No evidence for tephra in Greenland from the historic eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE: implications for geochronology and paleoclimatology
A new paper published by Plunkett G et al. in Climate of the Past reports on an examination of ash particles in a Greenland ice core associated with a volcanic sulfuric acid layer that has been attributed to the Vesuvius eruption in 79 CE.
The authors find, however, that "The NS1-2011 revised ice core and closely related DRI_NGRIP2 ice-core chronologies that differentiate the conspicuous first century CE volcanic signal in Greenland ice from the historical age of Vesuvius are now supported by tephra evidence that demonstrates the sulfate was from an eruption other than Vesuvius."
The authors findings strongly argue for a need to revise the Common Era ice-core chronology. A formal acceptance of the revised chronology by the wider ice-core and climate modeling communities will ensure robust age linkages to precisely dated historical and paleoclimate proxy records.
This work also benefitted from participation by some authors in the Past Global Changes Volcanic Impacts on Climate and Society (VICS) working group.