No Cover Image

Journal article 185 views 70 downloads

Cryptotephra preserved in Lake Suigetsu (SG14 core) reveals the eruption timing and distribution of ash fall from Japanese volcanoes during the late-glacial to early Holocene

Paul Albert Orcid Logo, Danielle McLean, Hannah Buckland, Takehiko Suzuki, Gwydion Jones, Richard A. Staff, Sophie Vineberg Orcid Logo, Ikuko Kitaba, Keitaro Yamada, Hiroshi Moriwaki, Daisuke Ishimura Orcid Logo, Ken Ikehara Orcid Logo, Christina J. Manning Orcid Logo, Takeshi Nakagawa, Victoria C. Smith Orcid Logo

Quaternary Science Reviews, Volume: 324, Start page: 108376

Swansea University Authors: Paul Albert Orcid Logo, Danielle McLean, Hannah Buckland, Gwydion Jones

  • 64996.VOR.pdf

    PDF | Version of Record

    © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Distributed under the terms of a Creative Commons CC-BY Attribution 4.0 Licence.

    Download (15.45MB)

Abstract

Long sedimentary successions extracted for palaeoclimate research regularly preserve volcanic ash (tephra) fall from explosive eruptions and are increasingly used to elucidate the timing and scale of past events. This study investigates the non-visible tephra (cryptotephra) layers preserved in the a...

Full description

Published in: Quaternary Science Reviews
ISSN: 0277-3791
Published: Elsevier BV 2024
Online Access: Check full text

URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa64996
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Abstract: Long sedimentary successions extracted for palaeoclimate research regularly preserve volcanic ash (tephra) fall from explosive eruptions and are increasingly used to elucidate the timing and scale of past events. This study investigates the non-visible tephra (cryptotephra) layers preserved in the annually laminated and intensively 14C dated sediments of Lake Suigetsu (SG14 core), Japan. The cryptotephra investigations reported here focus on the Late-glacial to early Holocene sediments that were deposited between two visible tephra layers, the Ulleungdo (U)-Oki (10.2 ka) and the Sambe ‘Sakate’ (19.6 ka), and consequently span an interval of abrupt climate change making any newly identified cryptotephra layers invaluable chrono-stratigraphic markers. Using major and trace element volcanic glass compositions the cryptotephra are used to assign provenance to chrono-stratigraphically relevant eruption units. Five new cryptotephra layers are identified within this time interval. Three cryptotephra layers are from Kyushu volcanoes (SG14-1337 and SG14-1554 [Sakurajima]; and SG14-1806 [Kirishima]), all of which offer important chronological constraints on archaeological (Jomon) cultural transitions in southern Japan during the last termination. Another cryptotephra (SG14-1579), is assigned to activity on Niijima Island providing the first known distal occurrence and age of the eruption. Finally, the SG14-1798 cryptotephra precisely dated at 16,619 ± 74 IntCal20 yrs BP (2σ) is linked to Asama (As) volcano and more precisely the later phases of the As-YKU eruption. This discovery greatly expands the distribution of ash fall from this multi-phased eruption at Asama volcano, which affected an area in the region of 120,000 km2. Refining the timing of the eruption and the distribution of As-YKU ash fall is important as it offers an excellent chrono- and climato- stratigraphic marker suitable for assessing spatial variability in environmental response to past climate change during the termination of the last glacial.
Keywords: Ash fall, Cryptotephra, Lake Suigetsu, Tephrochronology, Japan, Late-glacial, Palaeoclimate, Archaeology, Asama, Sakurajima
College: Faculty of Science and Engineering
Funders: UKRI FLF, Leverhulme ECF, JSPS. MR/S035478/1, ECF-2014-438, KAKENHI‐15H021443).
Start Page: 108376