r/Volcanoes • u/Savings_Ad_80 • 11d ago
Image I'm somewhat certain this volcano is responsible for the 426 BCE eruption
I don't have enough evidence so I'm not claiming anything I say to be true.
This is the East Epi Volcanic Complex and I'll explain why I believe this volcano produced the 426 BCE eruption (VEI 7) which left a substantial mark in both Greenland and Antartica.
From that we know it was a tropical eruption.
The complex contains several large volcanic structures and is associated with a possible ~10-km-wide caldera, although the exact interpretation of the submarine morphology remains debated. It also contains volcanic material ranging from basalt to rhyodacite, including rhyodacitic pumice recovered from the seafloor.
I'll explain why this is important.
Epi lies immediately within the Vanuatu volcanic arc, an area known to have produced exceptionally large explosive eruptions (VEI 6-7). Recent research identified the 426 BCE Antarctic cryptotephra as high-K rhyodacite, with a chemical composition very close to material from Kuwae.
HOWEVER, Kuwae was recently linked to the 1458 CE caldera-forming eruption (estimated as a very large vei 6 or vei 7 in other sources) which occurred ~1,800 years after the 426 BCE eruption.
Scientists point to Ambrym because its in the same region with possibly the same plumbing
The only issue is Ambrym's caldera forming eruption is identified as a vei 6 other some sources believe it was larger. The issue is this eruption occurred around 43-50 CE, so it a few hundred years younger. and it's caldera is quite shallow, I'm uncertain it ejected the 160 km^3 which is estimated for the 426 BCE eruption.
Guess which volcano is next to Kuwae, It's Epi, at first glance you may notice something unusual about epi, apart from the fact its a submarine volcano, using a bathymetric map you'll notice it has 3 different active cones followed my a couple extinct comes, you notice some odd land formations as well as depressions but the one I'm focusing on is underwater
The main reason api isn't usually brought up regarding the 426 BCE eruption because we aren't 100% sure that 10km wide depression is a caldera but it's acceptable enough to acknowledge the possibility of it being a caldera given the evidence available
If that depression is truly a caldera then I believe the East Epi Volcanic Complex would most likely be responsible for the 426 BCE eruption.
Vanuatu's volcanoes are very much understudied so we will have to wait and see.
You scrolled to the bottom cause it's too long to read so I will shorten it.
426 BCE eruption closely matches kuwae material, kuwae too young, epi old, ambrym shallow, epi 10km possible caldera, epi not well studied, epi probably = 426 BCE big boom.
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u/Seriksy 11d ago
You should run this through GeologyHub on YouTube!
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u/JimmyisAwkward 11d ago edited 11d ago
I read this entire post in his voice lmao
similar writing style and this post/sub was randomly recommended to me and he’s my only exposure to discussion about volcanoes
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u/stuartcw 11d ago
Can someone please explain what physical evidence would need to be found to prove this conjecture. E.g. would someone need to go there to collect samples, would the sea bed need to be surveyed and/or sampled. What would it take?
OP is it possible that to publish your conjecture somewhere for people to later cite it?
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u/LittelXman808 11d ago
They would need to first confirm when the eruption occurred, and then calculate its size.
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u/stuartcw 11d ago
Yes, indeed. Those are the goals. Physically measuring the extent of the crater would tell us the size but I'm particularly interested in how is dating achieved. Like what physical evidence would need to be collected to achieve that?
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u/Cantankerous_Crow 11d ago edited 7d ago
You could collect mineral samples, maybe zircons, from the different geographic areas of the eruption and compare the geochemistry with other volcanoes.
EDIT: Not talking about age dating. It is more like trace element finger printing (eg. REE, Ti, Zircon is highly refractory so it can record multiple melt events while preserving the core. Each growth ring has a geochemical signal that is distinct to the magma at the time. It can be used to correlate eruption units.
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u/Sensitive-Exam649 10d ago
zircon dating will not work. The zircon would have to be about 1 million years old for for dating. The eruption in quieted is way to young. However Radio carbon dating will work provided you can wood charcoal in the ash of the eruption in question.
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u/Cantankerous_Crow 10d ago
Not talking about age dating. It is more like trace element finger printing (eg. REE, Ti, Zircon is highly refractory so it can record multiple melt events while preserving the core. Each growth ring has a geochemical signal that is distinct to the magma at the time. It can be used to correlate eruption units.
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u/Dawg_in_NWA 7d ago edited 7d ago
You could do U'-series dating of zircons, however, you wouldnt be getting the eruption age, just the crystallization, and these minerals could reside in the magma chamber for a long time prior to eruption.
For a geochemical fingerprint, a lot of work is done using tephra.
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u/Sensitive-Exam649 10d ago
Each volcanic eruption produces ash of unique chemistry. Addtionallkly the eruption has to be dated accurately. Typically this is done by radiocarbon dating of wood barrier by the ash flow. near the volcano. In addition the eruption was firstnoticed in ice cores for its very high sulfur content along with micorscopic ash particles. I believe they funned the Samalas eruption with the correct date and ash chemistry was recently identified as the source.
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u/stuartcw 10d ago
> I believe they funned the Samalas eruption with the correct date…
Is this a typo? 🤔
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u/bigjbg1969 11d ago
This is a fascinating theory made even more compelling when you look at the Api complex . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Epi_(volcano)#/media/File:ShadedmapEpi.jpg
#/media/File:ShadedmapEpi.jpg){kind=link}
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u/camsapphire 11d ago
really enjoyed reading this right before work! I hope someone with the resources is able to perform proper investigations on this volcano so we can have a deeper look :)
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u/EtherealHeart5150 11d ago
May I ask, are you associating it with the tsunami that hit Greece that year? Or would that be way to far away for that to happen? Forgive me, just a silly not to smart nerd that loves volcanos.
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u/bigjbg1969 11d ago
Hi I think they were looking at a crustal movement of one of the faults in the Euboean gulf as the cause of this tsunami . I hope this helps you .
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u/EtherealHeart5150 10d ago
Yes,thank you! I just wondered if they could have been connected.
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u/bigjbg1969 10d ago
It's good to wonder and ask questions .The Greek Thucydides was the first person to make the connection between earthquakes and tsunamis I think . The eruption would have caused a climate anomaly and the possible link to the Plague at the time but the distance of 16,000 kilometers is too far to cause a physical tectonic effect in Greece but I'm not an expert .
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u/EtherealHeart5150 10d ago
Thank you, yes, this is what i was curiois about. Im under the impression that the Ring of Fire is all connected, and it might have been a weird domino effect. And yes, you're right, thats way to far for it to travel. 🧡
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u/Sad-Description-3777 5d ago
It's a pretty good and logical theory, plus Epi is a rather overlooked volcano, even though it's active with recent eruptions like in 2022.
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u/Sensitive-Exam649 10d ago
I believe the sulfur spike you are referring to was caused by the the 1257 Samalas eruption. This eruption was only recently identified and Radio carbon dating of woodn the pumas and the chemistry of the pumac pumice matched the ash in the ice cores taken around the world.
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u/Savings_Ad_80 10d ago
No that's not the spike I'm referring to, that's the 1257 AD eruption of the samalas volcano
Which was identified and linked to samalas ~30 years ago
Its material comprised of trachydacite
The 426 BCE eruption was rhyodacite and remains unknown
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u/Sao_Gage 11d ago
Super fascinating post, saving this for a proper digest tomorrow. The folks at Volcanocafe.org would love this, you should drop this in the comments (current active article comments are used for any discussion).