18 megascopic tephra layers from Legs 89 and 90 ocean cores document explosive volcanism in the Southwest Pacific. The data includes chemical composition, with 15 silicic tephras containing 75-78% SiO2, and mineralogy, linking them to volcanic sources in New Zealand and the Ontong-Java Plateau. This record, compiled by Campbell S. Nelson, provides a biased but direct sample of ash dispersal from major eruptions over the last several million years.
Use Cases
- Correlating marine sediment layers based on tephra glass chemistry and age mentioned in the description
- Studying the dispersal patterns of volcanic ash from major eruptions based on the described east-west transport mechanisms
- Analyzing the geochemical signature of silicic vs. basic tephras from different volcanic sources described
- Investigating the preservation bias of volcanic glass in calcareous ocean sediments as discussed
Strengths
- Analysis of 18 distinct tephra layers provides multiple data points for comparison
- Chemical composition data includes specific SiO2 percentages (75-78%) for 15 samples
- Links tephras to specific geographic sources like the Coromandel volcanic area and Central Volcanic Region
Limitations
- Row count and column-level documentation are absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
- The author notes the record is 'very incomplete and biased', missing many intermediate to basic tephras
- Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified
Provenance
- Source
- Campbell S. Nelson
- Collection Method
- Analysis of tephra samples from Deep Sea Drilling Project Legs 89 and 90 ocean sediment cores.
- Time Range
- Late Cenozoic (Neogene and Quaternary periods)
- Geography
- Southwest Pacific, specifically Lord Howe Rise in the Tasman Sea and off eastern South Island, New Zealand.