First integrated tephrochronological record for the last similar to 190 kyr from the Fucino Quaternary lacustrine succession, central Italy

We present the first integrated tephrochronological study (major and trace elemental glass composition, Sr and Nd isotope analyses, and Ar-40/Ar-39 dating) for the last one tenth (similar to 82 m) of the similar to 900 m-thick Quaternary lacustrine succession of the Fucino Basin, the largest and probably only Central Apennine intermountain tectonic depression that hosts a continuous lacustrine succession documenting the PlioQuaternary sedimentary history up to historical times. Major element glass compositions, determined using a wavelength -dispersive electron microprobe (WDS-EMPA), yielded the geochemical fingerprinting needed for a reliable identification of most of the 23 stratigraphically ordered tephra layers under investigation. These include tephra from Italian volcanoes such as Campi Flegrei, Etna, Colli Albani, Ischia, Vico, Sabatini, and undefined volcanic sources in the Neapolitan area and Latium region. The recognition of key Mediterranean marker tephra layers (e.g. X-5 and X-6) is supported by trace element data acquired by Laser Ablation Inductively Couple Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). The Sr and Nd isotope compositions of selected layers where also determined for circumscribing the volcanic source of distal tephra and for supporting correlations with individual eruptive units. We also propose a new, more expeditious covariation diagram (CaO/FeOtot vs Cl) for identifying the volcanic source of trachytic to phonolitic and tephrytic to phonolitic tephra, that are the most common compositions of pyroclastic rocks from volcanoes of Campania and Latium regions. Finally, we present five new Ar-40/Ar-39 age determinations, including a new, analytically well -supported, and more precise Ar-40/Ar-39 age for the widespread Y-7 tephra, and the first Ar-40/Ar-39 age determinations for one tephra from the Sabatini volcanic district (similar to 126 ka) and one tephra from Neapolitan volcanic area (Campi Flegrei?; similar to 159 ka). These newly dated tephra