Ice core evidence for the Los Chocoyos supereruption disputes millennial-scale climate impact
Abstract Volcanic supereruptions are considered among the few drivers of global and existential catastrophes, with recent hypotheses suggesting massive volcanic stratospheric sulfate injection could instigate major shifts in global climate. The absence of supereruptions during recent history as well as large uncertainties on eruption ages limits understanding of the climatic risk they impose. Polar ice cores have well-resolved continuous age models, record past temperature, and contain volcanic sulfate and cryptotephra deposits which can be geochemically fingerprinted to determine eruption timing and improve stratospheric sulfur loading estimates. Here, we provide an age of 79,500 years for the Atitlán Los Chocoyos supereruption, one of the largest Quaternary eruptions, by identifying tephra shards in ice cores from both Greenland and Antarctica. This ice core age is supported by a revised marine sediment core stratigraphy age for the Los Chocoyos ash layer. Through comparison with well-dated ice-core temperature proxy records, our study suggests that despite being one of the largest sulfur emissions recorded in ice cores, the Los Chocoyos supereruption did not trigger a millennial-scale cold period.
Authors
- James Rae (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3904-2526)
- Helen M. Innes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4003-3910)
- Michael Sigl (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9028-9703)
- Peter M Abbott (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6347-9499)
- R. S. J. Sparks (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7173-2899)
- William R. Hutchison (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5456-3277)
- Anders Svensson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4364-6085)
- Eric Wolff (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5914-8531)
- Mirko Severi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1511-6762)
- Matthias Bigler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0184-4013)
- Siwan M. Davies (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0999-7233)
- Nathan Chellman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1117-1046)
- Andrea Burke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3754-1498)
- Steffen Kutterolf (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0645-3399)
- Laura Crick (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1843-4678)
- Joseph R. McConnell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9051-5240)
Institutions
- University of Bern (CH)
- University of Copenhagen (DK)
- University of St Andrews (GB)
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (DE)
- University of Bristol (GB)
- Swansea University (GB)
- Pädagogische Hochschule Bern (CH)
- University of Florence (IT)
- Desert Research Institute (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Communications Earth & Environment
- Published
- 2025-02-22
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02095-6
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.90
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Past Global Changes
- UK Research and Innovation
- Leverhulme Trust
- University of St Andrews
- European Commission
- European Science Foundation
- Agence Nationale de la Recherche
- Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
- Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Fonds De La Recherche Scientifique - FNRS
- Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
- Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
- Korea Polar Research Institute
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
- Institut Polaire Français Paul Emile Victor
- Akademie der Naturwissenschaften
- National Institute of Polar Research
- Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University
- Natural Resources Canada
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
- Natural Environment Research Council
- Office of Polar Programs