambora was removed from the atmosphere within the 1.6 year period required to transport aerosols from Indonesia to Antarctica. Consequently, increased Pb and Bi concentrations observed in Law Dome ice about 1818 AD are attributed to either increased heavy metal emissions from Mount Erebus, or increased fluxes of heavy metals to the Antarctic ice sheet resulting from climate and meteorological modifications following the Tambora eruption. Elevated Ba concentrations, observed from mid-1816 to mid-1818, indicate increased atmospheric loading of rock and soil dust also occurred at the time.