Identifying multiple eruption phases from a compound tephra blanket: an example of the AD1256 Al-Madinah eruption, Saudi Arabia
2015
Complex eruption episodes commonly produce several phases of
tephrafall and/or concurrent falls from multiple vents. Phases of eruption are challenging to reconstruct from the
geological record, especially where there is a lack of distinct physical or chemical variations during an eruption episode. A statistical method is proposed for identifying the most likely combination of multiple fall lobes for composite
tephradeposits, using a new high-resolution
tephrafall map from the basaltic AD1256 Harrat Al-Madinah fissure eruption in Saudi Arabia. This dominantly
effusive eruptionepisode lasted 52 days periodically producing
tephrafrom several vents along the fissure. Most
tephrawas produced from high Hawaiian
fountainsand dispersed under differing wind conditions. The widest-dispersed
tephraoccurred under phases of the highest
fountains, at least 500 m high and probably closer to 1000 m. These high
fountainsproduced pyroclasts with a broad range of vesicularity. Similar total versus lobe-specific grain size determinations showed little systematic variation of maximum
fountain-height phases. Individual
tephralobe properties (vesicle form, density, particle shape and particle-size distribution) in different sectors around the volcano varied only subtly. From the statistical distribution of spot fall-thickness measurements, a semi-empirical
tephrafallout model, modified to account for weathering, wind remobilisation and settling, was fitted using maximum likelihood estimation. A range of likely eruption-event scenarios were evaluated, concluding that the AD1256 eruption most likely comprised three separate fall-producing eruptions from its northern vent under differing wind conditions. The first of these occurred concurrently with high-
fountainingevents from two other major vents southward along the fissure, producing overlapping fall lobes. Applying this method to other similar compound
tephradeposits will help elucidate more realistic eruption scenarios and
event reconstructionsfrom the
geological record.
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