Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-dh8gc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T16:48:51.887Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Raman analysis of blue ice tephra: an approach to tephrachronological dating of ice cores

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 January 2012

Robert E. Barletta*
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688, USA

Abstract

Tephra in glacial ice provide a method to obtain a depth vs chronology correlation within an ice core. Currently, core sections containing particulate must be sacrificially analysed to determine the nature of the particulate (e.g. aerosol, micrometeor, volcanic ash), and, in the case of volcanic ash, the event tied to the particle. Characterization through melting and chemical analysis precludes, de facto, its use for other purposes. A non-destructive technique to characterize particulates in ice cores prior to sectioning the samples, e.g. optical interrogation, would be useful, especially if chemical information specific to particular volcanic eruptions could be gleaned from such an analysis. We investigated the use of micro-Raman spectroscopy for this purpose. Spectra were obtained on samples of Antarctic blue ice tephra from different sources along with a reference ash sample of New Mexico Bandelier Tuff. Vitreous and crystalline particles in the samples were characterized. For vitreous material, a detailed analysis of the Raman-active vibrational bands of the glass structure was found to have the potential of being a unique identifier of the source of the glass, however, additional library development is needed for implementation.

Type
Physical Sciences
Copyright
Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barletta, R.E., Gros, B.N.Herring, M.P. 2009. Analysis of marine biogenic sulfur compounds using Raman spectroscopy: dimethyl sulfide and methane sulfonic acid. Journal of Raman Spectroscopy, 40, 972.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barletta, R.E.Roe, C.H. 2011. Chemical analysis of ice vein μ-environments. Polar Record, 10.1017/S0032247411000635.Google Scholar
Bay, R.C., Price, P.B., Clow, G.D.Gow, A.J. 2001. Climate logging with a new rapid optical technique at Siple Dome. Geophysical Research Letters, 28, 46354638.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bendel, V.Schmidt, B.C. 2008. Raman spectroscopic characterization of disordered alkali feldspars along the join KAlSi3O8-NaAlSi3O8: application to natural sanidine and orthoclase. Journal of Mineralogy, 20, 10551065.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chabiron, A., Pironon, J.Massare, D. 2004. Characterization of water in synthetic rhyolitic glasses and natural melt inclusions by Raman spectroscopy. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 146, 485492.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Di Muro, A., Villemant, B., Montagnac, G., Scaillet, B.Reynard, B. 2006b. Quantification of water content and speciation in natural silicic glasses (phonolite, dacite, rhyolite) by confocal microRaman spectrometry. Geochimica et Cosmochima Acta, 70, 28682884.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Di Muro, A., Giordano, D., Villemant, B., Montagnac, G., Scaillet, B.Romano, C. 2006a. Influence of composition and thermal history of volcanic glasses on water content as determined by micro-Raman spectrometry. Applied Geochemistry, 21, 802812.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dunbar, N.W., McIntosh, W.C., Kurbatov, A.Wilch, T.I. 2007. Integrated tephrochronology of the West Antarctic region - implications for a potential tephra record in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) Divide ice core. In Cooper, A.K. & Raymond, C.R.,eds. Antarctica: a keystone in a changing world – Online Proceedings of the 10th ISAES X. USGS Open-File Report 2007–1047. Extended Abstract 179, 1–4.Google Scholar
Freeman, J.J., Wang, A., Kuebler, K.E., Jolliff, B.J.Haskin, L.A. 2008. Characterization of natural feldspars by Raman spectroscopy for future planetary exploration. Canadian Mineralogist, 46, 14771500.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fung, K.H.Tang, I.N. 1999. Chemical characterization of aerosol particles by laser Raman spectroscopy. In Spurny, K.R., ed. Aerosol chemical processes in the environment. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 177195.Google Scholar
Gage, D.R.Farwell, S.O. 1981. Laser Raman spectrometry for the determination of crystalline silica polymorphs in volcanic ash. Analytical Chemistry, 53, 21232127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glass, B.P.Fries, H. 2008. Micro-Raman spectroscopic study of fine-grained, shock-metamorphosed rock fragment from the Australasian microtektite layer. Meteroitics and Planetary Science, 43, 14871496.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harpel, C.J., Kyle, P.R.Dunbar, N.W. 2008. Englacial tephrostratigraphy of Erebus volcano, Antarctica. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 177, 549568.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ishizaki, H.Tu, A.T. 1982. Laser Raman spectroscopic analysis of Mount St. Helens ash from the May 18, 1980 eruption. Journal of Environmental Science, 25, 3233.Google Scholar
Storrie-Lombardi, M.C.Sattler, B. 2009. Laser-Induced Fluorescence Emission (L.I.F.E.): in situ nondestructive detection of microbial life in the ice covers of Antarctic lakes. Astrobiology, 9, 659672.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Suzuki, A., Yamanoi, Y., Nakamura, T.Nakashima, S. 2010. Micro-spectroscopic characterization of organic and hydrous components in weathered Antarctic micrometeorites. Earth, Planets and Space, 62, 3346.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomas, R.Davidson, P. 2006. Progress in determining water and glasses and melt inclusions with Raman spectroscopy: a short review. Zeitschrift für Geologische Wissenschaften, 34, 159163.Google Scholar
Tu, A.T. 1982. Laser Raman spectroscopic analysis of Mount Sakurajima in Japan. Applied Spectroscopy, 36, 587588.Google Scholar
Tung, H.C., Price, P.B., Bramall, N.E.Vrdoljak, G. 2006. Microorganisms metabolizing on clay grains in 3-km-deep Greenland basal ice. Astrobiology, 6, 6985.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wang, A., Kuebler, K., Jolliff, B.Haskin, L.A. 2004. Mineralogy of a Martian meteorite as determined by Raman spectroscopy. Journal of Raman Spectroscopy, 35, 504514.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zajacz, Z., Halter, W., Malfait, W.J., Bachmann, O., Bodnar, R.J., Hirschmann, M.M., Mandeville, C.W., Morizet, Y., Muntener, O., Ulmer, P.Webster, J.D. 2005. A composition-independent quantitative determination of the water content in silicate glasses and silicate melt inclusions by confocal Raman spectroscopy. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 150, 631642.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zotov, N., Yanev, Y., Epelbaum, M.Konstantinov, L. 1992. Effect of water on the structure of rhyolite glasses - x-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy studies. Journal of Non-crystalline Solids, 142, 234246.CrossRefGoogle Scholar