Global tephra studies: role and importance of the international tephra research group "Commission on Tephrochronology" in its first 60 years

• Published in: History of Geo- and Space Sciences
• Main Authors: Lowe, David J., Abbott, Peter M., Suzuki, Takehiko, Jensen, Britta J. L.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Gesellscharf MBH 2022
• Subjects: Science & Technology; Arts & Humanities; Physical Sciences; Geosciences; Multidisciplinary; History & Philosophy Of Science; Geology; TRACING MARINE CRYPTOTEPHRAS; ELECTRON-MICROPROBE ANALYSIS; VOLCANIC GLASS SHARDS; DEEP-SEA SEDIMENTS; ABLATION ICP-MS; NEW-ZEALAND; NORTH-ATLANTIC; DISTAL TEPHROCHRONOLOGY; EXPLOSIVE ERUPTIONS; LAST TERMINATION; New Zealand; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10289/15024; https://doi.org/10.5194/hgss-13-93-2022

Tephrochronology is a correlational and age-equivalent dating method whereby practitioners characterize, map, and date tephra (or volcanic ash) layers and use them stratigraphically as connecting and dating tools in the geosciences (including volcanology) and in studies of past environments and archaeology. Modern tephra studies per se began around 100 years ago (in the 1920s), but the first collective of tephrochronologists with a common purpose and nascent global outlook was not formed until 7 September 1961 in Warsaw, Poland. On that date, the inaugural “Commission on Tephrochronology” (COT) was ratified under the aegis of the International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA). The formation of COT is attributable largely to the leadership of Kunio Kobayashi of Japan, the commission's president for its first 12 years. We were motivated to record and evaluate the function and importance of COT because tephrochronology continues to grow globally and its heritage needs to be understood, appreciated, and preserved. In addition, studies on cryptotephras, which are fine-grained glass-shard and/or crystal concentrations preserved in sediments or soils but insufficiently numerous to be visible as a layer to the naked eye, have also expanded dramatically in recent times. Therefore, in this article, we review the role and impacts of COT under the umbrella of INQUA for 53 of the last 60 years or under IAVCEI (International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior) for 7 of the last 60 years, including since 2019. The commission also functioned under other names (abbreviated as COTS, CEV, ICCT, COTAV, SCOTAV, and INTAV; see Table 2 for definitions). As well as identifying key persons of influence, we describe the development of the commission, its leaders, and its activities, which include organizing nine specialist tephra field meetings in seven different countries. Members of the commission have participated in numerous other conferences (including specialist tephra sessions) or workshops of ...