This volume presents a unique compendium of papers assessing the effects of volcanism on lakes, as recorded by the volcaniclastic sediments deposited within them. The unifying theme is that the effects of volcanism on lacustrine sedimentation are diverse and distinctive, and that volcaniclastic lacustrine sediments hold the key to understanding a range of processes and events that cannot be readily addressed by the study of any non-volcanic lakes. Thirteen papers, with authors from nine countries, examine both modern and ancient eruption-affected lacustrine deposits. Volcanic eruptions affect lakes and their deposits in many ways, and these papers evaluate processes and products of volcanic eruptions within lakes, of tectonically impounded lakes strongly influenced by volcanism, of eruption-impounded lakes and of general factors controlling sedimentation of vitric ash and pumice. Tephrastratigraphic studies also take advantage of the exceptional preservation of thin laminae in quiet lakes to precisely date episodes in the evolution of long-lived lakes and their catchment areas, and to understand how volcanism affects normal lacustrine processes.
The volume as a whole is an unparalleled source of information on all aspects of the physical sedimentary results of volcanism in lacustrine settings, and serves as a complement to other studies concerned primarily with thermal and geochemical characteristics of lakes within volcanic craters.