Publication details
Large-volume Miocene silicic volcanism in the Pannonian Basin: Geochronological and geochemical correlation across central and southern Europe
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| Year of publication | 2026 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
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| Description | Neogene silicic volcanism in the Pannonian Basin (Eastern Central Europe) represents the most voluminous explosive activity in Europe over the past 20 million years, producing more than 4,000 km3 of tephra during a period of significant lithospheric extension. Integrated field and borehole data from northern to northeastern Hungary, combined with zircon U–Pb geochronology and zircon–glass geochemistry, reveal multiple >100 km3 explosive eruptions between 18.1 and 11.5 Ma. Major eruptive phases occurred between 18.1 and 14.4 Ma in the Bükkalja Volcanic Field (BVF), followed by younger activity (13.1–11.6 Ma) in the Tokaj Mountains, marking an ignimbrite flare-up period and subsequent eastward migration of volcanism. Distinct geochemical fingerprints, including wide variability in zircon ?Hf values (>10) and volcanic glass trace element ratios (~5 in La/Nb), allow robust correlation of eruptive units across Central and Southern Europe, even where primary volcanic textures are obscured by alteration. These correlations link proximal units in Hungary to distal ash deposits preserved across a broad region, including Italy (e.g., the orbitally tuned La Vedova section near Ancona), as well as the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Germany, Croatia, and Romania. Several key eruptions (at ~18.1, 17.3, 14.9, 14.4, and 13.1 Ma) can be traced regionally. The widespread occurrence of coeval, thick volcaniclastic successions in proximal settings, together with their enormous volume, suggests that many of these eruptions were caldera-forming and may have reached VEI 7–8 magnitudes. Distal ash deposits, frequently transported over distances exceeding 1,000 km and locally reworked in subaqueous environments, further emphasize the exceptional size of these eruptions. The identification of multiple correlated ash layers, both proximal and distal, also indicates a higher eruptive frequency and faster volcanic tempo than previously recognized. These results significantly refine the Miocene tephrochronological framework of Central and Southern Europe and highlight the broader implications of Pannonian Basin volcanism for regional paleogeographic reconstructions, basin evolution, and long-distance tephra dispersal. |