Long-range transport of volcanic ash to the Greenland ice sheet

BETZER et al.¹ reported the surprising discovery of 'giant' (>75 μm) mineral particles transported more than 10,000 km from their source. We have found volcanic ash containing glass shards as large as 300 μm in a section of Wisconsinian ice from the Dye 3 core in Greenland, which is similarly unexpected and raises interesting questions concerning the long-range aeolian transport of particulate matter. As the volcanic ash correlates well with similar ash in deep-sea sediment cores from the Atlantic, it also allows us to date the ice with some confidence.