Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Département de Géographie, and Laboratoire de Géographie Physique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 8591, 92195 Meudon, France.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013 Oct 15;110(42):16742-7. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1307520110. Epub 2013 Sep 30.
Polar ice core records attest to a colossal volcanic eruption that took place ca. A.D. 1257 or 1258, most probably in the tropics. Estimates based on sulfate deposition in these records suggest that it yielded the largest volcanic sulfur release to the stratosphere of the past 7,000 y. Tree rings, medieval chronicles, and computational models corroborate the expected worldwide atmospheric and climatic effects of this eruption. However, until now there has been no convincing candidate for the mid-13th century "mystery eruption." Drawing upon compelling evidence from stratigraphic and geomorphic data, physical volcanology, radiocarbon dating, tephra geochemistry, and chronicles, we argue the source of this long-sought eruption is the Samalas volcano, adjacent to Mount Rinjani on Lombok Island, Indonesia. At least 40 km(3) (dense-rock equivalent) of tephra were deposited and the eruption column reached an altitude of up to 43 km. Three principal pumice fallout deposits mantle the region and thick pyroclastic flow deposits are found at the coast, 25 km from source. With an estimated magnitude of 7, this event ranks among the largest Holocene explosive eruptions. Radiocarbon dates on charcoal are consistent with a mid-13th century eruption. In addition, glass geochemistry of the associated pumice deposits matches that of shards found in both Arctic and Antarctic ice cores, providing compelling evidence to link the prominent A.D. 1258/1259 ice core sulfate spike to Samalas. We further constrain the timing of the mystery eruption based on tephra dispersal and historical records, suggesting it occurred between May and October A.D. 1257.
极地冰芯记录证明了一场巨大的火山爆发，这场爆发发生在公元 1257 年或 1258 年左右，很可能在热带地区。根据这些记录中硫酸盐的沉积情况估计，这是过去 7000 年来向平流层释放的最大规模的火山硫。树木年轮、中世纪编年史和计算模型都证实了这次喷发对全球大气和气候的预期影响。然而，直到现在，还没有一个令人信服的候选人可以解释 13 世纪中期的“神秘喷发”。根据来自地层和地貌数据、物理火山学、放射性碳测年、火山灰地球化学和编年史的有力证据，我们认为这场长期以来一直被寻找的喷发的源头是印度尼西亚龙目岛林贾尼山附近的萨马拉斯火山。至少有 40 公里（相当于致密岩石）的火山灰被沉积下来，喷发柱达到了高达 43 公里的高度。三次主要的浮石降落在该地区，而厚厚的火山碎屑流沉积物则在离源头 25 公里的海岸上被发现。这次事件估计规模为 7，是全新世最大的爆炸式喷发之一。木炭上的放射性碳日期与 13 世纪中叶的喷发一致。此外，与相关浮石沉积物的玻璃地球化学成分与在北极和南极冰芯中发现的碎片相匹配，为将公元 1258/1259 年冰芯硫酸盐峰值与萨马拉斯联系起来提供了有力的证据。我们还根据火山灰的扩散和历史记录进一步限制了神秘喷发的时间，表明它发生在公元 1257 年 5 月至 10 月之间。
