Constraints on the timing of explosive volcanism at Aso and Aira calderas (Japan) between 50 and 30 ka: new insights from the Lake Suigetsu sedimentary record (SG14 core)

McLean, D. et al. (2020) Constraints on the timing of explosive volcanism at Aso and Aira calderas (Japan) between 50 and 30 ka: new insights from the Lake Suigetsu sedimentary record (SG14 core). Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 21(8), e2019GC008874. (doi: 10.1029/2019GC008874)

Abstract

Volcanoes in the East Asian/Pacific region have been the source of some of the largest magnitude eruptions during the Quaternary, and accurately evaluating their eruptive histories is essential for hazard assessments. To overcome difficulties in resolving and precisely dating eruptions in the near‐source realm, the high‐resolution (varved) sediments of Lake Suigetsu (central Honshu, Japan) were examined for the presence of non‐visible (cryptotephra) layers from 50 ka up until the 30 ka AT caldera‐forming event of Aira volcano. Cryptotephra layers are four times more frequently preserved than visible markers in the Suigetsu sediments, meaning that this archive provides a unique and unprecedented record of eruptions that were dispersed towards the densely populated regions of central Honshu. Major and trace element volcanic glass chemistry is used to fingerprint the ash layers and pinpoint their volcanic origin. Tephras are found throughout the investigated sediments, but the highest abundance of ash fall events are recorded between 39 and 30 ka, capturing a period of intense volcanism at calderas on Kyushu Island (Japan). The augmented Suigetsu tephrostratigraphy records at least seven eruption events from Aso caldera (southern Kyushu) that post‐date the widespread ACP‐4 Plinian eruption (ca. 50 ka), and four explosive events from Aira (central Kyushu) that occurred leading up to the catastrophic caldera‐forming AT eruption (ca. 30 ka).

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Staff, Dr Richard
• Authors: McLean, D., Albert, P. G., Suzuki, T., Nakagawa, T., Kimura, J.‐I., Chang, Q., Miyabuchi, Y., Manning, C. J., MacLeod, A., Blockley, S. P. E., Staff, R. A., Yamada, K., Kitaba, I., Yamasaki, A., Haraguchi, T., Kitagawa, J., and Smith, V. C.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre
• Journal Name: Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems
• Publisher: American Geophysical Union
• ISSN: 1525-2027
• ISSN (Online): 1525-2027
• Published Online: 08 May 2020
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2020 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 21(8): e2019GC008874
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License