Towards a dendrochronologically refined date of the Laacher See eruption around 13,000 years ago

• Authors: REINIG Frederick; CHERUBINI Paolo; ENGELS Stefan; ESPER Jan; GUIDOBALDI Giulia; JORIS Olaf; LANE Christine; NIEVERGELT Daniel; OPPENHEIMER Clive; PARK Cornelia; PFANZ Hardy; RIEDE Felix; SCHMINCKE Hans-Ulrich; STREET Martin; WACKER Lukas; BÜNTGEN Ulf
• Year of publication: 2020
• Type: Article in Periodical
• Magazine / Source: Quaternary Science Reviews
• MU Faculty or unit: Faculty of Science
• Web: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.106128
• Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.106128
• Keywords: Laacher See eruption
• Description: The precise date of the Laacher See eruption (LSE), central Europe's largest Late Pleistocene volcanic event that occurred around 13,000 years ago, is still unknown. Here, we outline the potential of combined high-resolution dendrochronological, wood anatomical and radiocarbon (14C) measurements, to refine the age of this major Plinian eruption. Based on excavated, subfossil trees that were killed during the explosive LSE and buried under its pyroclastic deposits, we describe how a firm date of the eruption might be achieved, and how the resulting temporal precision would further advance our understanding of the environmental and societal impacts of this event. Moreover, we discuss the relevance of an accurate LSE date for improving the synchronization of European terrestrial and lacustrine Late Glacial to Holocene archives.