Petrogenesis of the Sólheimar ignimbrite (Katla, Iceland): Implications for tephrostratigraphy

The Sólheimar ignimbrite has been linked to the Vedde Ash (Lacasse et al., 1995), a compositionally bimodal tephra layer used to link sedimentary records in the North Atlantic and Northern Europe. Despite the importance of the Vedde Ash in late Quaternary studies, its provenance remains equivocal. We demonstrate that Vedde rhyolite glasses share the same major and trace element chemistry as the Sólheimar rhyolite, carrying the implication that these deposits may be produced by the same eruption. However, the Sólheimar ignimbrite lacks the basaltic component that is sometimes associated with rhyolitic shards of the Vedde Ash at far distal locations, therefore this correlation cannot be confirmed.