Submarine ash megabed fed by far-traveled, shoreline-crossing pyroclastic currents from a large explosive volcanic eruption.

ABSTRACT: Large explosive volcanic eruptions from island volcanoes deliver vast quantities of ash to the marine environment. While many of the transport pathways are understood, those from shoreline-crossing or submarine pyroclastic currents, and their transformation into water-supported gravity flows, remain poorly constrained. We report the discovery by International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) deep drilling of a 200-meter-thick ash megabed buried in rift basins of the South Aegean Volcanic Arc. The >73-cubic kilometer ash deposit originates from the Kos Plateau Tuff caldera-forming eruption, which occurred 161 thousand years ago, >120 kilometers to the east. The ash forms a chemically uniform, graded megabed lacking bioturbation, interpreted as having been emplaced by a stream of eruption-fed

SUBMITTER: Metcalfe A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12346273 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature