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Research Article

Source of the great A.D. 1257 mystery eruption unveiled, Samalas volcano, Rinjani Volcanic Complex, Indonesia

Franck Lavigne, Jean-Philippe Degeai, Jean-Christophe Komorowski, Sébastien Guillet, Vincent Robert, Pierre Lahitte, Clive Oppenheimer, Markus Stoffel, Céline M. Vidal, Surono, Indyo Pratomo, Patrick Wassmer, Irka Hajdas, Danang Sri Hadmoko, and Edouard de Belizal
  1. aUniversité Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Département de Géographie, and Laboratoire de Géographie Physique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 8591, 92195 Meudon, France;
  2. bUniversité Montpellier 3 Paul Valéry and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 5140, 34970 Lattes, France;
  3. cInstitut de Physique du Globe, Equipe Géologie des Systèmes Volcaniques, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 7654, Sorbonne Paris-Cité, 75238 Paris Cedex 05, France;
  4. dInstitute of Geological Sciences, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland;
  5. eDépartement des Sciences de la Terre (IDES), Université Paris-Sud, 91405 Orsay Cedex, France;
  6. fDepartment of Geography, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EN, United Kingdom;
  7. gDepartment of Earth Sciences, Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva, 1227 Carouge, Switzerland;
  8. hCenter for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, Geological Agency, 40122 Bandung, Indonesia;
  9. iGeological Museum, Geological Agency, 40122 Bandung, Indonesia;
  10. jFaculté de Géographie et d’Aménagement, Université de Strasbourg, 67000 Strasbourg, France;
  11. kLaboratory of Ion Beam Physics, Eidgenössiche Technische Hochschule, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland; and
  12. lFaculty of Geography, Department of Environmental Geography, Gadjah Mada University, Bulaksumur, 55281 Yogyakarta, Indonesia

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PNAS first published September 30, 2013; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1307520110
Franck Lavigne
aUniversité Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Département de Géographie, and Laboratoire de Géographie Physique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 8591, 92195 Meudon, France;
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  • For correspondence: franck.lavigne@univ-paris1.fr
Jean-Philippe Degeai
aUniversité Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Département de Géographie, and Laboratoire de Géographie Physique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 8591, 92195 Meudon, France;
bUniversité Montpellier 3 Paul Valéry and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 5140, 34970 Lattes, France;
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Jean-Christophe Komorowski
cInstitut de Physique du Globe, Equipe Géologie des Systèmes Volcaniques, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 7654, Sorbonne Paris-Cité, 75238 Paris Cedex 05, France;
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Sébastien Guillet
dInstitute of Geological Sciences, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland;
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Vincent Robert
aUniversité Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Département de Géographie, and Laboratoire de Géographie Physique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 8591, 92195 Meudon, France;
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Pierre Lahitte
eDépartement des Sciences de la Terre (IDES), Université Paris-Sud, 91405 Orsay Cedex, France;
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Clive Oppenheimer
fDepartment of Geography, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EN, United Kingdom;
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Markus Stoffel
dInstitute of Geological Sciences, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland;
gDepartment of Earth Sciences, Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva, 1227 Carouge, Switzerland;
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Céline M. Vidal
cInstitut de Physique du Globe, Equipe Géologie des Systèmes Volcaniques, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 7654, Sorbonne Paris-Cité, 75238 Paris Cedex 05, France;
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Surono
hCenter for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, Geological Agency, 40122 Bandung, Indonesia;
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Indyo Pratomo
iGeological Museum, Geological Agency, 40122 Bandung, Indonesia;
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Patrick Wassmer
aUniversité Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Département de Géographie, and Laboratoire de Géographie Physique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 8591, 92195 Meudon, France;
jFaculté de Géographie et d’Aménagement, Université de Strasbourg, 67000 Strasbourg, France;
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Irka Hajdas
kLaboratory of Ion Beam Physics, Eidgenössiche Technische Hochschule, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland; and
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Danang Sri Hadmoko
lFaculty of Geography, Department of Environmental Geography, Gadjah Mada University, Bulaksumur, 55281 Yogyakarta, Indonesia
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Edouard de Belizal
aUniversité Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Département de Géographie, and Laboratoire de Géographie Physique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 8591, 92195 Meudon, France;
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  1. Edited by Ikuo Kushiro, University of Tokyo, Tsukuba, Japan, and approved September 4, 2013 (received for review April 21, 2013)

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Significance

Based on ice core archives of sulfate and tephra deposition, one of the largest volcanic eruptions of the historic period and of the past 7,000 y occurred in A.D. 1257. However the source of this “mystery eruption” remained unknown. Drawing on a robust body of new evidence from radiocarbon dates, tephra geochemistry, stratigraphic data, a medieval chronicle, this study argues that the source of this eruption is Samalas volcano, part of the Mount Rinjani Volcanic Complex on Lombok Island, Indonesia. These results solve a conundrum that has puzzled glaciologists, volcanologists, and climatologists for more than three decades. In addition, the identification of this volcano gives rise to the existence of a forgotten Pompeii in the Far East.

Abstract

Polar ice core records attest to a colossal volcanic eruption that took place ca. A.D. 1257 or 1258, most probably in the tropics. Estimates based on sulfate deposition in these records suggest that it yielded the largest volcanic sulfur release to the stratosphere of the past 7,000 y. Tree rings, medieval chronicles, and computational models corroborate the expected worldwide atmospheric and climatic effects of this eruption. However, until now there has been no convincing candidate for the mid-13th century “mystery eruption.” Drawing upon compelling evidence from stratigraphic and geomorphic data, physical volcanology, radiocarbon dating, tephra geochemistry, and chronicles, we argue the source of this long-sought eruption is the Samalas volcano, adjacent to Mount Rinjani on Lombok Island, Indonesia. At least 40 km3 (dense-rock equivalent) of tephra were deposited and the eruption column reached an altitude of up to 43 km. Three principal pumice fallout deposits mantle the region and thick pyroclastic flow deposits are found at the coast, 25 km from source. With an estimated magnitude of 7, this event ranks among the largest Holocene explosive eruptions. Radiocarbon dates on charcoal are consistent with a mid-13th century eruption. In addition, glass geochemistry of the associated pumice deposits matches that of shards found in both Arctic and Antarctic ice cores, providing compelling evidence to link the prominent A.D. 1258/1259 ice core sulfate spike to Samalas. We further constrain the timing of the mystery eruption based on tephra dispersal and historical records, suggesting it occurred between May and October A.D. 1257.

  • volcanism
  • climate
  • ultraplinian
  • caldera
  • archaeology

Footnotes

  • ↵1To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: franck.lavigne{at}univ-paris1.fr.
  • Author contributions: F.L. designed research; F.L., J.-P.D., S.G., V.R., C.M.V., S., I.P., P.W., D.S.H., and E.d.B. performed research; P.L. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; J.-P.D., J.-C.K., S.G., V.R., P.L., C.O., and I.H. analyzed data; F.L., J.-C.K., S.G., C.O., and M.S. wrote the paper; and S. provided maps and baseline data.

  • The authors declare no conflict of interest.

  • This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.

  • This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1307520110/-/DCSupplemental.

Freely available online through the PNAS open access option.

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Source of the A.D. 1257 mystery eruption unveiled
Franck Lavigne, Jean-Philippe Degeai, Jean-Christophe Komorowski, Sébastien Guillet, Vincent Robert, Pierre Lahitte, Clive Oppenheimer, Markus Stoffel, Céline M. Vidal, Surono, Indyo Pratomo, Patrick Wassmer, Irka Hajdas, Danang Sri Hadmoko, Edouard de Belizal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Sep 2013, 201307520; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1307520110

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Source of the A.D. 1257 mystery eruption unveiled
Franck Lavigne, Jean-Philippe Degeai, Jean-Christophe Komorowski, Sébastien Guillet, Vincent Robert, Pierre Lahitte, Clive Oppenheimer, Markus Stoffel, Céline M. Vidal, Surono, Indyo Pratomo, Patrick Wassmer, Irka Hajdas, Danang Sri Hadmoko, Edouard de Belizal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Sep 2013, 201307520; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1307520110
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