Chemical alteration of tephra in the depositional environment: theoretical stability modelling

The study of the chemical stability of vitreous material in aqueous media is well‐established. There has to date been little consideration of the implications of variations in the chemical durability of tephra in Quaternary tephrochronology. Chemical alteration can take the form of cationic leaching from the matrix, or complete destruction of the silica network, either of which could constrain the ability to chemically identify distal tephra. Here we apply established models of vitreous durability to the published chemical analyses of a large number of Icelandic tephras in order to predict their relative durabilities under equivalent conditions. This suggests that some important tephras have relatively poor chemical stability, and that rhyolitic tephras are, in general, more stable than basaltic. We conclude that tephras should be expected to show predictable differential chemical stability in the post‐depositional environment. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dissolution and depletion of ferromagnesian minerals from Holocene tephra layers in an acid bog,New Zealand,and implications for tephra correlation

This study examines the depletion of ferromagnesian silicate minerals from a sequence of thin, distal, mainly rhyolitic tephra layers of Holocene age preserved in an acid peat bog (Kopouatai), North Island, New Zealand. The rate of such depletion has been fast, as indicated by the complete loss of biotite from one tephra layer (Kaharoa Tephra), in which it is normally dominant, in only ca. 770 yr. Chemical dissolution is advocated as the likely cause for the depletion, with amphiboles and other mineral grains commonly showing etch pits, microcaves, and other characteristic surface solution features. Theoretical thermodynamic and kinetic models show a marked increase in the rate of dissolution of all ferromagnesian minerals under conditions of low pH (< 4), but that where silica concentrations in solution are high the relative proportions of minerals remaining are unaffected. However, where concentrations of dissolved silica are low, as in most bog environments, the relative proportions of ferromagnesian minerals are affected as well as absolute amounts being decreased. Amphiboles are depleted relative to pyroxenes, consistent with kinetic studies. The results show that the identification and correlation of tephras on the basis of relative abundances of ferromagnesian minerals alone may be unreliable, and emphasise the need to use multiple criteria in such studies.     

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.     

Distribution,sediment magnetism and geochemistry of the Saksunarvatn (10 180 ± 60 cal. yr BP) tephra in marine,lake, and terrestrial sediments,northwest Iceland

In 1997, seismic surveys in the troughs off northwest and north Iceland indicated the presence of a major, regional sub‐bottom reflector that can be traced over large areas of the shelf. Cores taken in 1997, and later in 1999 on the IMAGES V cruise, penetrated through the reflector. In core MD99‐2269 in Húnaflóaáll, this reflector is shown to be represented by a basaltic tephra with a geochemical signature and radiocarbon age correlative with the North Atlantic‐wide Saksunarvatn tephra. We trace this tephra throughout northwest Iceland in a series of marine and lake cores, as well as in terrestrial sediments; it forms a layer 1 to 25 cm thick of fine‐ to medium‐grained basaltic volcanic shards. The base of the tephra unit is always sharp but visual inspection and other measurements (carbonate and total organic carbon weight %) indicate a more diffuse upper boundary associated with bioturbation and with sediment reworking. Off northwest Iceland the Saksunarvatn tephra has distinct sediment magnetic properties. This is evident as a dramatic reduction in magnetic susceptibility, an increase in the frequency dependant magnetic susceptibility and ‘hard’ magnetisation in a −0.1T IRM backfield. Geochemical analyses from 11 sites indicate a tholeiitic basalt composition, similar to the geochemistry of a tephra found in the Greenland ice‐core that dates to 10 180 ± 60 cal. yr BP, and which was correlated with the 9000 ¹⁴C yr BP Saksunarvatn tephra. We present accelerator mass spectrometry ¹⁴C dates from the marine sites, which indicate that the ocean reservoir correction is close to ca. 400 yr at 9000 ¹⁴C yr BP off northwest Iceland. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Extraction of rhyolitic component of Vedde microtephra from minerogenic lake sediments

A technique is described for the extraction of rhyolitic microtephra from inorganic Lateglacial lake sediments. This technique was successfully applied by Lowe and Turney (1996) and is an adaption of the method described by Pilcher & Hall (1992) for application to Holocene peat deposits. It uses a density separation procedure to concentrate any microtephra component in lake sediments and was applied to the investigation of a lake sediment succession from a small basin in NE Scotland. Using this approach is was possible to define quantitatively for the first time the presence of the Vedde Ash tephra layer on the British Isles.     

Palaeoclimatic studies in South Shetland Islands,Antarctica, based on numerous stratigraphic variables in lake sediments

The hitherto longest found lake sediment sequence on Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands, was analysed with respect to lithology, chronology, diatoms, Pediastrum, pollen and spores, mosses, mineralogy, and sediment chemistry. During the ca. 5000 year long development the sediments were influenced by frequent tephra fall-outs. This volcanic impact played a major role in the lake's history during two periods, 4700–4600 and 2800–2500 BP, but was of importance during the lake's entire history with considerable influence on many of the palaeoenvironmentally significant indicators. The large and complex data set was analysed and zonated with different types of multivariate analysis. This resulted in a subdivision of the sequence into 8 time periods and 21 variables. Redundancy analysis (RDA) of this data set, both without and with the tephra periods, and with 4–6 of the variables as explanatory environmental variables, reveal that climatic/environmental signals are detectable. The palaeoclimatic picture that emerged out of the tephra noise suggests that the first 100 years were characterized by mild, humid conditions. This was followed by a less mild and humid climate until ca. 4000 BP when a gradual warming seems to have started, coupled with increased humidity. These mild and humid conditions seem to have reached an optimum slightly after 3000 BP. At ca. 2500 BP a distinct climatic deterioration occurred with colder and drier conditions and long seasons with ice cover. This arid, cold phase probably reached its optimum conditions at ca. 1500 BP, when slightly warmer conditions might have prevailed for a while. Except for the modern sample with rather mild climate, the last 1400 years seem to have been fairly arid and cold, and the effects of the frequent volcanic activity during this period is only vaguely seen in the records.     

An extremely large magnitude eruption close to the Plio-Pleistocene boundary: reconstruction of eruptive style and history of the Ebisutoge-Fukuda tephra, central Japan

An extremely large magnitude eruption of the Ebisutoge-Fukuda tephra, close to the Plio-Pleistocene boundary, central Japan, spread volcanic materials widely more than 290,000 km² reaching more than 300 km from the probable source. Characteristics of the distal air-fall ash (>150 km away from the vent) and proximal pyroclastic deposits are clarified to constrain the eruptive style, history, and magnitude of the Ebisutoge-Fukuda eruption.Eruptive history had five phases. Phase 1 is phreatoplinian eruption producing >105 km³ of volcanic materials. Phases 2 and 3 are plinian eruption and transition to pyroclastic flow. Plinian activity also occurred in phase 4, which ejected conspicuous obsidian fragments to the distal locations. In phase 5, collapse of eruption column triggered by phase 4, generated large pyroclastic flow in all directions and resulted in more than 250–350 km³ of deposits. Thus, the total volume of this tephra amounts over 380–490 km³. This indicates that the Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of the Ebisutoge-Fukuda tephra is greater than 7. The huge thickness of reworked volcaniclastic deposits overlying the fall units also attests to the tremendous volume of eruptive materials of this tephra.Numerous ancient tephra layers with large volume have been reported worldwide, but sources and eruptive history are often unknown and difficult to determine. Comparison of distal air-fall ashes with proximal pyroclastic deposits revealed eruption style, history and magnitude of the Ebisutoge-Fukuda tephra. Hence, recognition of the Ebisutoge-Fukuda tephra, is useful for understanding the volcanic activity during the Pliocene to Pleistocene, is important as a boundary marker bed, and can be used to interpret the global environmental and climatic impact of large magnitude eruptions in the past.     

Tephrostratigraphy of the last 170 ka in sedimentary successions from the Adriatic Sea

In this study are discussed new SEM-EDS analyses performed on glass shards from five cores collected in the Central Adriatic Sea and two cores recovered from the South Adriatic Sea. A total of 26 tephra layers have been characterized and compared with the geochemical features of terrestrial deposits and other tephra archives in the area (South Adriatic Sea and Lago Grande di Monticchio, Vulture volcano). The compositions are compatible with either a Campanian or a Roman provenance. The cores, located on the Central Adriatic inner and outer shelf, recorded tephra referred to explosive events described in the literature: AP3 (sub-Plinian activity of the Somma-Vesuvius, 2710 ± 60 ¹⁴C years BP); Avellino eruption (Somma–Vesuvius, 3548 ± 129 ¹⁴C years BP); Agnano Monte Spina (Phlegrean Fields, 4100 ± 400 years BP); Mercato eruption (Somma–Vesuvius, 8010 ± 35 ¹⁴C years BP; Agnano Pomici Principali eruption (Phlegrean Fields, 10,320 ± 50 ¹⁴C years BP); Neapolitan Yellow Tuff (Phlegrean Fields, 12,100 ± 170 ¹⁴C years BP). Some of these layers were also observed in the South Adriatic core IN68-9 in addition to younger (AP2, sub-Plinian eruption, Somma–Vesuvius, 3225 ± 140 ¹⁴C years BP), and older layers (Pomici di Base eruption, Somma–Vesuvius, 18,300 ± 150 ¹⁴C years BP). Significant is the tephra record of core RF95-7 that, for the first time in the Adriatic Sea, reports the occurrence of tephra layers older than 60 ka: the well known Mediterranean tephra layers X2 (ca. 70 ka), W1 (ca. 140 ka) and V2 (Roman origin, ca. 170 ka) as well as other tephra layers attributed, on the basis of geochemistry and biostratigraphy, to explosive eruptions occurred at Vico (138 ± 2 and 151 ± 3 ka BP) and Ischia (147–140 ka BP).     

Reconstruction and analysis of sub-plinian tephra dispersal during the 1530 A.D. Soufrière (Guadeloupe) eruption: Implications for scenario definition and hazards assessment

The last magmatic eruption of Soufrière of Guadeloupe dated at 1530 A.D. (Soufrière eruption) is characterized by an onset with a partial flank-collapse and emplacement of a debris-avalanche that was followed by a sub-plinian VEI 2–3 explosive short-lived eruption (Phase-1) with a column that reached a height between 9 and 12 km producing about 3.9 × 10⁶ m³ DRE (16.3 × 10⁶ m³ bulk) of juvenile products. The column recurrently collapsed generating scoriaceous pyroclastic flows in radiating valleys up to a distance of 5–6 km with a maximum interpolated bulk deposit volume of 11.7 × 10⁶ m³ (5 × 10⁶ m³ DRE). We have used HAZMAP, a numerical simple first-order model of tephra dispersal [Macedonio, G., Costa, A., Longo, A., 2005. A computer model for volcanic ash fallout and assessment of subsequent hazard. Comput. Geosci. 31, 837–845] to reconstruct to a first approximation the potential dispersal of tephra and associated tephra mass loadings generated by the sub-plinian Phase 1 of the 1530 A.D. eruption. We have tested our model on a deterministic average dry season wind profile that best-fits the available data as well as on a set of randomly selected wind profiles over a 5 year interval that allows the elaboration of probabilistic maps for the exceedance of specific tephra mass load thresholds. Results show that in the hypothesis of a future 1530 A.D. scenario, populated areas to a distance of 3–4 km west–southwest of the vent could be subjected to a static load pressure between 2 and 10 kPa in case of wet tephra, susceptible to cause variable degrees of roof damage. Our results provide volcanological input parameters for scenario and event-tree definition, for assessing volcanic risks and evaluating their impact in case of a future sub-plinian eruption which could affect up to 70 000 people in southern Basse-Terre island and the region. They also provide a framework to aid decision-making concerning land management and development. A sub-plinian eruption is the most likely magmatic scenario in case of a future eruption of this volcano which has shown, since 1992, increasing signs of low-energy seismic, thermal, and acid degassing unrest without significant deformation.     

Effects of the peat acid digestion protocol on geochemically and morphologically diverse tephra deposits

Tephra shards for electron probe microanalysis are most efficiently extracted from peat using acid digestion, which removes organic material that hinders density separation methods. However, strong acids are known to alter glass chemical compositions, and several studies have examined how acid digestion affects rhyolitic volcanic glass. The focus on rhyolitic tephra in these studies leaves considerable uncertainty, as the dissolution rates of natural glasses (including tephra) are determined by the chemical composition and surface area/volume ratio, both of which vary in tephra deposits. Here, we use duplicate samples of basaltic, trachydacitic and rhyolitic tephra to examine physical and geochemical alteration following acid digestion. Scanning electron microscope imagery reveals no discernible degradation of glass surfaces, and electron probe microanalysis results from duplicate samples are statistically indistinguishable. These findings suggest the acid digestion protocol for organic peats does not significantly alter glass geochemistry regardless of shard morphologies or geochemical compositions.