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Uncovering an eruptive history using new tephra data from Argentine lacustrine cores linked to Chilean volcanoes in the southern segment of the Southern Volcanic Zone

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 November 2025

Walter Alexis Alfonzo Open the ORCID record for Walter Alexis Alfonzo [Opens in a new window] ,
Romina Daga Open the ORCID record for Romina Daga [Opens in a new window] ,
Natalia Piotrowska Open the ORCID record for Natalia Piotrowska [Opens in a new window] ,
Gastón Goldmann Open the ORCID record for Gastón Goldmann [Opens in a new window]  and
Sergio Ribeiro Guevara Open the ORCID record for Sergio Ribeiro Guevara [Opens in a new window]
Walter Alexis Alfonzo*
Affiliation:
Laboratorio de Análisis por Activación Neutrónica, Centro Atómico Bariloche-Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina Centro Científico Tecnológico CONICET Patagonia Norte, San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina
Romina Daga
Affiliation:
Laboratorio de Análisis por Activación Neutrónica, Centro Atómico Bariloche-Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina Centro Científico Tecnológico CONICET Patagonia Norte, San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina
Natalia Piotrowska
Affiliation:
Institute of Physics, Silesian University of Technology, Gliwice, Poland
Gastón Goldmann
Affiliation:
Laboratorio de Análisis por Activación Neutrónica, Centro Atómico Bariloche-Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina
Sergio Ribeiro Guevara
Affiliation:
Laboratorio de Análisis por Activación Neutrónica, Centro Atómico Bariloche-Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina
*
Corresponding author: Walter Alexis Alfonzo; Email: tatoo.alfonzo@gmail.com
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Abstract

This study examines tephra layers from lacustrine sediment cores collected in Patagonian Andean Range, correlating them with volcanic sources from the southern segment of the Southern Volcanic Zone (SVZ). Ten distinct tephra layers, spanning approximately the last 2000 yr, were identified across four cores from Lakes Rivadavia, La Zeta, Brychan, and Theobald, from ∼42°S to 44°S. Mostly geochemical and mineralogical analyses of tephra components (pumice, glass shards, scoria) reveal that the Chaitén, Michinmahuida, and Huequi volcanoes are the main sources of tephra in the region. Identified eruptions include four from Chaitén (ca. 2008 CE, ca. twelfth, ca. eighth, and fourth to fifth centuries), two from Huequi (beginning of the nineteenth and, possibly, fourteenth centuries), and four from Michinmahuida (ca. seventeenth to eighteenth, thirteenth, eighth, and ca. second centuries). Four of these tephra layers also have potential as isochronous marker beds in the region, allowing a preliminary reconstruction of their regional dispersal patterns. Some tephras may represent previously undocumented or scarcely documented eruptions. These findings suggest that the eruptive frequency in the southern SVZ has been underestimated, emphasizing the need for further research to expand the eruptive history and more accurately assess the volcanic hazards associated with this region.

Keywords

ChaiténHuequigeochemical correlationMichinmahuidaQuaternary lacustrine sediment coresSouthern Volcanic Zone (SVZ)tephrochronology

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Research Article
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Quaternary Research , First View , pp. 1 - 21
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© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Quaternary Research Center.

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