Tephrabase: tephrochronology and the development of a centralised European database |
| |
| Authors: | Anthony J Newton Andrew J Dugmore Bruce M Gittings |
| |
| Institution: | Institute of Geography, School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, UK |
| |
| Abstract: | Tephrabase was launched on the World Wide Web in 1995 as a tool for tephrochronological research. In order to facilitate the identification, correlation and dating of tephra deposits, this database may be interrogated through multiple routes, including by source volcano, date, location, and tephra chemistry; datasets include stratigraphy, geochemistry, chronology and spatial information. Currently all the European data refer to Late Quaternary Icelandic‐sourced tephras, post‐12 k yr BP. The sites (62) where the tephra deposits are found include Iceland, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Faroe Islands, Sweden and Russia. In addition, there are also data on tephra layers in central Mexico. Use of Tephrabase highlights the importance of selected geochemical data, but this has to be used with care as major element characteristics alone do not always produce unique definitions for single tephra deposits. For the most accurate results multiple criteria must be used. Tephrabase can be found at http://www.tephrabase.org . Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
| |
| Keywords: | tephrochronology Quaternary databases World Wide Web scientific data repository |
|
|
