Tephrostratigraphy of a Lateglacial lake sediment sequence at Wegliny, southwest Poland

Rupert Housley, Alison MacLeod, Dorota Nalepka, Aleksandra Jurochnik, Mirosław Masojć, Lauren Davies, Paul Lincoln, Christopher Bronk Ramsey, Clive Gamble, John Lowe

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Abstract

This paper presents the first late Quaternary locality in the present-day territories of Poland where multiple cryptotephra layers have been identified. Located near We˛gliny in southwest Poland, study of the Lateglacial gyttja deposits reveals the presence of at least four non-visible tephra horizons. Electron microprobe and laser-ablation ICPMS analysis of glass shards suggests products from at least two Icelandic volcanic centres: Katla and Snæsfellsness. Of particular importance is the discovery of two eruptions believed to originate from the east Eifel volcanic field within the Allerød chronozone. One correlates with the well documented Laacher See Tephra (LST) but the second horizon, herein designated T642/T655 would appear to represent an earlier precursor eruption. The chemical composition of the LST and the precursor tephra both appear to match to the Upper Laacher See Tephra (ULST) phase, which previously was thought to have dispersed not to the northeast but in a southerly direction, towards the Alpine foreland. This indicates the eruption dynamics of the Laacher See are more complex than hitherto recognised.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4-18
Number of pages15
JournalQuaternary Science Reviews
Volume77
Publication statusPublished - 14 Jul 2013

Keywords

  • Cryptotephra
  • Laacher See Tephra
  • Hasseldalan Tephra
  • Lower Lusatia

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