Volume partition between the plinian and co-ignimbrite air fall deposits of the Campanian Ignimbrite eruption

Summary

¶Large-scale volcanic plumes, either generated by discharge of material directly from a vent or developed from the top of pyroclastic flows, produce laterally spreading umbrella-shaped clouds that disperse pyroclastic material over large areas. During plinian eruptions followed by pyroclastic flows, an enormous quantity of ash particles produced both by sustained plumes and by the buoyant portion of pyroclastic flows settle far from the source and form widespread fall deposits. To fully evaluate the magnitude of the plinian phase for this kind of eruptions is fundamental for distinguishing between the different sources of fine ash. In this paper we demonstrate that the plinian and ignimbrite contribution to the distal ash fall can be discriminated based on thickness versus distance relationships. The Campanian Ignimbrite eruption (CI; 39,000 yr B.P.) in southern Italy, provides an important case study. This was a huge ignimbrite-forming explosive event preceded by a plinian outburst. We present a new distribution of the thick, stratified pumice fall deposit formed immediately before the emplacement of the ignimbrite and reconstruct the distribution of the CI-correlated tephra fall dispersed in eastern Europe and in the eastern Mediterranean Sea over an area exceeding 3×10⁶ km². The volumes calculated for the proximal plinian, co-plinian and co-ignimbrite deposits of the CI eruption are respectively: 4 km³, 16 km³ and almost 100 km³.