Examination of the Denali Ice Cores for Evidence of the Lena Ash Layer and White River Ash east (WRAe) Volcanic Eruptions, Begguya (Mt. Hunter), Alaska

In 2013, two parallel ice cores (commonly referred to as the Denali Ice Cores) were drilled to bedrock on the summit plateau of Begguya, Alaska (62.93 N 151.083 W, 3912 m asl; also known as Mount Hunter). A robust chronology has been developed using a combination of techniques including annual layer counting, sulfate peaks (volcanics), radiocarbon dating and the 1963 atmospheric nuclear weapons testing horizon. Here, we employed tephrochronology practices to isolate and document the presence of the Lena Ash Layer and White River Ash east (WRAe) volcanic eruptions within the ice. We separated tephra from the meltwater and analyzed them using SEM-EDS and EPMA methodologies. The data are not immediately conclusive, and work is still ongoing to understand the findings.