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From the ashes: a 150th anniversary review of the Askja-1875 tephra

Simon Larsson
1
Stockholm University1

Funders:

Stockholm University

Language:

English

Version number: 2

https://doi.org/10.58051/ns01-jf70
Verified
CC BY license

Reviews

Version 2

David Lowe

General comment:
Looks great - well done

Alice Carter-Champion

General comment:
A nice summary of the eruptive episode and discovery of the Askja volcano and 1875 eruption. The article is well written and engaging, but would be improved with a figure detailing the context in which Askja sits, at the very least. The PCA is well produced, but some of the symbols/colours are pretty similar and so hard to distinguish without guidance in text. Finally I think you need to double check the writing around the high/low Na2O values for the Davies (2007) data - you say that the Na2O is high at one point but then low on the TAS plot. Apart from those minor comments, I would like to approve the manuscript for publication.

Version 1

Alice Carter-Champion

General comment:
This is a succinct and interesting contribution to both the history of tephrochronology (centred around Askja) and towards a more statistical approach to examining geochemical data from distal tephra layers. It was really enjoyable to read and clear that a rigorous investigation of the historical records has occurred, blending history with science! Discussion of the 1875 eruption and discovery and subsequent mapping of the volcanic system is concise and provides excellent context for the later overview and discussion of the geochemical characteristics of the Askja 1875 eruption. There are a few minor suggestions that I include, but these are optional or very minor expression suggestions.
Sections comments:

Where there’s smoke: discovering a volcano

Alice Carter-Champion: The scene setting is really great, but it would be helpful to also have a map of Iceland, to help contextualise some of the places that you mention - either a reproduction of one of the historical maps that I'm sure exist, or a modern one!

irst mapping of the crater-depression and the plain of Askja by Lieutenant Caroc of the Danish Navy

Alice Carter-Champion: Again, this sounds very interesting, is there any chance to reproduce/photograph this and include it?

which in

Alice Carter-Champion: which began in?

separate plumbing systems

Alice Carter-Champion: three separate plumbing systems you mean? Askja, northern lava flow, southern lava flow? Or two plumbing systems, one for the explosive stuff and one for the effusive lava flows?

produce a map of the ashfall

Alice Carter-Champion: Again, would be really nice to include a reproduction of this if it's possible!

Figure 3:

Alice Carter-Champion: It would be nice to include the proximal data from Askja-1875 from Meara, R.H., Thordarson, T.H., Pearce, N.J.G., Hayward, C. and Larsen, G., 2020. A catalogue of major and trace element data for Icelandic Holocene silicic tephra layers. Journal of Quaternary Science, 35(1-2), pp.122-142.

Figure 4:

Alice Carter-Champion: It's interesting that there is a clear distinction based on Na2O for the samples from Borge (I think?) - could there be some issue of sodium migration? Or a different probe used compared with the other data?

The reason for the Lake Getvaltjärnen subgroup’s separation from other Askja-1875 tephra findings thus remains uncertain.

Alice Carter-Champion: Maybe it would be nice to mention the potential for trace elements to distinguish whether this is the case or not?

David Lowe

General comment:
This is an excellent paper, very well written and presented, and of interest to a wide percentage of tephrochronologists and geoscience historians. The paper should be published almost "as is" but I have suggested minor changes to the text to clarify or reduce ambiguity. These should be considered as 'changes by the author' but very minor overall.
Sections comments:

David Lowe: Excellent topic and abstract

1830’s,

David Lowe: 1. Remove appostrophe 1830s 2. 'widened to a caldera' - is this a true caldera which is a major collapse feature (that arises because of large volume of ejecta, unlike a crater). Please check and reword to 'large crater' if appropriate.

Annotation image by David Lowe

David Lowe: Add space before 'N' and 'W' lat/long

Annotation image by David Lowe

David Lowe: Lake level must fluctuate with evaporation etc hence suggest add approximately or similar

Annotation image by David Lowe

David Lowe: This scenario has, however, been...

Annotation image by David Lowe

David Lowe: although

David Lowe: interpretation ie This interpretation has been

was

David Lowe: were

Thi

David Lowe: This process caused...

David Lowe: Please record if the volume estimates are as loose material or dense rock equivalence

migration

David Lowe: insert 'human' ie affected human migration (initiallly I read this as volcanic migration)

Öskjagá caldera

David Lowe: Ok it seems it is a caldera

David Lowe: add comma after Sweden

This

David Lowe: This pattern of deposition was in agreement...

ash particle

David Lowe: examined ash particles (i.e. glass shards) under...

Annotation image by David Lowe

David Lowe: ash particles is misleading here as 'ash' is a grain size term technically - the particles in the image are glass shards and should be described as such. Also, in more proximal deposits 'ash particles' can also contain crystals and lithic fragments, not just glass, So the term 'ash particle' is not synonymous for glass particles.

Annotation image by David Lowe

David Lowe: ....becoming dark or black

Annotation image by David Lowe

David Lowe: delete 'the'

Annotation image by David Lowe

David Lowe: Although modern geochemical analyses were unavailable at the time, tentative..

David Lowe: in, for example,... add commas

Annotation image by David Lowe

David Lowe: Need to note if the values are normalised or not

Annotation image by David Lowe

David Lowe: use 'locations' rather than 'findings'

Annotation image by David Lowe

David Lowe: now referred to as...

lkali-Silica

David Lowe: alkali-silica

it is

David Lowe: I am

).

David Lowe: Could add here if desired a citation Lowe et al., 2017 QSR Lowe, D.J., Pearce, N.J.G., Jorgensen, M.A., Kuehn, S.C., Tryon, C.A., Hayward, C., 2017. Correlating tephras and cryptotephras using glass compositional analyses and numerical and statistical methods: review and evaluation. Quaternary Science Reviews 175, 1-44.

his

David Lowe: relationship

entred log-ratio transformed published Askja-1875 tephra major-element oxide compositions,

David Lowe: compositions of glass shards, as principal.... (add 'glass shards' as they were analysed, not whole tephra)

data

David Lowe: selection of glass-shard analytical data...

of

David Lowe: delete 'of'

David Lowe: than to the majority...

Annotation image by David Lowe

David Lowe: ..measured contents of

David Lowe: Could insert sentence before "Looking..": Problems in analysing Na2O in glass using the electron probe, usually showing reduced totals, have been well documented (e.g. Lowe et al., 2017)

ll numbers presented as weight percentages.

David Lowe: Need to add that data are normalised.

Pub

David Lowe: Also add after percentages... All iron represented as FeO.

Looking

David Lowe: Before "Looking.." could insert sentence That Na2O totals are somewhat low reflects the well known problems associated with the analysis of glass shards using the electron microprobe (e.g. Lowe et al., 2017).

ephra shards

David Lowe: tephra-derived glass shards the shards are not "tephra shards", they are glass shards

first detailed ash dispersal ma

David Lowe: first for Icelandic tephra or globally?

Annotation image by David Lowe

David Lowe: ...geochemical analyses of glass from the ...

Annotation image by David Lowe

David Lowe: ..raw data (i.e. not normalised) from...

Annotation image by David Lowe

David Lowe: ..tephra-derived glass-shard major...

Annotation image by David Lowe

David Lowe: ..tephra-derived glass-shard

Annotation image by David Lowe

David Lowe: tephra-derived glass-shard

Annotation image by David Lowe

David Lowe: ..raw glass-shard analytical

Reviewers:2