The role of vegetation cover and slope angle in tephra layer preservation and implications for Quaternary tephrostratigraphy
Our aim is to understand the significance of slope position, slope angle and the interplay between slopes and vegetation in influencing the ways in which tephra layers may be preserved, thickened or thinned within the Quaternary stratigraphic record. This matters because tephra layers are used to re...
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ftunivcam:oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/271689 2024-02-04T09:59:42+01:00 The role of vegetation cover and slope angle in tephra layer preservation and implications for Quaternary tephrostratigraphy Dugmore, AJ Streeter, RT Cutler, NA 2018 application/pdf https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/271689 https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.18677 eng eng Elsevier http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2017.10.002 Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/271689 doi:10.17863/CAM.18677 Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Grímsvötn Eyjafjallajökull Mount St Helens biocrust isopach maps fallout volumes Article 2018 ftunivcam https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.18677 2024-01-11T23:27:59Z Our aim is to understand the significance of slope position, slope angle and the interplay between slopes and vegetation in influencing the ways in which tephra layers may be preserved, thickened or thinned within the Quaternary stratigraphic record. This matters because tephra layers are used to reconstruct volumes of past volcanic eruptions and assess both past and future risks, hazards and impacts. This study uses modern data to better understand the formation of the palaeoenvironmental record and evaluates a data set of > 5,500 tephra layer thickness measurements across a range of slopes and vegetation types in Iceland and Washington State, USA. We measured tephra layers formed in October 1918, March 1947, May 1980, April 2010 and May 2011 across moderate slopes (< 35-37 °). Holding vegetation communities constant, location on slope had no systematic impact on mean tephra layer thickness. Holding slopes constant (< 5 °), we observed systematic modifications of initial fallout thickness in areas of different vegetation types, with layers both thinning and thickening in areas of partial vegetation cover, and thickening within taller vegetation. This has implications for the interpretation of Quaternary environmental record and the reconstruction of past volcanic fallout across areas of varied relief and strong vegetation gradients, where vegetation structure is patchy and topography is variable. Sloping sites with a consistent vegetation cover may produce the most reliable stratigraphic records of fallout whereas flat sites with varied vegetation might not. Financial support was provided by the National Science Foundation of America, (through grant 1202692 ‘Comparative Island Ecodynamics in the North Atlantic’, and grant 1249313 ‘Tephra layers and early warning signals for critical transitions’), and the support of the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland. Article in Journal/Newspaper Comparative Island Ecodynamics in the North Atlantic Eyjafjallajökull Iceland North Atlantic Tephra layers and early warning signals for critical transitions Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftunivcam |
language |
English |
topic |
Grímsvötn Eyjafjallajökull Mount St Helens biocrust isopach maps fallout volumes |
spellingShingle |
Grímsvötn Eyjafjallajökull Mount St Helens biocrust isopach maps fallout volumes Dugmore, AJ Streeter, RT Cutler, NA The role of vegetation cover and slope angle in tephra layer preservation and implications for Quaternary tephrostratigraphy |
topic_facet |
Grímsvötn Eyjafjallajökull Mount St Helens biocrust isopach maps fallout volumes |
description |
Our aim is to understand the significance of slope position, slope angle and the interplay between slopes and vegetation in influencing the ways in which tephra layers may be preserved, thickened or thinned within the Quaternary stratigraphic record. This matters because tephra layers are used to reconstruct volumes of past volcanic eruptions and assess both past and future risks, hazards and impacts. This study uses modern data to better understand the formation of the palaeoenvironmental record and evaluates a data set of > 5,500 tephra layer thickness measurements across a range of slopes and vegetation types in Iceland and Washington State, USA. We measured tephra layers formed in October 1918, March 1947, May 1980, April 2010 and May 2011 across moderate slopes (< 35-37 °). Holding vegetation communities constant, location on slope had no systematic impact on mean tephra layer thickness. Holding slopes constant (< 5 °), we observed systematic modifications of initial fallout thickness in areas of different vegetation types, with layers both thinning and thickening in areas of partial vegetation cover, and thickening within taller vegetation. This has implications for the interpretation of Quaternary environmental record and the reconstruction of past volcanic fallout across areas of varied relief and strong vegetation gradients, where vegetation structure is patchy and topography is variable. Sloping sites with a consistent vegetation cover may produce the most reliable stratigraphic records of fallout whereas flat sites with varied vegetation might not. Financial support was provided by the National Science Foundation of America, (through grant 1202692 ‘Comparative Island Ecodynamics in the North Atlantic’, and grant 1249313 ‘Tephra layers and early warning signals for critical transitions’), and the support of the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Dugmore, AJ Streeter, RT Cutler, NA |
author_facet |
Dugmore, AJ Streeter, RT Cutler, NA |
author_sort |
Dugmore, AJ |
title |
The role of vegetation cover and slope angle in tephra layer preservation and implications for Quaternary tephrostratigraphy |
title_short |
The role of vegetation cover and slope angle in tephra layer preservation and implications for Quaternary tephrostratigraphy |
title_full |
The role of vegetation cover and slope angle in tephra layer preservation and implications for Quaternary tephrostratigraphy |
title_fullStr |
The role of vegetation cover and slope angle in tephra layer preservation and implications for Quaternary tephrostratigraphy |
title_full_unstemmed |
The role of vegetation cover and slope angle in tephra layer preservation and implications for Quaternary tephrostratigraphy |
title_sort |
role of vegetation cover and slope angle in tephra layer preservation and implications for quaternary tephrostratigraphy |
publisher |
Elsevier |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/271689 https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.18677 |
genre |
Comparative Island Ecodynamics in the North Atlantic Eyjafjallajökull Iceland North Atlantic Tephra layers and early warning signals for critical transitions |
genre_facet |
Comparative Island Ecodynamics in the North Atlantic Eyjafjallajökull Iceland North Atlantic Tephra layers and early warning signals for critical transitions |
op_relation |
https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/271689 doi:10.17863/CAM.18677 |
op_rights |
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.18677 |
_version_ |
1789964651431198720 |