T84. The power of tephra from micro-to macro-scales: advances and applications of tephrostratigraphy and tephrochronology to the reconstruction of past explosive eruptions

Volcanic ashes injected in the atmosphere during explosive eruptions, thanks to their physical properties and under favorable atmospheric conditions, can be rapidly deposited as tephra layers over large areas. Thus, tephra layers can be recorded both in proximal and distal successions and, as geologically synchronous events, they represent important isochrones that are essential for correlations across terrestrial, marine, and lacustrine environments. Moreover, constraining the absolute ages and dispersal areas of tephra markers provides a fundamental tool for reconstructing the eruptive history of volcanoes. Stratigraphical, petrological, and geochemical studies can be used to reconstruct volcanic stratigraphies and to fingerprint individual tephra layers with applications to a variety of disciplines (e.g., volcanology, paleoclimatology, paleoseismology). Also, reconstructing the VEI and eruptive dynamics of past volcanic events is pivotal for future hazard assessment, especially at high-risk volcanoes. In this session, we welcome multidisciplinary studies concerning all aspects of tephrostratigraphy and tephrochronology, as well as their development and application to volcanology, paleoclimatology, paleoseismology, and volcanic hazard assessment. We encourage multidisciplinary contributions concerning the application of tephrostratigraphy and tephrochronology to the reconstruction of past explosive activity and climate, also including new methodologies that can potentially improve our general understanding of volcanic processes.