Tephra layers in the Byrd Station ice core and the Dome C ice core, Antarctica and their climatic importance

Volcanic glass shards from tephra layers in the Byrd Station ice core were chemically analyzed by electron microprobe. Tephra in seven layers have similar peralkaline trachyte compositions. The tephra are believed to originate from Mt. Takahe, on the basis of their chemical similarity to analyzed rocks from Mt. Takahe and because dated rock samples from the volcano are younger than 250,000 years old. Glass shards from 726 m deep in the Dome C ice core, which is 2400 km from Byrd Station, are composed of peralkaline trachyte and may have also been derived from Mt. Takahe. The tephra could have resulted from eruptions which were triggered by increased ice loading during the late Wisconsin glaciation. Preliminary grain size data suggest the eruptions were only minor and they were unlikely to have instantaneously altered global climate as have explosive eruptions in the tropics. Nevertheless, the effect of this localized volcanic activity upon the Antarctic energy budget warrants further investigation.     

Englacial tephrostratigraphy of Erebus volcano,Antarctica

A tephrostratigraphy for Erebus volcano is presented, including tephra composition, stratigraphy, and eruption mechanism. Tephra from Erebus were collected from glacial ice and firn. Scanning electron microscope images of the ash morphologies help determine their eruption mechanisms The tephra resulted mainly from phreatomagmatic eruptions with fewer from Strombolian eruptions. Tephra having mixed phreatomagmatic–Strombolian origins are common. Two tephra deposited on the East Antarctic ice sheet, ~ 200 km from Erebus, resulted from Plinian and phreatomagmatic eruptions. Glass droplets in some tephra indicate that these shards were produced in both phreatomagmatic and Strombolian eruptions. A budding ash morphology results from small spheres quenched during the process of hydrodynamically splitting off from a parent melt globule. Clustered and rare single xenocrystic analcime crystals, undifferentiated zeolites, and clay are likely accidental clasts entrained from a hydrothermal system present prior to eruption. The phonolite compositions of glass shards confirm Erebus volcano as the eruptive source. The glasses show subtle trends in composition, which correlate with stratigraphic position. Trace element analyses of bulk tephra samples show slight differences that reflect varying feldspar contents.     

Magmatic and phreatomagmatic volcanic activity at Mt. Takahe, West Antarctica, based on tephra layers in the Byrd ice core and field observations at Mt. Takahe

The morphology, grain size characteristics and composition of ash particles in 30 ka to 150 ka tephra layers from the Byrd ice core were examined to characterize the eruptions which produced them and to test the suggestion that they were erupted from Mt. Takahe, a shield volcano in Marie Byrd Land, West Antarctica. Volcanic deposits at Mt. Takahe were examined for evidence of recent activity which could correlate with the tephra layers in the ice core.Coarse- and fine-ash layers have been recognized in the Byrd ice core. The coarse-ash layers have a higher mass concentration than the fine-ash layers and are characterized by fresh glass shards > 50 μm diameter, many containing elongate pipe vesicles. The fine-ash layers have a lower mass concentration and contain a greater variety of particles, typically < 20 μm diameter. Many of these particles are aggregate grains composed of glass and crystal fragments showing S and Cl surface alteration. The grain-size distributions of the coarse and fine-ash layers overlap, in part because of the aggregate nature of grains in the fine-ash layers. The coarse-ash layers are interpreted as having formed by magmatic eruption whereas the fine-ash layers are believed to be hydrovolcanic in origin.Mt. Takahe is the favored source for the tephra because: (a) chemical analyses of samples from the volcano are distinctive, being peralkaline trachyte, and similar in composition to the analyzed tephra; (b) Mt. Takahe is a young volcano (< 0.3 Ma); (c) pyroclastic deposits on Mt. Takahe indicate styles of eruption similar to that inferred for the ice core tephra; and (d) Mt. Takahe is only about 350 km from the calculated site of tephra deposition.A speculative eruptive history for Mt. Takahe is established by combining observations from Mt. Takahe and the Byrd ice core tephra. Initial eruptions at Mt. Takahe were subglacial and then graded into alternating subaerial and subglacial activity. The tephra suggest alternating subaerial magmatic and hydrovolcanic eruptions from 30 to 20 ka B.P., followed by a sustained period of hydrovolcanic eruptions from 20 to 14 ka B.P., which peaked at 18 ka B.P.     

Composition of widespread volcanic glass in deep-sea sediments of the Southern Pacific Ocean: an Antarctic source inferred

Widespread Plio-Pleistocene (2.43-0.06 Ma) tephra zones recognised in deep-sea cores from high latitudes (>60°) in the Southern Pacific Ocean were thought to have originated from calc-alkaline rhyolitic eruptions in New Zealand, some 5000 km distant. Electron microprobe analyses of the glasses reveal a wide diversity of alkalic felsic compositions, as well as minor components of basic and intermediate glasses, incompatible with a New Zealand Neogene source but similar to contemporaneous eruptives from the Antarctic region. Most tephra zones are trachytic; seven zones are peralkaline rhyolite. The rhyolitic zones represent a deep-sea record of widespread silicic eruptions from continental Antarctica, possibly Marie Byrd Land. The extent of these rhyolitic zones suggest a greater frequency of large explosive eruptions in Antarctica than previously documented. The coarse grain size of some of the shards (up to 3 mm), their great distance from the closest sources (>1600 km for some cores), and the presence of nonvolcanic ice-rafted debris indicate some of the glasses, especially the more basic compositions, may have been ice-rafted, contrary to previous suggestions of a fallout origin.     

TEPHRA RECORD FROM QUANYANG PEAT OF THE CHANGBAISHAN MILLENNIUM ERUPTION

Tephra, usually produced by explosive eruptions, is deposited rapidly, hence, it can serve as a distinctive and widespread synchronous marker horizon correlating terrestrial, marine and ice core records. The tephra from Changbaishan Millennium eruption, a widely distributed tephra, is an important marker bed across the Japan Sea, Japan Islands and even in the Greenland ice cores 9000km away from volcanic vent. In this study, a discrete tephra was identified in the Quanyang peat~45km northeast to the Changbaishan volcano. Radiocarbon ¹⁴ C dating on the plant remains constrains an age of 886-1013calAD(95.4%)to the tephra layer, which can correspond to the Millennium eruption of Changbaishan in time. In addition, there was no similar volcanic eruption in the surrounding areas except Changbaishan at the same time. This tephra shows rhyolitic glass shards major element compositions similar to those rhyolitic tephra from Millennium eruption. This study illustrates that tephra from Millennium eruption has been transported to Quanyang peat~45km northwest to the Changbaishan volcano. Additionally, the diameter of the pumice lapilli is up to 0.3cm, implying that the tephra must be transported more distal away from Quanyang peat and formed a widely distributed isochronic layer. Glass geochemistry of the Quanyang tephra, different from the distal tephra recorded at Sihailongwan, Japan, and Greenland ice, shows a close affinity to the pyroclastic flow deposits of the Millennium eruption while not from fall deposits. This may indicate that distribution of the Millennium eruption of Changbaishanin in different directions may be controlled by different stages of eruption. This layer with well-defined annual results can be used to optimize the chronological framework of the corresponding sedimentary environment, thus facilitating more accurate discussion of corresponding environmental changes, which can achieve the contrast of the ancient climate records in the whole Northeast China-Japan and arctic regions.     

Advancements and best practices for analysis and correlation of tephra and cryptotephra in ice

Geochemical analysis of fine grained (<20 μm) tephra found in ice cores is inherently difficult, due to the typically low number and small size of available particles. Ice core tephra samples require specialized sample preparation techniques to maximize the amount of information that can be gained from these logistically limited samples that may provide important chronology to an ice record, as well as linking glacial, marine and terrestrial sediments. We have developed a flexible workflow for preparation of tephra and cryptotephra samples to allow accurate and robust geochemical fingerprinting, which is fundamental to tephrochronology. The samples can be prepared so that secondary electron imagery can be obtained for morphological characterization of the samples to ensure that the sample is tephra-bearing and then the sample can be further prepared for quantitative electron microprobe analysis using wavelength dispersive techniques (EMP-WDS), scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM-EDS), laser ablation inductively coupled mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) or secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). Some samples may be too small for typical instrumentation conditions to be used (i.e. 20 μm beam on the EMP) to analyze for geochemistry and we present other techniques that can be employed to obtain accurate, although less precise, geochemistry. Methods include analyzing unpolished tephra shards less than 5 μm in diameter with a 1 μm beam on an SEM; using the “broad beam overlap” EMP method on irregular particles less than 20 μm in diameter, and analyzing microlitic shards as well as aphyric shards using EMP to increase the number of analyzed shards in low abundance tephra layers. The methods presented are flexible enough to be employed in other geological environments (terrestrial, marine and glacial) which will help maximize and integrate multiple environments into the overall tephra framework.     

Sedimentological analysis of the tephra from the 12–15 August 1991 eruption of Hudson volcano

The tephra fallout from the 12–15 August 1991 explosive eruption of Hudson volcano (Cordillera de los Andes, 45°54 S-72°58 W; Chile) was dispersed on a narrow, elongated ESE sector of Patagonia, covering an area (on land) of more than 100 000 km². The elongated shape of the deposit, together with the relatively coarse mean and median values of the particles at a considerable distance from the vent, were the result of strong winds blowing to the southeast during the eruption. The thickness of the fall deposit decreases up to 250 km ESE from Hudson volcano, where it begins to thicken again. Secondary maxima are well developed at approximately 500 km from the vent. Secondary maxima, together with grainsize bimodality in individual layers and in the bulk deposit suggest that particle aggregation played an important role in tephra sedimentation. The fallout deposit is well stratified, with alternating fine-grained and coarsegrained layers, which is probably a result of strong eruptive pulses followed by relatively calm periods and/or changes in the eruptive style from plinian to phreatoplinian. The tephra is mostly composed of juvenile material: the coarse mode (mostly pumice) shifts to finer sizes with distance from the volcano; the fine mode (mostly glass shards) is always about 5/6 phi. Glass shards and pumice are mostly light gray to colorless. However, considerable amounts of dark, poorly vesiculated, blocky shards, suggest a hydromagmatic component in the eruption. A land-based tephra volume of 4.35 km³ was estimated, and a total volume of 7.6 km³ arose from an extrapolation, which took into account the probable volume sedimented in the sea. Bulk density ranges from 0.9 to 1.10 gr/cm³ (beyond 110 km from the vent). Rather uniform density values measured in crushed samples (2.45–2.50 gr/cm³ at all distances from the vent) reveal a relatively homogeneous composition. Mean and median sizes decrease rapidly up to 270 km from the vent; beyond that point they are more or less constant, whereas the maximum size (1 phi) shows a steady decrease up to 550 km. A concomitant improvement in sorting is observed. This is attributed to sorting due to wind transport combined with particle aggregation at different times and distances from the vent. The Hudson tephra fallout shares some strikingly similar features with the Mount St. Helens (18 May 1980) and Quizapu (1932) eruptions.     

The roseau ash: Deep-sea tephra deposits from a major eruption on Dominica, lesser antilles arc

Two extensive marine tephra layers recovered by piston coring in the western equatorial Atlantic and eastern Caribbean have been correlated by electron microprobe analyses of glass shards and mineral phases to the Pleistocene Roseau tuff on Dominica in the Lesser Antilles arc. Tephra deposition and transport to the deep sea was primarily controlled by two processes related to two different styles of eruptive activity: a plinian airfall phase and a pyroclastic flow phase. A plinian phase produced a relatively thin (1–8 cm) airfall ash layer in the western Atlantic, covering an area of 3.0 × 10⁵ km² with a volume of 13 km³ (tephra). The majority of the airfall tephra was transported by antitrade winds at altitudes of 6–17 km. Aeolian fractionation of crystals and glass occurred during transport resulting in an airfall deposit enriched in crystals relative to the source. Mass balance calculation based on crystal/glass fractionation indicates an additional 12 km³ of airfall tephra was deposited outside the observed fall-out envelope as dispersed ash.Discharge of pyroclastic flows into the sea along the west coast of Dominica initiated subaqueous pyroclastic debris flows which descended the steep western submarine flanks of the island. 30 km³ of tephra were deposited by this process on the floor of the Grenada Basin up to 250 km from source. The Roseau event represents the largest explosive eruption in the Lesser Antilles in the last 200,000 years and illustrates the complexity of primary volcanogenic sedimentation associated with a major explosive eruption within an island arc environment.     

Microseism Variations in Response to Antarctic Seasonal Changes in Sea Ice Extent

The temporal and spatial distributions of Antarctic sea ice play important roles in both the generation mechanisms and the signal characteristics of microseisms. This link paves the way for seismological investigations of Antarctic sea ice. Here we present an overview of the current state of seismological research about microseisms on Antarctic sea ice. We first briefly review satellite remote-sensing observations of Antarctic sea ice over the past 50 years. We then systematically expound upon the generation mechanisms and source distribution of microseisms in relation to seismic noise investigations of sea ice, and the characteristics of Antarctic microseisms and relationship with sea ice variations are further analyzed. We also analyze the continuous data recorded at seismic station BEAR in West Antarctica from 2011 to 2018 and compare the microseism observations with the corresponding satellite remote-sensing observations of Antarctic sea ice. Our results show that:(1) the microseisms from the coastal regions of West Antarctica exhibit clear seasonal variations, SFM with maximum intensities every April-May and minimum intensities around every October-November; while DFM intensities peak every February-March, and reach the minimum around every October. Comparatively, the strong seasonal periodicity of Antarctic sea ice in better agreement with the observed DFM; and (2) microseism decay is not synchronous with sea ice expansion since the microseism intensity is also linked to the source location, source intensity (e.g., ocean storms, ocean wave field), and other factors. Finally, we discuss the effect of Southern Annular Mode on Antarctic sea ice and microseisms, as well as the current limitations and potential of employing seismological investigations to elucidate Antarctic sea ice variations and climate change.     

Distribution, age and chemical composition of tephra layers in deep-sea sediments off western Indonesia

Tephra layers occur in deep-sea sediments of the northeastern Indian Ocean, adjacent to western Indonesian are. The layers range in age from Recent to Late Miocene. Relative abundance of light and heavy mineral species in all tephra layers have been determined, and pure glass shards from representative samples have been analyzed chemically for major oxides. On the basis of the chemical data, three distinct provinces can be recognized: (1) an extensive province of rhyolitic tephra layers, ranging in age back to Late Miocene, is found adjacent to Sumatra; (2) a more restricted province of dacitic layers, adjacent to Sunda Strait and western Java; and (3) a province of andesitic layers, found adjacent to eastern Java and the Lesser Sunda Islands. Chemical composition of tephra layers in each province remains constant with time. As an example, tephra layers from the rhyolitic province are characterized by a high and restricted range of SiO₂ (75–77%) when expressed on an H₂O-free basis.Tephra layers recovered from the study area were examined for chemical evidence of secondary alteration. The analyses revealed that H₂O is the only major oxide in the glass shards which increases progressively with the age of the tephra layers regardless of the bulk composition. H₂O, however, reaches a “saturation point” of 4–5% in the layers 250–400 thousands of years old and remains constant to the oldest recovered tephra layer (7.5 m.y. old).The decrease in silica content in deep-sea tephra layers eastward along the Indonesian volcanic arc coincides with a similar eastward decrease in average silica content in Indonesian lavas. A relatively high silica content in lavas from Sumatra, with associated ignimbrites and their deep-sea ash-fall equivalents is closely linked to thick pre-Cenozoic crust. In the portion of the arc to the east of Sumatra, the crust is Cenozoic and thin. Difference in silica content of both the lavas and deep-sea tephras along the Indonesian arc is considered in regard to the hypothesis of “magma filtering” which is based on the contrasting density gradients of ascending magma and the upper crust.     

Records of Toba eruptions in the South China Sea -Chemical characteristics of the glass shards from ODP 1143A

Three layers of volcanic tephra, sampled from ODP 1143 Site in the South China Sea,were observed at the mcd depth of 5.55 m, 42.66 m, and 48.25 m, and named, in this paper, lay ers of A, B, and C, respectively. All of these tephra layers have an average thickness of ca. 2 cm.They were constrained in age of ca. 0.070 Ma, ca. 0.80 Ma, and ca. 1.00 Ma, respectively, by the microbiostratigraphy data. These tephra layers were predominated by volcanic glass shards with a median grain size of 70-75 μm in diameter. Major chemical compositions analyzed by EMPA and comparison with the previous data from other scatter areas suggest that these three layers of tephra can correspond to the three layers of Toba tephra, YTT, OTT, and HDT, respectively, erupt ing during the Quaternary. The occurrence of these tephra layers in the South China Sea implies that the Toba eruptions often occurred in the summer monsoon seasons of the South China Sea during the Quaternary, and that the strength of eruptions was probably stronger than that previously estimated.     

Records of Toba eruptions in the South China Sea

Three layers of volcanic tephra, sampled from ODP 1143 Site in the South China Sea, were observed at the mcd depth of 5.55 m, 42.66 m, and 48.25 m, and named, in this paper, layers of A, B, and C, respectively. All of these tephra layers have an average thickness of ca. 2 cm. They were constrained in age of ca. 0.070 Ma, ca. 0.80 Ma, and ca. 1.00 Ma, respectively, by the microbiostratigraphy data. These tephra layers were predominated by volcanic glass shards with a median grain size of 70–75 μm in diameter. Major chemical compositions analyzed by EMPA and comparison with the previous data from other scatter areas suggest that these three layers of tephra can correspond to the three layers of Toba tephra, YTT, OTT, and HDT, respectively, erupting during the Quaternary. The occurrence of these tephra layers in the South China Sea implies that the Toba eruptions often occurred in the summer monsoon seasons of the South China Sea during the Quaternary, and that the strength of eruptions was probably stronger than that previously estimated.     

Tephrostratigraphy and paleoenvironmental variation in late Quaternary core sediments of the southwestern Ulleung Basin, East Sea (Sea of Japan)

Abstract   Data on the late Quaternary tephra layers, tephrostratigraphy, geochemistry and environment were determined in two sediment cores from the southwestern part of Ulleung Basin (East Sea/Sea of Japan), representing marine-oxygen isotope stages 1–3. The cores consist mainly of muddy sediments that are partly interbedded with silty sands, lapilli tephra and ash layers. The lapilli tephra layers (Ulleung-Oki tephra, 9.3 ka) originating from Ulleung Island consist mainly of massive-type glass shards, whereas the ash layers (Aira-Tanzawa ash, 22.0–24.7 ka) derived from southern Kyushu Island are mainly composed of typical plane-type and bubble-wall glasses that are higher in SiO₂ and lower in Na₂O + K₂O than the lapilli tephra layers. Except for the tephra layers, fine-grained sediments throughout the core sections are mostly of marine origin based on geochemical data (C/N ratios, hydrogen index, S2 peak) and Tmax. In particular, organic carbon contents increased during Termination I, probably as a result of an influx of the deglacial Tsushima Current through the Korea Strait.     

ANNUAL SEA LEVEL VARIABILITY INDUCED BY CHANGES IN SEA ICE EXTENT AND ACCUMULATION ON ICE SHEETS: AN ASSESSMENT BASED ON REMOTELY SENSED DATA

Changes of mean annual net accumulation at the surface on the grounded ice sheets of East Antarctica, West Antarctica and Greenland in response to variations in sea ice extent are estimated using grid-point values 100 km apart. The data bases are assembled principally by bilinear interpolation of remotely sensed brightness temperature (Nimbus-5 ESMR, Nimbus-7 SMMR), surface temperature (Nimbus-7 THIR), and surface elevation (ERS-1 radar altimeter). These data, complemented by field data where remotely sensed data are not available, are used in multivariate analyses in which mean annual accumulation (derived from firn emissivity) is the dependent variable; the independent variables are latitude, surface elevation, mean annual surface temperature, and mean annual distance to open ocean (as a source of energy and moisture). The last is the shortest distance measured between a grid point and the mean annual position of the 10% sea ice concentration boundary, and is used as an index of changes in sea ice extent as well as of mean concentration. Stepwise correlation analyses indicate that variations in sea ice extent of ± 50 km would lead to changes in accumulation inversely of ± 4% on East Antarctica, ± 10% on West Antarctica, and ±4% on Greenland. These results are compared with those obtained in a previous study using visually interpolated values from contoured compilations of field data; they substantiate the findings for the Antarctic ice sheets (±4% on East Antarctica, ±9% in West Antarctica), and suggest a reduction by one half of the probable change of accumulation on Greenland (from ±8%). The results also suggest a reduction of the combined contribution to sea level variability to ±0.19 mm a-1 (from ±0.22 mm a-1).     

The exceptional magnitude and intensity of the Toba eruption,sumatra: An example of the use of deep-sea tephra layers as a geological tool

The eruption of Toba (75,000 years BP), Sumatra, is the largest magnitude eruption documented from the Quaternary. The eruption produced the largest-known caldera the dimensions of which are 100 × 30 km and which is surrounded by rhyolitic ignimbrite covering an area of over 20,000 km². The associated deep-sea tephra layer is found in piston cores in the north-eastern Indian Ocean covering a minimum area of 5 × 10⁶ km². We have investigated the thickness, grain size and texture of the Toba deep-sea tephra layer in order to demonstrate the use of deep-sea tephra layers as a volcanological tool. The exceptional magnitude and intensity of the Toba eruption is demonstrated by comparison of these data with the deep-sea tephra layers associated with the eruptions of the Campanian ignimbrite, Italy and of Santorini, Greece in Minoan time. The volume of ignimbrite and distal tephra fall deposit produced in the Toba eruption are comparable, a total of at least 1000 km³ of dense rhyolitic magma. In contrast the volume of dense magma produced by the Campanian and Santorini eruptions are approximately 70 and 13 km³ respectively. Thickness versus distance data on the three deep-sea tephra layers show that eruptions of smaller magnitude than Santorini are unlikely to be preserved as distinct tephra layers in most deep-sea cores. In proximal cores all three tephra layers show two distinct units: a lower coarse-grained unit and an upper fine-grained unit. We interpret the lower unit as a plinian deposit and the upper unit as a co-ignimbrite ash-fall deposit, indicating two major eruptive phases. The Toba tephra layer is coarser both in maximum and median grain size than the Campanian and Santorini layers at a given distance from source. These data are interpreted to indicate a very high cruption column, estimated to be at least 45 km. We have applied a method for estimating the duration of the Toba eruption from the style of graded-bedding in deep-sea tephra layers. Studies of two cores yield estimates of 9 and 14 days. The eruption column height and duration estimates both indicate an average volume discharge rate of approximately 10⁶ m³/sec. The Toba eruption therefore was not only of exceptional magnitude, but also of exceptional intensity.     

One Million Years tephra record at IODP Sites U1436 and U1437: Insights into explosive volcanism from the Japan and Izu arcs

The 1 Myr tephra records of IODP (International Ocean Discovery Program) Holes U1436A and U1437B in the Izu‐Bonin fore‐ and reararc were investigated in order to assess provenance and eruptive volumes, respectively. In total, 304 tephra samples were examined and 260 primary tephra layers were identified. Tephra provenance was determined by means of major and trace element compositions of glass shards and distinguished between Japan and Izu‐Bonin arc origin of the tephra layers. A total of 33 marine tephra compositions were correlated to the Japan arc and 227 to the Izu arc. Twenty marine tephra layers were correlated between the two drilling sites. Additionally, we defined eleven correlations of marine tephra deposits to major widespread Japanese eruptions; from the 1.05 Ma Shishimuta‐Pink Tephra to the 30 ka Aira‐Tn Tephra, both from Kyushu Island. These eruptions provide independent time markers within the sediment record and six correlations were used to date tephra layers from Japan in Hole U1436A to establish an alternative age model for this hole. Furthermore, the minimum distal tephra volumes of all detected events were calculated, which enabled the comparison of the tephra volumes that derived from the Japan and the Izu‐Bonin arcs. For some of the major Japanese eruptions these are the first volume estimations that also include distal deposits. All of the Japanese tephras derived from events with eruption magnitude M_v ≥ 5.6 and three of the investigated eruptions reach magnitudes M_v ≥ 7. Volcanic events of the Izu‐Bonin arc have mostly eruption magnitudes M_v ≤ 5.     

The first tephra evidence for a Late Glacial explosive volcanic eruption in the Arxan-Chaihe volcanic field (ACVF), northeast China

A 5 mm thick tephra layer has been identified in the lacustrine sediments of Moon Lake in the Arxan-Chaihe volcanic field (ACVF) in Greater Khingan Mountains (NE China). The visible tephra layer is clearly revealed as a distinct peak in magnetic susceptibility measurements. The tephra layer consists mainly of brown vesicular glass shards and minor amounts of plagioclase, olivine and clinopyroxene. Major and minor element analysis has been carried out on the glass shards and plagioclase minerals. Glass shards show low concentrations of K₂O, similar to the eruptive products derived from post-Miocene volcanoes of the ACVF. The plagioclase phenocrysts in both lava and tephra from ACVF, and in the tephra recorded in Moon Lake are labradorites. During the Late Pleistocene to Holocene, there were also extensive explosive eruptions in the nearby Nuominhe volcanic field (NVF). Volcanic rocks from the ACVF are easily distinguished from those derived from the NVF, having distinctly different K₂O concentrations. This compositional variation is likely the result of different magmatic processes operating in the ACVF and NVF. Radiocarbon dating on organic materials from the lacustrine sediments dates the tephra layer to ca. 14,200 cal yrs BP, which implies that it was generated by a previously unknown Late Pleistocene explosive eruption in the ACVF. These results, for the first time, give a direct tephra record in this area, and suggest that identification of further tephra and/or cryptotephra in local sedimentary basins such as crater lakes of scoria cones and maars will be significant for dating the Late Pleistocene to Holocene volcanic eruptions and will help to establish a detailed record of the volcanic activity in the ACVF. The newly discovered tephra layer also provides a dated tephrochronological marker layer, which will in future studies provide a means to synchronise local sedimentary records of the climatically variable Late Glacial.     

利用ICESat数据解算南极冰盖冰雪质量变化

南极冰盖冰雪质量变化反映了全球气候变化,并且直接影响着全球海平面变化.ICESat测高卫星的主要任务之一就是要确定南北两极冰盖的质量变化情况并评估其对全球海平面变化的影响.本文利用2003年10月至2008年12月的ICESat测高数据,针对南极DEM分辨率有限的特殊性,通过求解坡度改正值,解决重复轨道地面脚点不重合的问题,计算了南极大陆(86°S以北区域,后文所述南极冰盖均不包括86°S以南区域)在这5年里的冰雪质量变化情况,得到东南极冰盖的质量变化为-18±20Gt/a,西南极-26±6Gt/a,南极冰盖的冰雪质量变化为-44±21Gt/a,对全球海平面上升的影响约为0.12mm·a~(-1).解算结果表明,南极冰盖质量亏损主要集中在西南极阿蒙森海岸附近冰川以及东南极波因塞特角区域.     

Response of the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets to Multi-Millennial Greenhouse Warming in the Earth System Model of Intermediate Complexity LOVECLIM

Calculations were performed with the Earth system model of intermediate complexity LOVECLIM to study the response of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets to sustained multi-millennial greenhouse warming. Use was made of fully dynamic 3D thermomechanical ice-sheet models bidirectionally coupled to an atmosphere and an ocean model. Two 3,000-year experiments were evaluated following forcing scenarios with atmospheric CO₂ concentration increased to two and four times the pre-industrial value, and held constant thereafter. In the high concentration scenario the model shows a sustained mean annual warming of up to 10°C in both polar regions. This leads to an almost complete disintegration of the Greenland ice sheet after 3,000 years, almost entirely caused by increased surface melting. Significant volume loss of the Antarctic ice sheet takes many centuries to initiate due to the thermal inertia of the Southern Ocean but is equivalent to more than 4 m of global sea-level rise by the end of simulation period. By that time, surface conditions along the East Antarctic ice sheet margin take on characteristics of the present-day Greenland ice sheet. West Antarctic ice shelves have thinned considerably from subshelf melting and grounding lines have retreated over distances of several 100 km, especially for the Ross ice shelf. In the low concentration scenario, corresponding to a local warming of 3?C4°C, polar ice-sheet melting proceeds at a much lower rate. For the first 1,200 years, the Antarctic ice sheet is even slightly larger than today on account of increased accumulation rates but contributes positively to sea-level rise after that. The Greenland ice sheet loses mass at a rate equivalent to 35 cm of global sea level rise during the first 1,000 years increasing to 150 cm during the last 1,000 years. For both scenarios, ice loss from the Antarctic ice sheet is still accelerating after 3,000 years despite a constant greenhouse gas forcing after the first 70?C140 years of the simulation.     

The last 40 ka tephrostratigraphic record of Lake Ohrid,Albania and Macedonia: a very distal archive for ash dispersal from Italian volcanoes

A 1075 cm long core (Lz1120) was recovered in the south-eastern part of the Lake Ohrid (Republics of Macedonia and Albania) and sampled for identification of tephra layers. Magnetic susceptibility investigations show rather high magnetic values throughout the core, with peaks unrelated to the occurrence of tephra layers but instead to the relative abundance of detrital magnetic minerals in the sediment. Naked-eye inspection of the core allowed us to identify of two tephra layers, at 896–897 cm and 1070–1075 cm. Laboratory inspection of the grain-size fraction > 125 μm allowed for the identification of a third cryptotephra at 310–315 cm. Major element analyses on glass shards of the tephra layers at 896–897 cm and 1070–1075 cm show a trachytic composition, and indicate a correlation with the regionally dispersed Y-3 and Y-5 tephra layers, dated at ca 30 and 39 cal ka BP. The cryptotephra at 310–315 cm has a mugearitic–benmoreitic composition, and was correlated with the FL eruption of Mt. Etna, dated at 3370 ± 70 cal yr BP. These ages are in agreement with five ¹⁴C AMS measurements carried out on plant remains and macrofossils from the lake sediments at different depths along the core.