The Age, Origin, and Volcanological Significance of the Y-5 Ash Layer in the Mediterranean
- 1 September 1979
- journal article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Quaternary Research
- Vol. 12 (2), 241-253
- https://doi.org/10.1016/0033-5894(79)90060-7
Abstract
The Y-5 ash is the most widespread layer in deep-sea sediments from the eastern Mediterranean. This ash layer was previously correlated with the Citara-Serrara tuff on Ischia Island and dated at approximately 25,000 yr B.P. New data on the glass chemistry of the Y-5 ash and pyroclastic deposits from the Neopolitan volcanic province suggest that the layer is correlative with the large-volume Campanian ignimbrite and not with the deposit from Ischia Island. The volume of the Y-5 ash is approximately 65 km3 which is comparable in magnitude to the volume of the Campanian ignimbrite. An interpolated age of approximately 38,000 yr B.P. is estimated based on sedimentation rates derived from δ18O stratigraphy. There is a discrepancy between this estimate and previously reported radiocarbon ages which range from 24,000 to 35,000 yr B.P. We propose that the “Campanian tuff ash layer” should be adopted as the full stratigraphic name for the Y-5 ash. The deep-sea ash layer is divisible into two units in proximal localities, probably correlating with two major phases of the eruption: plinian and ignimbrite.Keywords
This publication has 37 references indexed in Scilit:
- Late Quaternary paleoclimatology, stratigraphy and sapropel history in eastern Mediterranean deep-sea sedimentsMarine Micropaleontology, 1977
- Stable isotopic fractionation, climate change and episodic stagnation in the eastern Mediterranean during the late QuaternaryMarine Micropaleontology, 1977
- Nile Cone: Late Quaternary stratigraphy and sediment dispersalNature, 1977
- Radiocarbon dates of Santorini volcanicsNature, 1976
- Grain size variations in ignimbrites and implications for the transport of pyroclastic flowsSedimentology, 1976
- Use of K2O, Rb, Zr, and Y versus SiO2 in volcanic ash layers of the eastern Mediterranean to trace their sourceGSA Bulletin, 1976
- Stratigraphy and geology of the ignimbrites of Vulsini Volcano, central ItalyInternational Journal of Earth Sciences, 1975
- Insolation changes, ice volumes, and the O18 record in deep‐sea coresReviews of Geophysics, 1970
- Physical and Chemical Properties of Volcanic Glass Shards from Pozzuolana Ash, Thera Island, and from Upper and Lower Ash Layers in Eastern Mediterranean Deep Sea SedimentsNature, 1967
- ASH FLOWSGSA Bulletin, 1960