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Journal of Quaternary Science, vol.41, no.4, pp.645-659, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
Mount Erciyes, the largest active volcano of Central Anatolia (Turkey), erupted explosively during the Holocene, producing the Karagüllü, Perikartin and Dikkartin tuff rings. Even though major cities like Kayseri and its ~1 million residents sit directly on these pyroclastic deposits, the timing and magnitude of the explosive eruptions have remained poorly constrained. To assess regional ash dispersal and improve the Erciyes Holocene explosive eruptive history, here, we integrate tephrostratigraphic observations, glass shard geochemistry and radiocarbon dating of organic-rich palaeosols. Our results indicate that the Karagüllü tuff ring formed around 11 258 ± 56 cal yr BP, followed by the Perikartin eruption at 9700 ± 100 cal yr BP. Although no stratigraphic contacts are evident with the other eruption deposits and there is no radiocarbon datable material in or below Dikkartin, its glass composition matches the regional S1 tephra dated to approximately 9000 cal yr BP, and this date can be assigned to the Dikkartin eruption. Distal correlations also confirm the widespread dispersal of the Karagüllü tephra, as it is identified as a cryptotephra layer in the Black Sea and Romanian lakes, indicating that the Central Anatolian eruptions dispersed volcanic ash over several hundred to more than a 1000 km across Europe and the eastern Mediterranean in the early Holocene. These correlations enhance the regional tephrochronological framework and underscore the need to re-assess volcanic hazards in Central Turkey and surrounding areas.