This past September, the Commission on Tephrochronology (COT), with the Commission on Tephra Hazard Modelling (THM) and the INTegration of Ice-core, MArine, and TErrestrial palaeoclimate records (INTIMATE) network of the International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA), held the 10th conference on Tephra research at the foot of Mount Etna in Catania, Sicily. The University of Catania and the Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences generously hosted us at the Monastero dei Benedettini di San Nicolò l’Arena, a beautiful venue for the conference.
Beginning with our icebreaker on September 8, we had three days of excellent oral and poster presentations, and a mid-conference fieldtrip to Mount Etna. For those wishing to extend their stay in Southern Italy, we had two post-conference field trips. Paul Albert (Swansea University) and Federico Lucchi (University of Bologna) led a four-day visit to the Aeolian Islands exploring the silicic volcanism of the last 50 ka. A second trip led by Simon Blockley (RHUL) took a three-day tour around the Sicily to see sites including the official GSSP for the Plio-Pleistocene boundary and more of Mount Etna.
Top Left: Poster presentations in the courtyard. Top right: Presentations in the auditorium. Bottom left: Crater Silvestri of Etna, near Refugio Sappienza. Bottom right: putting in the golden spike at the Plio-Pleistocene GSSP at Gela.
This conference was designed without concurrent sessions, with lunch and coffee breaks on site, to encourage mingling, networking and the sharing of ideas. It also has a history of supporting early career researchers (ECR) through reduced fees, travel grants, awards, and ensuring a supportive environment for ECRs to share their research. For Tephra 2024, out of the 80 attendees, around 65 % were early career researchers with participants from 16 different countries, including most of Western Europe, Canada, USA, Armenia, Japan, Korea and New Zealand. Thanks to the generous support from IAVCEI and INQUA, we were able to support 19 ECRs through travel grants. We also awarded six ECR presentation prizes (below), a tough decision to make given the quality of the posters and talks we all had the opportunity to enjoy
Despite a couple of weather-related setbacks, the conference was a great success, and as the first tephra conference post-COVID, we hope it will be a springboard to future conferences at more regular intervals. With that in mind, we plan on having our next meeting in 2028, in a location to be determined. Consider this an official call of interest–if being the host for the next tephra conference sound like something you might be interested in, please reach out to the COT executive. We hope to be able to announce the location at IAVCEI in Geneva
Exploring the eruption deposits of the Aeolian Islands. Top Left: Group Photo overlooking the southern domes of Lipari and La Fossa, Vulcano. Bottom Left: The group examining the eruption deposits of the Monte Guardia (Lipari) and Lower Pollara (Salina) outcropping in NW Lipari. Right: Stromboli volcano.
Winners /Runners-up of the ECR presentation awards for Tephra 2024
| Best Poster Presentation (all ECR), Winner | Jacqueline Grech Licari, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand | Eruptive histories of New Zealand’s nearshore volcanoes: Insights from marine cores around Tūhua and Whakaari volcanoes |
| Best Poster Presentation (all ECR), Runner up | Jade Hrintchuk, University of Liverpool, UK | Unravelling the eruption dynamics of the Little Mount scoria cone, Budj Bim Volcanic Complex, south-east Australia |
| Best Oral Presentation (all ECR), Winner | Eloise Wilkinson-Rowe, University of Cambridge, UK | Late Holocene eruption history of the Main Ethiopian Rift at lake Babogaya, Bishoftu Volcanic Field – new insights into the volume and reach of the Wendo Koshe Younger Pumice eruption |
| Best Oral Presentation (all ECR), Runner up | Danielle Mclean, University of Oxford | Opportunities to synchronise and date archaeological and climate records in Northwest Africa using volcanic ash (tephra) layers |
| Best Oral Presentation (Graduate student), Winner | Helen Innes, University of St. Andrews, UK | Recent developments in geochemical analysis of extremely fine-grained cryptotephra and their application to ice core deposits |
| Best Oral Presentation (Graduate student), Runner up | Hanaa Yousif, University of Alberta, Canada | Paleovolcanic Records from Mount Logan: The Prospector-Russell and Summit Plateau Ice Cores |
23th – 25th April 2025 held at GEOMAR, Kiel Dear colleagues, Please find below the second circular and details relating to the “Tephrochronostratigraphy and associated research of the Mediterranean” meeting to be held in Kiel April 2025. Follow the links…
Nominations due: April 30th 2025 Elections are coming up for the COT executive and we are looking for people interested to run. Positions are Chair, Officer of Communications, Officer of Membership, Officer of Meetings and Early Career Researcher Representative. Descriptions…
23th – 25th April 2025 held at GEOMAR, Kiel Dear colleagues, Please find below the first circular and details relating to the “Tephrochronostratigraphy and associated research of the Mediterranean” meeting to be held in Kiel next April.
Dear all, For those attending the upcoming COT-INTIMATE-THM 2024 International Conference “Tephra: Chronology, Stratigraphy, Hazards, & Climate” 8-15 September 2024, Catania, Sicily, Italy, please find below the Abstract Volume and Conference schedule. Abstract Volume: Conference Schedule:
Abstract Deadline Extended – “Tephra: Chronology, Stratigraphy, Hazards, & Climate” 8-16th September 2024, Catania, Sicily, Italy ABSTRACT DEADLINE EXTENSION for Tephra: Chronology, Stratigraphy, Hazards, & Climate in Catania, Sicily, from September 8th-16th. Due to many requests, we have decided to extend the…
“Tephra: Chronology, Stratigraphy, Hazards, & Climate” 8-16th September 2024, Catania, Sicily, Italy Dear colleagues, The International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth Interior (IAVCEI) Commission of Tephrochronology (COT), Tephra Hazard Modelling (THM), and the INTegration of Ice-core, MArine,…
Commission on Tephrochronology (CoT) International Conference will be held in Catania, Sicily (8th-15th September 2024) Details below:
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