A Scottish speleothem record of the H-3 eruption or human impact? A comment on Baker, Smart, Barnes, Edwards and Farrant

Studies of a stalagmite sample from Sutherland, Scotland, have identified a period of enhanced growth that lasted for four years and has been dated to 1135 +/- 130 BC (Baker el al., 1995). This episode is unique within this s ample and has not been observed elsewhere. The authors correlate it with th e Icelandic volcanic eruption at 1021 + 130/-100 BC that produced the Hekla -3 (H-3) tephra. There is, however, no direct evidence for a causal relatio nship between volcanic activity in general, or the H-3 eruption in particul ar, and the growth patterns of the stalagmite. As an alternative to the vol canic explanation of enhanced growth, we suggest that the speleothem could reflect environmental changes associated with woodland decline and the spre ad of blanket peat.