Abstract
Ranking among the largest volcanic eruptions of the Common Era (CE), the ‘Millennium Eruption’ of Changbaishan produced a widely-dispersed tephra layer (known as the B-Tm ash), which represents an important tie point for palaeoenvironmental studies in East Asia. Hitherto, there has been no consensus on its age, with estimates spanning at least the tenth century CE. Here, we identify the cosmogenic radiocarbon signal of 775 CE in a subfossil larch engulfed and killed by pyroclastic currents emplaced during the initial rhyolitic phase of the explosive eruption. Combined with glaciochemical evidence from Greenland, this enables us to date the eruption to late 946 CE. This secure date rules out the possibility that the Millennium Eruption contributed to the collapse of the Bohai Kingdom (Manchuria/Korea) in 926 CE, as has previously been hypothesised. Further, despite the magnitude of the eruption, we do not see a consequent cooling signal in tree-ring-based reconstructions of Northern Hemisphere summer temperatures. A tightly-constrained date for the Millennium Eruption improves the prospect for further investigations of historical sources that may shed light on the eruption's impacts, and enhances the value of the B-Tm ash as a chronostratigraphic marker.
Highlights
IntroductionThe ‘Millennium Eruption’ of Changbaishan volcano ( known as Mt. Paektu and Baegdusan), is so-called because it has been thought to have occurred approximately 1000 Common Era (CE)
73.7 ± 2.4 0.24 ± 0.07 11.2 ± 1.5 4.09 ± 0.21 e e 0.37 ± 0.26 5.34 ± 0.32 4.49 ± 0.31 0.47 ± 0.11 21 a Measurements made by electron microprobe analysis. b Original sources listed in Sun et al (2014b). c Type B-Tm material from Port Tomakomai, Hokkaido (McLean et al, 2016). d Shards from the NEEM-2011-S1 ice core, Greenland (Sun et al, 2014a)
We find no significant cooling in 947 Common Era (CE) that could be attributed to the effects of the Millennium Eruption, neither in NH1 (À0.44 C, rank 133) nor in NH2 (À0.31, rank 253)
Summary
The ‘Millennium Eruption’ of Changbaishan volcano ( known as Mt. Paektu and Baegdusan), is so-called because it has been thought to have occurred approximately 1000 CE. C. Oppenheimer et al / Quaternary Science Reviews 158 (2017) 164e171 stage of the eruption extends across northeast China (Sun et al, 2015), the far-east costal region of Russia (Andreeva et al, 2011) and the Korean peninsula. Oppenheimer et al / Quaternary Science Reviews 158 (2017) 164e171 stage of the eruption extends across northeast China (Sun et al, 2015), the far-east costal region of Russia (Andreeva et al, 2011) and the Korean peninsula It is found in deep-sea sediment cores from the Japan Sea (Machida and Arai, 1983), as well as in lacustrine and peat sedimentary archives from Japan (e.g., Hughes et al, 2013; Chen et al, 2016; McLean et al, 2016, Fig. 1c). Attempts to date the eruption have prompted searches of mediaeval texts for reports suggestive of volcanic phenomena (Hayakawa and Koyama, 1998)
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