Geospatial distribution of tephra fall in Alaska: a geodatabase compilation of published tephra fall occurrences from the Pleistocene to the present

Abstract

Tephra fall (volcanic ash) studies are a key component to understanding the frequency and magnitude of volcanic eruptions and conducting volcano-hazard assessments. In addition, many interdisciplinary studies rely on tephra fall deposits as time-stratigraphic markers. Information on tephra deposits in Alaska has previously been dispersed amongst hundreds of publications that span numerous research disciplines. In order to streamline tephra occurrence data, information from these disparate publications have been compiled into one comprehensive geospatial dataset. Pleistocene, Holocene, and historical tephra deposit distribution information has been digitized for more than 120 published resources, including peer-reviewed articles, reports, and theses/dissertations. The dataset includes tephra fall distribution information pertaining to 39 eruptions from at least 19 volcanoes in Alaska. All files can be downloaded free of charge from the DGGS website (http://doi.org/10.14509/29847).