Eruptive history of Mt. Fuji over the past 8000 years based on integrated records of lacustrine and terrestrial tephra sequences and radiocarbon dating

Abstract

Reliable records of past volcanic activities are essential for assessing future eruption probabilities and establishing effective volcanic disaster mitigation plans. We integrated the lacustrine and terrestrial sequences of tephra deposits at the northeastern foot of Mt. Fuji based on high-resolution radiocarbon (14C) dating to elucidate its eruptive history over the past 8000 years. Accurate chronologies of 29 tephra layers in the Lake Yamanaka sediments (core YA-1) were determined using the age-depth model of the 14C of bulk organic matter after variability correction of lake reservoir ages. The following ages were compared to those of major tephra deposits in the proximal trench section (MF20-01) and in the literature. From ∼7300 to ∼3200 cal yr BP, four tephra layers in core YA-1 (i.e., YA-T1, 2, 7, and 10) were likely correlated with the scoria fall deposits S-3, 5, 6, and 10 respectively, as reported in the outcrops near the lake. The core also features six undetected eruptions from ∼5050 to ∼3900 cal yr BP, demonstrating the advantages of lake sediments proximal to the volcano in identifying previously undetected eruptions. After ∼3200 cal yr BP, five tephra layers in core YA-1, ranging from ∼2900 to ∼1600 cal yr BP (YA-T11, 12, 14, 20, and 22), showed similar age ranges as the major tephra layers in MF20-01 (IY5, 8, 11, 25, and 26), with identical lithological characteristics and stratigraphic orders. This suggests that the tephra sequence in the trench section positively reflects the major eruptive events over the past 2900 years, providing a basis for the comprehensive reconstruction of volcanic eruption histories in the region.