Tephrochronology of a ~ 70 ka-long marine record in the Marsili Basin (southern Tyrrhenian Sea)

A sequence of tephra layers is studied in a 13.9 m-long deep-sea core (MD01-2474G) from the southern Tyrrhenian Sea. The chronology of the succession is provided by a high-resolution age-depth model based on isotope stratigraphy and AMS radiocarbon dating, which place the succession of events in a time interval spanning the last 70 ka. Based on a precise chronological framework and proximal-distal correlations, the Y-1, Y-6 and Y-7 main marker tephras were identified. Compositional data on fresh micro-pumice or glass shards of selected tephras were correlated with the coeval volcanic activity of Aeolian Arc (Vulcano and Salina), Mt. Etna, Phlegrean Fields Pantelleria and Ischia. The tephra sequence contains a number of deposits documenting recurrent activity on Vulcano Island at ca. 6.9 ka BP (MD3), ca. 16.7 ka BP (MD11), ca. 23.2 ka BP (MD14), ca. 29.6 ka BP (MD15), ca. 36.9 ka BP (MD22) and ca. 42.5 ka BP (MD27). The results presented in this study improve the southern Tyrrhenian Sea tephrostratigraphic framework and provide new insights into chemistry and dispersal area of Aeolian Arc pyroclastic deposits in this sector of the Central Mediterranean.