The Mjauvotn tephra and other Holocene tephra horizons from the Faroe Islands: a link between the Icelandic source region, the Nordic Seas, and the European continent

Six different tephra horizons were found in peat and lacustrine sediments o n the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic. Their geochemistry showed that t hey were of Icelandic origin. Three of these can be correlated with previou sly described tephra horizons from the Faroe Islands: the Saksunarvatn teph ra (c. 9000 BP), the Hekla-4 (c. 3800 BP) and Hekla-Selsund (c. 3600 BP). A previously unrecorded basaltic tephra dated to c. 5700-5300 BP was found i n two lacustrine successions. This horizon is named the Mjauvotn tephra aft er Mjauvotn Lake on the island of Streymoy. Two further tephras were record ed: the basaltic phase of the 'Landnam' tephra (VIIa, c. AD 870s), and the rhyolitic Tjornuvik tephra. These were found in sediments deposited shortly after the first phase of human settlement at Tjornuvik, which is AMS dated to AD 675-861 (calibrated age). The Faroe Islands are an important link be tween the volcanic sources on Iceland, and the established tephrochronologi cal frameworks on the British Isles, Scandinavia and Germany. Their positio n within a sensitive region of the northeastern branch of the North Atlanti c Drift make the Faroe Islands ideal for registering climate changes during the Holocene. The establishment of a modem tephrochronology may provide a tool for more precisely dating and correlating regional climate events in a nd around the Nordic Seas.