Abstract

Solid state techniques have been used to characterize volcanic deposits from two areas in Greece: the Philippi peat basin, and the Myrtöön basin. The characterization involved the use of X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) to identify the minerals present in the materials, electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) to obtain the chemical composition of the glassy components, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to study the morphology of the glassy components. The materials from the Philippi peat basin were found to be part of three tephra layers that are widespread in the area of study. The materials from the Myrtöön basin were composed of glass shards, vesicular pumice shards, and mineral fragments. The morphology of the glassy fragments present in the tephras from the Myrtöön and Philippi basins indicates that the eruptions that gave rise to these volcanic deposits were plinian, and that the magmas involved in the eruptions were high-viscosity magmas.