Reconstructing the plinian and co-ignimbrite sources of large volcanic eruptions: A novel approach for the Campanian Ignimbrite

Document typeArticle
Defense date2016-02-17
PublisherNature Publishing Group
Rights accessOpen Access
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ProjectNEMOH - Numerical, Experimental and stochastic Modelling of vOlcanic processes and Hazard: an Initial Training Network for the next generation of European volcanologists (EC-FP7-289976)
MED-SUV - MEDiterranean SUpersite Volcanoes (EC-FP7-308665)
MED-SUV - MEDiterranean SUpersite Volcanoes (EC-FP7-308665)
Abstract
The 39 ka Campanian Ignimbrite (CI) super-eruption was the largest volcanic eruption of the past 200 ka in Europe. Tephra deposits indicate two distinct plume forming phases, Plinian and co-ignimbrite, characteristic of many caldera-forming eruptions. Previous numerical studies have characterized the eruption as a single-phase event, potentially leading to inaccurate assessment of eruption dynamics. To reconstruct the volume, intensity, and duration of the tephra dispersal, we applied a computational inversion method that explicitly accounts for the Plinian and co-ignimbrite phases and for gravitational spreading of the umbrella cloud. To verify the consistency of our results, we performed an additional single-phase inversion using an independent thickness dataset. Our better-fitting two-phase model suggests a higher mass eruption rate than previous studies, and estimates that 3/4 of the total fallout volume is co-ignimbrite in origin. Gravitational spreading of the umbrella cloud dominates tephra transport only within the first hundred kilometres due to strong stratospheric winds in our best-fit wind model. Finally, tephra fallout impacts would have interrupted the westward migration of modern hominid groups in Europe, possibly supporting the hypothesis of prolonged Neanderthal survival in South-Western Europe during the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition.
CitationMarti, Alejandro [et al.]. Reconstructing the plinian and co-ignimbrite sources of large volcanic eruptions: A novel approach for the Campanian Ignimbrite. "Scientific Reports", 17 Febrer 2016, vol. 6.
ISSN2045-2322
Publisher versionhttp://www.nature.com/articles/srep21220
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