Skip to content

Refining the marine tephrostratigraphy of the central Mediterranean (40-90 ka): New insights into Late-Pleistocene Campanian explosive volcanism

Molly Flynn1 , Paul Albert1, Giada Fernandez2, Victoria Smith3, Richard Brown4, Christina Manning5, Ilenia Arienzo6, Roberto Isaia6, Sophie Vineberg3, Patricia Richard7, Biagio Giaccio2, Sebastien Nomade7

  • Affiliations:  1Department of Geography, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, UK; 2Istituto di Geologia Ambientale e Geoingegneria (IGAG), CNR, Rome, Italy; 3School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, UK; 4Department of Earth Sciences, Durham University, Durham UK; 5 Department of Earth Sciences, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, UK;  6Osservatorio Vesuviano, INGV, Naples, Italy; 7Laboratory for Climate and Environmental Sciences, Gif-Sur-Yvette, France.

  • Presentation type: Poster

  • Presentation time: Tuesday 16:30 - 18:30, Room Poster Hall

  • Poster Board Number: 151

  • Programme No: 3.13.19

  • Theme 3 > Session 13

Abstract

Volcanic ash (tephra) preserved in marine sediment cores provide important insights into the eruptive history of a volcano. These distal archives often provide a continuous ash-fall sequence which helps to fill gaps in near-vent records, often caused by burial or erosional processes from subsequent explosive activity. Furthermore, near-source reconstructions on volcanic islands are particularly challenging as much of the erupted material enters the sea. Ischia island (Southern Italy) has produced several large explosive eruptions, including the caldera-forming Monte Epomeo Green Tuff (MEGT) at ca. 56 ka, one of the largest events of the Late Quaternary in the central Mediterranean. However, uncertainties persist regarding the longer-term history of Ischia, due to the limited exposure of key eruptive deposits on the island. This study examines tephra deposits preserved in the marine cores DED87-07 and DED87-08 (Tyrrhenian Sea), alongside newly collected proximal sampled units from Ischia, to better constrain the timing, scale, and ash dispersal patterns leading up to and following the MEGT eruption. Geochemical fingerprinting (EMP and LA-ICP-MS) of distal tephra (glass) is integrated with the near-source record and combined with a new high-resolution oxygen isotope analysis (DED87-07) to construct a more robust tephrochronological framework for activity on Ischia. Additionally, new 40Ar/39Ar dating of key eruptive events on the island provides further temporal constraints on this fully integrated eruption record. These new insights into the frequency, dispersal and magnitude of past explosive eruptions on Ischia will aid future hazard assessments.