Age and impacts of the caldera-forming Aniakchak II eruption in western Alaska

The mid-Holocene eruption of Aniakchak volcano (Aniakchak II) in southwest Alaska was among the largest eruptions globally in the last 10,000 years (VEI-6). Despite evidence for possible impacts on global climate, the precise age of the eruption is not well-constrained and little is known about regional environmental impacts. A closely spaced sequence of radiocarbon dates at a peatland site over 1000 km from the volcano show that peat accumulation was greatly reduced with a hiatus of approximately 90–120 yr following tephra deposition. During this inferred hiatus no paleoenvironmental data are available but once vegetation returned the flora changed from a Cyperaceae-dominated assemblage to a Poaceae-dominated vegetation cover, suggesting a drier and/or more nutrient-rich ecosystem. Oribatid mites are extremely abundant in the peat at the depth of the ash, and show a longer-term, increasingly wet peat surface across the tephra layer. The radiocarbon sample immediately below the tephra gave a date of 1636–1446 cal yr BC suggesting that the eruption might be younger than previously thought. Our findings suggest that the eruption may have led to a widespread reduction in peatland carbon sequestration and that the impacts on ecosystem functioning were profound and long-lasting.     

Robust date for the Bronze Age Avellino eruption (Somma-Vesuvius): 3945 ± 10 calBP (1995 ± 10 calBC)

We found Bronze Age lake sediments from the Agro Pontino graben (Central Italy) to contain a thin (2–3 cm) continuous tephra layer composed of lithics, crystals and minor volcanic glass. Tephrochronological and compositional constraints strongly suggest that this layer represents the Avellino pumice eruption, which has also been identified in Central Italian lake cores. Its provenance is corroborated by electron-microprobe analyses performed on juvenile pumice grains, showing that the tephra layer is probably the distal equivalent of the EU2 event of the Avellino eruption. We used multiple ¹⁴C age estimations of two lacustrine sequences with intercalated tephra layer, from the western border zone (Migliara 44.5) and the centre of the former lake (Campo Inferiore), for in tandem dating of this eruption, employing the OxCal code, which yielded a robust age of 3945 ± 10 calBP (1995 ± 10 calBC). To date, this is the only study providing both a terminus post and terminus ante quem of this precision, also demonstrating the advantage of dating distal tephra layers in a clear stratigraphic context over proximal deposits in sequences with major stratigraphic hiatuses. Our new results underscore the importance of the Avellino tephra layer as a precise time marker for studies on the Early Bronze Age of Central Italy.     

A model study on the decay of volcanic aerosol layer and verification with Pinatubo and El Chichon data

The time evolution of stratospheric aerosol layer formed after a volcanic eruption is studied taking into account the aerosol microphysical processes of growth, coagulation and sedimentation. Using a simple model we could explain the observed evolution of the Pinatubo volcanic layer which decayed in about 3 years. The experimental data obtained by Nd:YAG backscatter lidar over Ahmedabad further supports this finding. The data obtained after the El Chichon volcanic eruption also showed that the El Chichon aerosol layer decayed in about 3 years time. Thus, though the amount of SO₂ injected has been higher, in the case of Pinatubo, about two to three times more than El Chichon, it has resulted in the production of larger aerosol particles due to faster growth and coagulation processes, and subsequently a faster removal rate, to give more or less a similar background aerosol amount at the stratosphere in about 3 years time.     

Using cryptotephras to extend regional tephrochronologies: An example from southeast Alaska and implications for hazard assessment

Cryptotephrochronology, the use of hidden, diminutive volcanic ash layers to date sediments, has rarely been applied outside western Europe but has the potential to improve the tephrochronology of other regions of the world. Here we present the first comprehensive cryptotephra study in Alaska. Cores were extracted from five peatland sites, with cryptotephras located by ashing and microscopy and their glass geochemistry examined using electron probe microanalysis. Glass geochemical data from nine tephras were compared between sites and with data from previous Alaskan tephra studies. One tephra present in all the cores is believed to represent a previously unidentified eruption of Mt. Churchill and is named here as the ‘Lena tephra’. A mid-Holocene tephra in one site is very similar to Aniakchak tephra and most likely represents a previously unidentified Aniakchak eruption, ca. 5300-5030 cal yr BP. Other tephras are from the late Holocene White River eruption, a mid-Holocene Mt. Churchill eruption, and possibly eruptions of Redoubt and Augustine volcanoes. These results show the potential of cryptotephras to expand the geographic limits of tephrochronology and demonstrate that Mt. Churchill has been more active in the Holocene than previously appreciated. This finding may necessitate reassessment of volcanic hazards in the region.     

Tree growth response to the 1913 eruption of Volcán de Fuego de Colima, Mexico

The impact of volcanic eruptions on forest ecosystems can be investigated using dendrochronological records. While long-range effects are usually mediated by decreased air temperatures, resulting in frost rings or reduced maximum latewood density, local effects include abrupt suppression of radial growth, occasionally followed by greater than normal growth rates. Annual rings in Mexican mountain pine (Pinus hartwegii Lindl.) on Nevado de Colima, at the western end of the Mexican Neovolcanic Belt, indicate extremely low growth in 1913 and 1914, following the January 1913 Plinian eruption of Volcán de Fuego, 7.7 km to the south. That event, which is listed among the largest explosive eruptions since A.D. 1500, produced ashflow deposits up to 40 m thick and blanketed our study area on Nevado de Colima with a tephra fallout 15–30 cm deep. Radial growth reduction in 1913–14 was ≥30% in 73% of the sampled trees. We geostatistically investigated the ecological impact of the eruption by mapping the decrease in xylem increment and found no evidence of a spatial structure in growth reduction. Little information has been available to date on forest species as biological archives of past environments in the North American tropics, yet this historical case study suggests that treeline tropical sites hold valuable records of prehistoric phenomena, including volcanic eruptions.     

Methods for determination of the age of Pleistocene tephra,derived from eruption of Toba,in central India

Tephra, emplaced as a result of Pleistocene eruption of the Indonesian ‘supervolcano’ Toba, occurs at many localities in India. However, the ages of these deposits have hitherto been contentious; some workers have argued that these deposits mark the most recent eruption (eruption A, ca 75 ka), although at some sites they are stratigraphically associated with Acheulian (Lower Palaeolithic) artefacts. Careful examination of the geochemical composition of the tephras, which are composed predominantly of shards of rhyolitic glass, indicates that discrimination between the products of eruption A and eruption D (ca 790 ka) of Toba is difficult. Nonetheless, this comparison favours eruption D as the source of the tephra deposits at some sites in India, supporting the long-held view that the Lower Palaeolithic of India spans the late Early Pleistocene. In principle, these tephra deposits should be dateable using the K–Ar system; however, previous experience indicates contamination by a small proportion of ancient material, resulting in apparent ages that exceed the true ages of the tephras. We have established the optimum size-fraction in which the material from Toba is concentrated, 53–61 μm, and have considered possible origins for the observed contamination. We also demonstrate that Ar–Ar analysis of four out of five of our samples has yielded material with an apparent age similar to that expected for eruption D. These numerical ages, of 809 ± 51, 714 ± 62, 797 ± 45 and 827 ± 39 ka for the tephras at Morgaon, Bori, Gandhigram and Simbhora, provide a weighted mean age for this eruption of 799 ± 24 ka (plus-or-minus two standard deviations). However, these numerical ages are each derived from no more than 10–20% of the argon release in each sample, which is not ideal. Nonetheless, our results demonstrate that it is feasible, in principle, to date this difficult material using the Ar–Ar technique; future follow-up studies will therefore be able to refine our preparation and analysis procedures to better optimize the dating.     

Tephra Discovered in High Resolution Peat Sediment and Its Indication to Climatic Event

Floating tephra was deposited together with ice core,snow layer,abyssal sediment,lake sediments,and other geological records.It is of great significance to interpret the impact on the climate change of volcanic eruptions from these geological records.It is the first time that volcanic glass was discovered from the peat of Jinchuan(金川)Maar,Jilin(吉林)Province,China.And it is in situ sediments from a near-source explosive eruption according to particle size analysis and identification results.The tephra were neither from Tianchi(天池)volcano eruptions,Changbai(长白)Mountain,nor from Jinlongdingzi(金龙顶子)volcano about 1 600 aBP eruption,but maybe from an unknown eruption of Longgang(龙岗)volcano group according to their geochemistry and distribution.Geochemical characters of the tephra are similar to those of Jingiongdingzi,which are poor in s.Jica,deficient in alkali,Na20 content is more than K20 content,and are similar to distribution patterns of REE and incompatible elements,which helps to speculate that they originated from the same mantle magma with rare condemnation,and from basaltic explosive eruption of Longgang volcano group.The tephra,from peat with age proved that the eruption possibly happened in 15 BC-26 AD,is one of Longgang volcano group eruption that was not recorded and is earlier than that of Jinglongdingzi about 1 600 aBP eruption.And the sedimentary time of tephra is during the period of low temperature alteration.which may be the influence of eruption toward the local climate according to the correlativity of eruption to local temperature curve of peat cellulose oxygen isotope.     

从新发现的满文史料看五大连池新期火山喷发过程与特征

新发现的满文史料较已往史料对五大连池新期火山喷发活动记述得完整、可靠。根据新史料,老黑山火山喷发是始于公元1720年1月14日,止于1721年3月（康熙五十八年十二月五日到康熙六十年二月）,活动持续时间一年零两个月。火烧山火山喷发活动始于公元1721年4月26日,止于1721年6月（康熙六十年四月一日到五月末）,喷发持续时间近两个月。火山熔岩流截断乌德邻河形成乌德邻池（五大连池的旧称）。地震与火山喷发关系密切,地震伴随此次火山喷发的全过程。     

The Tambora eruption in 1815 provides a test on possible global climatic and chemical perturbations in the past

A coupled one-dimensional radiative-convective-photochemical diffusion model, which takes into account the influence of ocean inertia on global radiative perturbations is used to investigate the possible climatic and other atmospheric effects of a major volcanic eruption, thought to be similar in magnitude to that of the Tambora eruption, Indonesia, which took place in 1815. A volcanic cloud was introduced in the model stratosphere between 20–25 km and the global average peak aerosol optical thickness was assumed to be 0.25. Both the aerosol optical thickness and aerosol composition, which determine the optical properties, were allowed to vary in the model atmosphere during the life cycle of the volcanic cloud. The results indicate that the global average surface temperature decreases steadily from the date of eruption (7–12 April 1815) with maximum cooling of 1° K occurring in the spring of 1816. The calculations also show significant warming of the stratosphere, with temperature increasing up to 15° K at 25 km in less than six months after the date of eruption. The important effects of the Tambora eruption on stratospheric ozone and UV-B radiation at the surface are also mentioned.     

The Tambora eruption in 1815 provides a test on possible global climatic and chemical perturbations in the past

A coupled one-dimensional radiative-convective-photochemical diffusion model, which takes into account the influence of ocean inertia on global radiative perturbations is used to investigate the possible climatic and other atmospheric effects of a major volcanic eruption, thought to be similar in magnitude to that of the Tambora eruption, Indonesia, which took place in 1815. A volcanic cloud was introduced in the model stratosphere between 20–25 km and the global average peak aerosol optical thickness was assumed to be 0.25. Both the aerosol optical thickness and aerosol composition, which determine the optical properties, were allowed to vary in the model atmosphere during the life cycle of the volcanic cloud. The results indicate that the global average surface temperature decreases steadily from the date of eruption (7–12 April 1815) with maximum cooling of 1° K occurring in the spring of 1816. The calculations also show significant warming of the stratosphere, with temperature increasing up to 15° K at 25 km in less than six months after the date of eruption. The important effects of the Tambora eruption on stratospheric ozone and UV-B radiation at the surface are also mentioned.     

Correlation of the oldest Toba Tuff to sediments in the central Indian Ocean Basin

We have identified an ash layer in association with Australasian microtektites of ∼0.77 Ma old in two sediment cores which are ∼450 km apart in the central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB). Morphology and chemical composition of glass shards and associated microtektites have been used to trace their provenance. In ODP site 758 from Ninetyeast Ridge, ash layer-D (13 cm thick, 0.73–0.75 Ma) and layer-E (5 cm thick, 0.77–0.78 Ma) were previously correlated to the oldest Toba Tuff (OTT) eruptions of the Toba caldera, Sumatra. In this investigation, we found tephra ∼3100 km to the southwest of Toba caldera that is chemically identical to layer D of ODP site 758 and ash in the South China Sea correlated to the OTT. Layer E is not present in the CIOB or other ocean basins. The occurrence of tephra correlating to layer D suggests a widespread distribution of OTT tephra (∼3.6 × 10⁷ km²), an ash volume of at least ∼1800 km³, a total OTT volume of 2300 km³, and classification of the OTT eruption as a super-eruption.     

Mid-Holocene Glacier Peak and Mount St. Helens We Tephra Layers Detected in Lake Sediments from Southern British Columbia Using High-Resolution Techniques

A Glacier Peak tephra has been found in the mid-Holocene sediment records of two subalpine lakes, Frozen Lake in the southern Coast Mountains and Mount Barr Cirque Lake in the North Cascade Mountains of British Columbia, Canada. The age–depth relationship for each lake suggests an age of 5000–5080 ¹⁴C yr B.P. (5500–5900 cal yr B.P.) for the eruption which closely approximates the estimated age (5100–5500 ¹⁴C yr B.P.) of the Dusty Creek tephra assemblage found near Glacier Peak. The tephra layer, which has not been reported previously from distal sites and was not readily visible in the sediments, was located using contiguous sampling, magnetic susceptibility measurements, wet sieving, and light microscopy. The composition of the glass in pumice fragments was determined by electron microprobe analysis and used to confirm the probable source of this mid-Holocene tephra layer. Using the same methods, the A.D. 1481–1482 Mount St. Helens We tephra layer was identified in sediments from Dog Lake in southeastern British Columbia, suggesting the plume drifted further north than previously thought. This high-resolution method for identifying tephra layers in lake sediments, which has worldwide application in tephrachronologic/paleoenvironmental studies, has furthered our knowledge of the timing and airfall distribution of Holocene tephras from two important Cascade volcanoes.     

Formation of dome and basin structures: Results from scaled experiments using non-linear rock analogues

Dome and basin folds are structures with circular or slightly elongate outcrop patterns, which can form during single- and polyphase deformation in various tectonic settings. We used power-law viscous rock analogues to simulate single-phase dome-and-basin folding of rocks undergoing dislocation creep. The viscosity ratio between a single competent layer and incompetent matrix was 5, and the stress exponent of both materials was 7. The samples underwent layer-parallel shortening under bulk pure constriction.Increasing initial layer thickness resulted in a decrease in the number of domes and basins and an increase in amplitude, A, arc-length, L, wavelength, λ, and layer thickness, H_f. Samples deformed incrementally show progressive development of domes and basins until a strain of e_Y=Z = −30% is attained. During the dome-and-basin formation the layer thickened permanently, while A, L, and λ increased. A dominant wavelength was not attained. The normalized amplitude (A/λ) increased almost linearly reaching a maximum of 0.12 at e_Y=Z = −30%. During the last increment of shortening (e_Y=Z = −30 to −40%) the domes and basins did not further grow, but were overprinted by a second generation of non-cylindrical folds. Most of the geometrical parameters of the previously formed domes and basins behaved stable or decreased during this phase. The normalized arc-length (L/H_f) of domes and basins is significantly higher than that of 2D cylindrical folds. For this reason, the normalized arc length can probably be used to identify domes and basins in the field, even if these structures are not fully exposed in 3D.     

Cryptotephra from the 74 ka BP Toba super-eruption in the Billa Surgam caves,southern India

The ～74 ka BP Youngest Toba Tuff (YTT), from the largest known Quaternary volcanic eruption, has been found for the first time as a non-visible (crypto-) tephra layer within the Billa Surgam caves, southern India. The occurrence of the YTT layer in Charnel House Cave provides the first calendrical age estimate for this much debated Pleistocene faunal sequence and demonstrates the first successful application of cryptotephrochronology within a cave sequence. The YTT layer lies ～50 cm below a major sedimentological change, which is related to global cooling around the MIS 5 to MIS 4 transition. Using this isochronous event layer the Billa Surgam Cave record can be directly correlated with other archaeological sites in peninsular India and palaeoenvironmental archives across southern Asia.     

Archaeological evidence for dating the Loma Caldera eruption,Ceren, El Salvador

A Classic Period agricultural village in El Salvador was partially destroyed and encased in pyroclastic debris during the eruption of Loma Caldera about A.D. 590. The eruption was phreatomagmatic in nature, depositing alternating units of “muddy” pyroclastic surge beds and units of air fall lapilli, pumice, and volcanic bombs. This ephemeral eruptive left only a partially eroded collapsed tephra ring. The eruption began with earth tremors and possible steam explosions, giving enough warning to allow the inhabitants of the nearby village to flee, but violent enough that they left behind many of their most valuable personal items. The low temperature of wet ash surge units, which were likely emplaced as “ash hurricanes,” preserved much of the vegetation and other botanical remains surrounding the village. Analysis of the maturity of maize preserved in agricultural fields, and the presence or absence of blossoming and fruiting plants indicates that the eruption occurred in the mid-rainy season, probably late August or September. The placement of artifacts within buildings indicate that the eruption occurred in the early evening, after the inhabitants had returned from their agricultural fields and eaten an evening meal, but before retiring for the night. Although the exact year of the eruption can only be estimated within the uncertainty of radiocarbon dating, the season of the year and the time of day can be identified with unusual precision. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Behaviour of chlorine prior and during the 79 A.D. Plinian eruption of Vesuvius (southern Italy) as inferred from the present distribution in glassy mesostases and whole-pumices

This study deals with the distribution of chlorine in glassy mesostases and whole-pumices from the 79 A.D. Plinian eruption (Somma–Vesuvius volcanic complex, Italy). This explosive event produced a prominent Plinian fall deposit followed by flows and surges. The fall deposit can be divided into two sub-units on the basis of an abrupt change in colour at approximately mid-level: a phonolitic white pumice layer at the base and a tephriphonolitic grey pumice layer at the top. Due to its hybrid nature (a mixture of k-tephritic, tephriphonolitic and phonolitic magmas), information on chlorine behaviour in tephriphonolitic magma has been inferred only by means of mass balance calculations. In the white pumices, chlorine concentrations show constant whole-pumice values, whereas glassy mesostases display significant compositional variations. These variations have been linked to the cryptocrystallisation of leucite in glassy mesostases, which affected the original melt compositions just before and during the eruptive event. In this framework, whole-pumice appears to better represent the pre-eruptive melt compositions. Using chlorine concentration in whole-pumices, a three-stage model of chlorine behaviour prior and during the eruptive event is predicted: (i) free variation during Rayleigh fractionation, according to a system with variance greater than zero; (ii) exsolution of volatile chlorine compounds (e.g., metal chlorides), when chlorine reaches its solubility limit in silicate melt, in coexisting hyper-saline and in dilute immiscible fluids; the variance of the system is zero at a given temperature and pressure; (iii) residual syn-eruptive variable enrichment of chlorine in the melt due to cryptocrystallization of leucite, suggesting a very minor loss of chlorine in the gas phase during the eruption. Although chlorine does not behave as a volatile element during the eruption, it is present in the volcanic plume. This is due to the postulated ‘excess' fluid phase containing chlorine that formed in the magma chamber prior to the eruption. The homogeneous distribution of chlorine in whole pumices, in contrast with a well-established chemical and isotopic layering in Vesuvian magmas prior to Pompei eruption, suggests that the trace element zonation is not directly linked to chlorine distribution in silicic melts.     

Multi-scale aquifer characterization and groundwater flow model parameterization using direct push technologies

Direct push (DP) technologies are typically used for cost-effective geotechnical characterization of unconsolidated soils and sediments. In more recent developments, DP technologies have been used for efficient hydraulic conductivity (K) characterization along vertical profiles with sampling resolutions of up to a few centimetres. Until date, however, only a limited number of studies document high-resolution in situ DP data for three-dimensional conceptual hydrogeological model development and groundwater flow model parameterization. This study demonstrates how DP technologies improve building of a conceptual hydrogeological model. We further evaluate the degree to which the DP-derived hydrogeological parameter K, measured across different spatial scales, improves performance of a regional groundwater flow model. The study area covers an area of ~60 km² with two overlying, mainly unconsolidated sand aquifers separated by a 5–7 m thick highly heterogeneous clay layer (in north-eastern Belgium). The hydrostratigraphy was obtained from an analysis of cored boreholes and about 265 cone penetration tests (CPTs). The hydrogeological parameter K was derived from a combined analysis of core and CPT data and also from hydraulic direct push tests. A total of 50 three-dimensional realizations of K were generated using a non-stationary multivariate geostatistical approach. To preserve the measured K values in the stochastic realizations, the groundwater model K realizations were conditioned on the borehole and direct push data. Optimization was performed to select the best performing model parameterization out of the 50 realizations. This model outperformed a previously developed reference model with homogeneous K fields for all hydrogeological layers. Comparison of particle tracking simulations, based either on the optimal heterogeneous or reference homogeneous groundwater model flow fields, demonstrate the impact DP-derived subsurface heterogeneity in K can have on groundwater flow and solute transport. We demonstrated that DP technologies, especially when calibrated with site-specific data, provide high-resolution 3D subsurface data for building more reliable conceptual models and increasing groundwater flow model performance.     

Kinetics of the reaction MgO + Al2O3 → MgAl2O4 and Al-Mg interdiffusion in spinel at 1200 to 2000°C and 1.0 to 4.0 GPa

The rate of spinel (MgAl₂O₄) growth at the interface between MgO and Al₂O₃ was investigated systematically at temperatures of 1200° to ∼2000°C and pressures between 1.0 and 4.0 GPa with a solid-media, piston-cylinder apparatus. As reported in previous 1-atm studies, the thickness (ΔX) of the spinel layer increases linearly with the square root of time for experiments differing only in duration, irrespective of pressure-temperature (P-T) conditions. The reaction rate constant (k = ΔX²/2t) is log-linear in 1/T and also in pressure. The apparent activation energy of 410 kJ/mol is independent of pressure; the apparent activation volume increases systematically with increasing temperature. Electron microprobe traverses across the spinel layer reveal a significant Al excess and charge-compensating Mg deficit near the spinel/corundum interface. This nonstoichiometry is promoted by high temperatures (>1500°C), suppressed by high pressures and varies linearly across the spinel to a near-stoichiometric composition at the interface with periclase. The Al and Mg composition gradients can be used to extract interdiffusion coefficients for Al ↔ Mg exchange through the spinel, which are described by D?=2.5×10⁻⁶ exp(−28200/T) m²sThese diffusivities differ substantially from the reaction rate constant k, reflecting the fact that k is a combination of the diffusivity and the reaction potential as indicated by the difference in spinel composition across the spinel layer (i.e., coexisting with corundum vs. coexisting with periclase). A simple model can be used to separate the two effects and show that the reaction potential (i.e., the MgO-Al₂O₃ phase diagram) is sensitive to changes in both temperature and pressure, whereas the governing diffusivity depends only on temperature.     

Glass geochemical compositions from widespread tephras erupted over the last 200 years from Mount St. Helens

Building reliable chronologies from lake sediments, peat and other paleoenvironmental archives can be challenging, especially for historical times where radiocarbon is unreliable. Nineteenth- and 20th-century eruptions from Mount St. Helens (MSH) provide important chronostratigraphic markers for regional paleoenvironmental studies within this time frame, but are constrained by poorly geochemically characterized tephra and/or limited published data. Here, we present glass geochemistry from the most significant eruptions from this time. This includes proximal, medial and distal deposits of the 18 May 1980 MSH eruption, layer T ( ad 1799/1800), a new tephra that we argue represents the ad 1842 eruption, and the 22 July 1980 eruption that had reported ashfall in Canada. Our results indicate that most tephras ejected during these eruptions, within a time frame of ~200 years, have distinct glass geochemical characteristics that can be used to identify distal deposits for tephrochronological studies. Layer T is on trend with analyses of the 1980 eruption but has a distinct dacitic glass population. The 1980 and ad 1842 eruptions are similar, both having rhyolitic glass compositions, but the ad 1842 event can be differentiated by a more constrained SiO₂ range in the main geochemical population, and the presence of a unique SiO₂ sub-population.