Correlation of a 3,200 year old tephra in ice cores from Vostok and South Pole Stations, Antarctica

Tephra layers in two Antarctic ice cores are correlated on the basis of their chemical compositions and estimated ages. We believe the tephra was produced about 3,200 years ago from a major explosive eruption of Candlemas Island in the South Sandwich Islands. This is the first time that tephra layers have been correlated between two widely separated ice cores and demonstrates that tephra layers may serve as stratigraphic markers for correlating, and perhaps in some cases, dating Antarctic ice cores.