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Abstract
Hammer et al. [1997] report the presence of
regularly spaced acidity peaks (H+, F, Cl) in the Byrd
Station, Antarctica ice core. The event has a duration of about
one century and falls at the beginning of the deglacial warming.
Volcanism appears to be an unlikely cause since the total acid
deposition of this event was about 18 fold greater than the largest
known volcanic eruption, and since volcanic eruptions are not
known to recur with such regularity. We show that the recurrence
period of these peaks averages to 11.5 ± 2.4 years, which
approximates the solar cycle period, and suggest that this feature
may have an extraterrestrial origin. We propose that this material
may mark a period of enhanced interstellar dust and gas influx
modulated by the solar cycle. The presence of this material could
have made the Sun more active and have been responsible for initiating
the warming that ended the last ice age.
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