Elsevier

Quaternary International

Volume 246, Issues 1–2, 20 December 2011, Pages 203-212
Quaternary International

Sakurajima-Satsuma (Sz-S) and Noike-Yumugi (N-Ym) tephras: New tephrochronological marker beds for the last deglaciation, southern Kyushu, Japan

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Abstract

Two prominent tephras, Sakurajima-Satsuma (Sz-S) erupted from Sakurajima volcano and Noike-Yumugi (N-Ym) erupted from Kuchierabujima Island, provide new key marker beds for dating and synchronizing palaeoenvironmental and archaeological records in the last deglaciation in southern Japan. These tephras were identified on the basis of glass major-element compositions in two distal areas, a marine core (IMAGES MD982195) in the northern part of the East China Sea and on the central part of Tanegashima Island, and we related their stratigraphic positions to the marine oxygen isotope-based chronology. In MD982195, Sz-S, 0.8 cm in thickness at 9.12 m depth and N-Ym, 3 cm in thickness at 9.30 m depth, are both white, vitric, ash-grade tephras. On Tanegashima Island, Sz-S, 10 cm in thickness and N-Ym, 3 cm in thickness, are stratigraphically constrained by well-characterised marker tephras Kikai-Akahoya (7300 cal BP) and Aira-Tn (29,000 cal BP). Sz-S is rhyolitic and homogeneous on the basis of glass major-element compositions assayed by electron microprobe. Pumiceous glass shards predominant in distal Sz-S tephra indicate that it derived from pumice fall units that correspond to pumiceous and phreatomagmatic fine ash units constituting proximal Sz-S tephra. N-Ym is rhyolitic and glass major-element analyses reveal compositional diversity between units, suggesting that the lower and middle tephra units dispersed to the east, whereas the upper unit was dispersed north to northwest from the vent.

Stratigraphically, Sz-S occurs at around the start of the late-glacial reversal (cooling) in oxygen isotope records of MD982195, corresponding to the end of GI-1 and the start of GS-1 in the ice-core events of NGRIP (GICC05), consistent with a terrestrial age of ∼12,800 cal BP. Based on the oxygen isotope stratigraphy, the tephra identified in the core as N-Ym at 9.30 m depth is close to the end of Greenland GI-1 and hence has an age of ∼13,000 cal BP, but on Kuchierabujima Island it has an age based on 14C assay of charcoal of c. 14,900 cal BP. Although this age discrepancy (14.9 vs 13.0 cal ka) needs resolution, the occurrence in core MD982195 of N-Ym shows that it is more widespread than hitherto demonstrated. The widespread distributions and key stratigraphic positions for the two marker tephras indicate that they are thus critical isochrons for precise correlation of palaeoenvironmental changes and prehistoric cultural events during the last deglaciation in southern Kyushu, and for relating such changes and events to the ice-core chronology via the marine oxygen isotope chronostratigraphy.

Introduction

The period from the last glacial to the present interglacial, known as the last deglaciation, is characterised by prominent rapid fluctuations in climate (Björck et al., 1998, Rasmussen et al., 2006, Rasmussen et al., 2008). In order to examine the precise correlation and synchroneity or otherwise of such fluctuations in regional to global contexts, high-resolution ice-core, marine and terrestrial records have been developed through the INTIMATE project both in the North Atlantic region and in Australasia (Turney et al., 2006, Alloway et al., 2007, Hoek et al., 2008). A tephrochronological framework has been developed to help make precise correlations at regional scales during the last deglaciation, and widespread marker tephras, such as Vedde and Borrobol tephras (from Iceland), and the Rerewhakaaitu tephra (from New Zealand), have provided key isochrons for such correlations (Newnham et al., 2003, Lowe et al., 2008, Lowe et al., 2008).

In Japan, many records for marine and terrestrial palaeoenvironments in the last deglaciation have been obtained (e.g. Arai et al., 1981, Nakagawa et al., 2005, Hayashi et al., 2010). Although numerous tephra beds were deposited during the last deglaciation (Machida and Arai, 2003), relatively few have been identified that enable precise correlations of these marine, terrestrial, and ice-core records to be made. For example, the Ulleung-Oki tephra (10,700 cal BP, Kitagawa et al., 1995, Okuno et al., 2010) from Ulleung Island in Korea, is a useful time marker for correlating Holocene palaeoenvironmental records from the Japan Sea and terrestrial western Japan (Machida and Arai, 1983, Machida et al., 1984a, Machida et al., 1984b). As well, two very widespread marker tephras, Kikai-Akahoya tephra (K-Ah: 7300 cal BP, Kitagawa et al., 1995) and Aira-Tn tephra (AT: 29,000 cal BP, Okuno, 2002) provide key benchmarks throughout Japan and adjacent seas.

In southern Kyushu, one of the most active volcanic regions in Japan, five major volcanic centres including large calderas and associated volcanoes, and the Tokara volcanic islands farther south, align south to north along the Ryukyu Island arc (Fig. 1) (Machida, 2010). More than 20 tephra beds have been recorded from those volcanoes between AT and K-Ah tephras (Moriwaki, 2010). Of these tephras, Sakurajima-Satsuma tephra (Sz-S) from Sakurajima volcano in the Aira volcanic centre (Kobayashi, 1986, Moriwaki, 1992, Machida and Arai, 2003) and Noike-Yumugi (N-Ym) from Kuchierabujima Island on the northern edge of the Tokara volcanic island chain (Geshi and Kobayashi, 2006, Moriwaki et al., 2009), are the most voluminous, suggesting that they may be widespread in occurrence and thus potentially of great use for correlation purposes.

These two tephras were identified in a marine core, IMAGES MD982195 from the northern part of the East China Sea, and on the central part of Tanegashima Island at site T-1. These occurrences are the most distant yet identified of these eruptives (Fig. 1). Here, as part of the programme to develop a chronostratigraphic framework for the Kyushu-INTIMATE project (Integration of ice-core, marine and terrestrial records), the identification of these two tephras was examined on the basis of the chemical composition of glass shards and stratigraphic positions. The relationship of the marine record with the NGRIP ice-core chronology and hence implications for the chronology of the terrestrial palaeoenvironmental and archaeological records in southern Kyushu is discussed.

Section snippets

MD982195 core

MD982195 is located at 31°38.33′N and 128°56.63′E in the northern part of the East China Sea, 130 km west of Satsuma Peninsula, and in a water depth of 746 m. The core, currently stored at the Center for Advanced Marine Core Research, Kochi University, is 33.65 m in length, and dates back to 40,000 14C BP (Ijiri et al., 2005; Fig. 1). Palaeoenvironmental and marine oxygen isotope analyses were carried out on the core (Ijiri et al., 2005, Kawahata et al., 2006). K-Ah and AT tephras were

Characterization and identification

Glass chemical compositions are typically used to identify distal tephras (Lowe, 2011). Major-element compositions of the glass shards were obtained for the three distal tephras in core MD982195 and at T-1 on Tanegashima Island using electron microprobes of Kagoshima University, Tokyo Metropolitan University, and the University of Toronto. Conditions of analysis are noted in Table 1. Any small differences in composition relating to the deployment of these different instruments were checked

Stratigraphic positions with respect to marine oxygen isotope record and age relationships

The Sz-S and N-Ym tephras, correlated here with tephras MD982195-A and MD982195-B, respectively, can be related stratigraphically to changes evident in the marine oxygen isotope record for the last deglaciation in the same core (Fig. 6; Ijiri et al., 2005).

Tephra Sz-S occurs at around the start of the late-glacial reversal (cooling) in the oxygen isotope records of MD982195 (Ijiri et al., 2005) and an approximate peak in abundance of arboreal pollen (Kawahata and Oshima, 2004), which in turn

Conclusions

Key marker tephras of the last deglaciation, the Sakurajima-Satsuma (Sz-S) tephra from Sakurajima volcano and the Noike-Yumugi (N-Ym) tephra from Kuchierabujima Island, were identified in a marine core (IMAGES MD982195) in northern part of the East China Sea and on central Tanegashima Island on the basis of glass-chemical composition and stratigraphic associations. Sz-S tephra is rhyolitic and homogeneous in glass major-element composition. N-Ym is also rhyolitic, but diverse in composition

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to John Westgate (University of Toronto) for his suggestion to undertake glass-shard major element analyses of the tephras as reported here, and to Tadamichi Oba for his suggestion to obtain tephra samples. We thank Tetsuo Kobayashi for providing information on the ages of terrestrial tephras. We are also very grateful for helpful comments on the paper by anonymous referees. A fellowship from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science permitted David J. Lowe to visit Japan

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      Sh:Shinmoedake, Oh:Ohachi, Na: Nakadake, Mi: Miike, Ta: Takachiho, Kta:Ko-Takachiho, Kd: Karakunidake, Sz: Sakurajima, Yn:Yonemaru, Sm:Sumiyoshiike, Ar: Aira caldera, Km: Kaimondake, Nb: Nabeshimadake, Ik:Ikeda cakdera, Id:Iodake, In:Inamuradake, Kk: Kikai caldera, Sw:Suwanosejima, Ku:Kuchierabujima, Kc:Kuchinoshima, Nk:Nakanoshima, Ak:Akusekijima. Reference: 1)Nagaoka (1984), 2)Inoue (1988), 4)Imura (1992), 6)Machida and Arai (1992), 7)Imura & Kobayashi (1987), 8)Imura and Kobayashi (1991), 9) Tsutsui and Kobayashi (1992), 10)Nagasako et al. (1999), 11)Okuno (2002), 12)Fukusawa (1995), 13)Okuno et al. (1998), 14)Bureau of Education of Miyazaki Prefecture (1996), 15)Okuno et al. (2001), 16)Okuno (2001),17)Kitagawa et al. (1995), 18)Imura and Koga (1992), 19)Okuno et al. (1997), 20)Machida and Arai (1978), 21)Okuno et al. (1999), 22) Fukuyama and Aramaki (1973), 23)Okuno (1997), 24)Kitagawa and van der Plicht (1998),25)Ikeda et al. (1995), 26)Murayama et al. (1993), 27)Nagaoka et al. (2001), 28)Fukuyama (1978), 29)Kobayashi (1982), 30)Kobayashi and Esaki (1997), 31)Naruo and Kobayashi (1984), 32) Moriwaki et al. (2002), 33)Nakamura (1967), 34)Naruo (1984), 35)Naruo et al. (1997), 36)Fujino and Kobayashi (1997), 37)Ishikawa et al. (1979), 38)Okuno et al. (1993), 39)Naruo (2001), 40) Ono et al. (1982), 41)Okuno (1996), 42)Kawanabe and Saito (2002), 43)Okuno et al. (1994), 44)Geshi and Kobayashi (2006), 45)Moriwaki et al. (2009), 46)Miyairi et al. (2004), 47)Kobayashi et al. (2002), 48)Nishimura et al. (1993), 49)Nagatomo et al. (2005), 50) Moriwaki et al. (1996), 51)Shimano and Koyaguchi (2001), 52) Okuno et al. (1995), 53)Nagaoka (1988), 54)Okuno and Kobayashi (1994), 55)Nagaoka et al. (1997), 56)Machida and Arai (2003), 57)Ikehara et al. (2006), 58)Ijiri et al. (2005), 59)Oba (1991), 60)Okuno et al. (2000), 61)Kobayashi (1986), 62)Kawanabe and Sakaguchi (2005), 63) Moriwaki (1994), 64) Smith et al. (2013), 65) Moriwaki et al. (2011), 66) Moriwaki (2014). A tephrostratigraphic framework for the past ca. 30, 000 cal years has been erected for these tephras, which provide generally high-precision markers for the stratigraphy and chronology of palaeoenvironmental and cultural events, although age and compositional data are not yet available for some of tephra beds (Fig. 2; Machida and Arai, 2003; Moriwaki and Lowe, 2010).

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