Ciomadul (Csomád), The Youngest Volcano in the Carpathians

Table of Contents

1. Frontmatter

2. Volcanic Eruptions, Landscape Evolution and Postvolcanic Phenomena

   1. Frontmatter

   2. Chapter 1. History of Research: Geoscientific Exploration of the Ciomadul Hills

      Csaba Jánosi, Dávid Karátson, Ferenc Wanek

      Abstract

      Székelyland in Transylvania (Romania) has few regions as unique as the Ciomadul (Csomád) Hills in their unparalleled beauty. Professionals have been researching this distinctive volcanic region for centuries. Earth scientists study the young volcanic cones, igneous rocks, mineral springs, and mofettas; limnologists probe the waters of Sf. Ana crater lake; botanists roam the peat bog of the Mohoş crater. Ancient fortresses of the region are fascinating subjects for archaeologists, rich folklore and traditional beliefs have inspired many of the greats of Hungarian literature. And research is still on going in recent times.

   3. Chapter 2. Introduction to the Tectonic Evolution of the Southeast Carpathians

      Liviu Matenco

      Abstract

      The Southeast (SE) Carpathians, together with the larger area of the Ciomadul (Csomád) volcano, is part of the curved Carpathian Mountain chain and orogenic system that has evolved since the Triassic and presently forms a double 180° loop from Vienna in Austria to Sofia in Bulgaria. The mechanisms of forming such an arcuate mountain chain have puzzled researchers for generations. Furthermore, the way in which rocks are brought from depth and exposed at the surface in mountain chains, i.e., exhumation, together with other processes such as associated magmatism, has been a constant topic of tectonic studies for decades. In the area of the SE Carpathians, a marked shift in the tectonic style in the last 8 million years has resulted in a gradual change in magmatism that was ultimately responsible for the most recent volcanic phase (c. 1 Ma–30 ka) at the chain-ending Ciomadul volcano.

   4. Chapter 3. Evolution of the Ciomadul Volcanic Field—Lava Domes and Explosive Eruptions

      Dávid Karátson, Daniel Veres, Pierre Lahitte, Tamás Telbisz, Sabine Wulf, Ralf Gertisser, Stéphane Dibacto, Balázs Kiss, Enikő K. Magyari, Ágnes Novothny, Csaba Jánosi

      Abstract

      Ciomadul (Csomád) is the youngest volcano in the Carpathians and the Carpatho-Pannonian Region whose latest eruptions may have been witnessed by Palaeolithic people. It is the only volcano in the region where, although with little probability, future eruptions may occur. Ciomadul was a lava dome complex, and its volcanic activity included both effusive (lava) and explosive (pumice and ash) eruptions that lasted almost one million years, terminating less than thirty thousand years ago. This makes Ciomadul an important target for future investigation to determine detailed volcanic stratigraphy and eruptive scenarios for long-lived lava domes. Here, we present the state-of-art of the research of this unique volcanic activity and the related volcanic landforms.

   5. Chapter 4. Petrology of Ciomadul Volcano: The Rock Record

      Alexandru Szakács, Ágnes Gál

      Abstract

      The careful study of volcanic rocks can help us understand not only what processes occur with the crust, such as magma evolution and migration, but also surface processes that influence, for example, the violence of volcanic eruptions. In this chapter, we explore the volcanic products of Ciomadul (Csomád), examining their macro- and microscope properties, such as rock-forming minerals, textures, and geochemical composition. Considering this evidence, we present the petrogenetic origin of these rocks, focusing on the succession of natural processes from magma generation to volcanic eruption, as well as on the geodynamic context of these processes.

   6. Chapter 5. Gone with the Wind: Dispersal of Ciomadul Tephra

      Sabine Wulf, Daniel Veres, Ralf Gertisser, Ulrich Hambach, Enikő K. Magyari, Dávid Karátson

      Abstract

      Ciomadul’s last explosive eruptions produced large volumes of pumice and ash, so-called tephra, which had the potential to be dispersed by wind over wide areas and deposited in geological archives (e.g., lakes and ocean floors). Using the chemical fingerprinting of volcanic glass in tephra deposits, at least four main eruptive events can be distinguished for the last 100 thousand years: the “Turia” (older than 51 ka), the “BTS” (40–42 ka), the “TGS” (31.5 ka), and the latest “St. Ana” eruptions (28–29 ka). Most of these tephras have been found only in proximal (near-vent) and medial-distal (15–30 km) locations around the volcano. One tephra showing a typical Ciomadul chemical fingerprint and correlated preliminarily with the “St. Ana’’ eruption, but probably much older in age, has proven a much further dispersal as far as 350 km towards the Ukraine, highlighting the violent explosive nature of the Ciomadul volcano and its volcanic ash impact also on distal areas.

   7. Chapter 6. Palaeogeography: Syn- and Post-eruptive Landscape Evolution Around Ciomadul

      Daniel Veres, Dávid Karátson, Sabine Wulf, Ulrich Hambach, Ágnes Novothny, Ralf Gertisser, Enikő K. Magyari, Frank Lehmkuhl

      Abstract

      Ciomadul’s landscape represents an amalgamation of volcanic edifices that build up a lava dome complex. Spanning almost 1 million years of volcanic and geotectonic evolution, Ciomadul periodically released large amounts of volcaniclastic material that modified the local topography. The volcanic activity constrained the Olt River by carving the narrow and steep gorge at Tuşnad and clogged its alluvial plains with the sudden input of volcanically derived material such as laharic deposits. This geomorphological forcing is best expressed in the landscape we see today along the Olt valley with narrower sectors, and a ribbed and furrowed appearance of the side valleys and their terrace systems. This chapter aims to summarize the recent progress in understanding the syn- and post-eruptive landscape evolution in the area by looking at key sedimentary sequences along the Olt valley and assessing their tephrostratigraphic potential for providing direct evidence for past eruptive and volcanism-related events at Ciomadul.

   8. Chapter 7. Ciomadul Volcano: Dormant or Extinct?

      Alexandru Szakács

      Abstract

      Ciomadul (Csomád) volcano has been subjected to a period of intense research over the past few decades owing to its relatively recent eruption less than 30,000 years ago, raising important questions about possible future activity. The presence of an incompletely frozen upper crustal magma chamber beneath the volcano pointed out by various geophysical investigations and precedents of previous eruptions following long-lasting periods of inactivity are further arguments in favour of a thorough scrutiny of this issue. However, due to sensational media coverage, this question is often exaggerated and distorted by local and international news outlets. This chapter aims to discuss the current status of Ciomadul volcano and its capability for further eruptions in light of all available geological and geophysical data as well as theoretical considerations.

   9. Chapter 8. Minerals, Mofettes, Mineral Waters and Spa Culture at Ciomadul

      Csaba Jánosi, Sándor Szakáll, Boglárka-Mercédesz Kis, Ferenc Kristály, Szabolcs Harangi, Éva Péter

      Abstract

      The geologically young age of Ciomadul is not only highlighted by the presence of intact volcanic landforms (such as crater lakes), but also through the occurrence of sulphate minerals, gas emissions typically as mofettes, and mineral-rich water springs that occur around the volcano. This volcanic-related activity has played an important role to the local population over time, where the gas emissions, known as mofettes, or ‘stinky pits’ to locals, were used as healing gas baths. Similarly, the mineral-rich water springs were used, depending on their temperature, as drinking or curing baths.

3. Palaeoenvironment and Human History

   1. Frontmatter

   2. Chapter 9. Palaeoenvironmental Changes During the Last Glacial Period in the Ciomadul Hills

      Enikő K. Magyari, Ildikó Vincze, Mónika Tóth, Katalin Hubay, Daniel Veres, Aritina Haliuc, Mihály Molnár, Gusztáv Jakab, Mihály Braun, Frank Schäbitz, István Máthé, Krisztina Buczkó

      Abstract

      Continuous lake sediment archives extending back to the coldest stage of the last glaciation (LGM: last glacial maximum) are particularly rare in the Carpathian basin. Of outstanding value is the crater lake of St. Anne (Sf. Ana / Szent Anna), at the bottom of which lake and mire sediments have accumulated and give us insight into the paleoenvironmental conditions of the Ciomadul region since ~27,200 years. In this chapter we report on the environmental history of the mountain group surrounding Lake Sf. Ana since the last glacial using the results of our paleoecological work that have been going on for two decades. We also include some recent findings not reported earlier. In the coldest period of the last glaciation steppe tundra vegetation prevailed on the crater slope, trees were not present. Pollen enclosed in the sediment suggests that pine forests grew at lower altitudes, where deciduous trees also found refuge. Warming in this area occurred spectacularly earlier than in the North Atlantic region. Plant macrofossil remains preserved in the lake sediment suggest that Scots pine and European larch settled on the crater slope as early as 16,200 years ago, and summer mean temperatures increased by 4 °C in less than 100 years.

   3. Chapter 10. Limnological Changes in Lake Sf. Ana

      Krisztina Buczkó, János Korponai, István Máthé, Gusztáv Jakab, Mónika Tóth, Mihály Braun, Éva Ács, Dávid Karátson, Enikő K. Magyari

      Abstract

      Lake Sf. Ana at the top of Ciomadul volcano is one of the only open water crater lakes in the Carpathian Mountains, and has been providing a habitat to bacteria, algae, and microscopic animals in the pelagic zone, as well as rich lakeshore wildlife for 27,000 thousand years. The water of the lake is considered to be clean even today, although plenty of signs denote that the once oligotrophic lake becomes mesotrophic at least in the summers. In this chapter, we describe the response of lake and lakeshore wildlife to climate fluctuations through time, as well as some transformations induced by more recent human activity. The processes taking place in the lake are reconstructed based on palaeoecological methods via the analysis of core samples obtained from the lacustrine sediment.

   4. Chapter 11. Vegetation History and Human Impact in the Ciomadul Area During the Holocene

      Ioan Tanţău, Roxana Grindean, Enikő K. Magyari

      Abstract

      Plant biodiversity is very sensitive to environmental changes, especially changes in climate. The study of vegetation history helps us understand the evolutionary history of plant life, the relationships between different groups of plants and, maybe the most important, how our world has changed through time. Pollen analysis (palynology) is one of the most important and efficient scientific method used in Quaternary palaeoecology and palaeoclimatology. Its main purpose is to reconstruct the past spatial and temporal evolution of vegetation from local and regional environments. In short, it is a method for investigating changes in the vegetation composition by means of the pollen grains and spores that plants produce. The long-term impact of human activities on natural habitats, such as forest clearance, animal husbandry and plant cultivation, can also be described from pollen data, using the anthropogenic pollen indicators. The vegetation history and human impact from the Ciomadul area were reconstructed from two sequences located in the twin craters: Mohoș peat bog and Lake Sf. Ana. These provide fossil pollen records which extend from ca. 11,300 BC to the present and represent an important source of information on changes in the vegetation composition and dynamics for this period.

   5. Chapter 12. Hydroclimate Variability and Pollution History of the Mohoș Peatbog

      Jack Longman, Daniel Veres, Aritina Haliuc, Vasile Ersek

      Abstract

      Mohoș (Mohos) peat bog, located in the crater of Ciomadul (Csomád) volcano, contains peat dating back nearly 12,000 years. By analysing the chemical composition of peat layers, we can infer the paleoenvironmental conditions recorded in the bog, such as the input of atmospheric dust, providing important information about prevailing wind changes and other climatic changes through time. The Mohoș bog dust record clearly captures the formation of the Sahara desert ~6000 years ago, regularly bringing significant quantities of dust into the area. It also shows the concentration of industrial pollutants captured from the atmosphere, indicating the development of local populations from the Roman Empire, Medieval Period, to the highly polluting Industrial Revolution. Such a study clearly demonstrates the applicability of geochemical analysis of peat archives to studies of human history and palaeoenvironments.

   6. Chapter 13. Modern Flora and Fauna of the Ciomadul Region

      Zoltán-Róbert Para, Krisztina Tóth

      Abstract

      The Ciomadul (Csomád) region hosts a diverse array of flora and fauna. Many of these species are typical of the Eastern Carpathians, but several species are unique, like the carnivorous sundew (Drosera) or Siberian lingularia (Ligularia sibirica) that have existed in the peatbog since the last ice age. Among the protected animal species in the area, those that still have stable populations are the brown bear or yellow-bellied toad. Other, rarer species require special attention, such as the Transylvanian dark bush-cricket or the Carpathian newt, unique to the region and whose population is considered endangered.

   7. Chapter 14. The Palaeolithic in the Karst Area of Vârghiș (Vargyas) Gorges

      Marian Cosac, Daniel Veres, Loredana Niţă, George Murătoreanu, Ștefan Vasile, Valentin Dumitraşcu, Alexandru Petculescu, Dan Lucian Buzea

      Abstract

      The deposition of tephra, such as volcanic ash and other pyroclastics, can provide important chronological context in archaeological records where standard geochronometers are ambiguous. An example of this are the caves in the Vârghiș (Vargyas) Gorges, close to the volcanic massif of Ciomadul (Csomád) where human presence has been documented since the Middle Palaeolithic. Here, the chronology offered by tephra occurrences can be corroborated with archaeological, archaeozoological, and radiometric dating efforts to outline not only time spans of human presence, but also potential scenarios for the Palaeolithic human abandonment of the area.

   8. Chapter 15. Prehistory of the Ciomadul Region from the Neolithic to the Late Iron Age

      Sándor-József Sztáncsuj, József Puskás

      Abstract

      Volcanoes have always been explained with various superstitions over human history. People of the Antiquity thought volcanoes had a divine origin. In medieval times they were thought to belong to the underworld, and were looked at with curiosity and fear. Volcanism affected, directly or indirectly, human history itself; the destruction of Pompeii in Roman times, the eruption of Samalas in the early Middle Ages, or the explosion of the Krakatau in the nineteenth century are good examples of how volcanoes can influence or even reverse historical destiny. The brilliant civilization of the Minoan Culture flourishing on the island of Santorini in the Aegean Sea was halted for a long period of time by the catastrophic eruption of Thira in the Late Bronze Age (seventeenth century BC). At that time the Quaternary volcanoes of the Carpathian Basin had long been dormant. As stated in earlier chapters, even the youngest of them, the Ciomadul (Csomád), last erupted almost 30,000 years ago. Archaeological and historical sources, however, suggest that with its indirect and multifaceted effects, Ciomadul may have influenced the lives of prehistoric people lived in the area. In this chapter we provide a short, comprehensive overview of the prehistory of the Ciomadul Region from the Neolithic to the end of the Iron Age.

   9. Chapter 16. Migration Period and Medieval History of the Ciomadul Region

      István Botár

      Abstract

      The wider region of Ciomadul (Csomád) Hills is a unique area of Székelyland from a variety of perspectives. It lies on the border of the historical Ciuc (Csík) and Trei Scaune (Háromszék) counties (known today as Harghita/Hargita and Covasna/Kovászna, respectively). The largest medieval fortress of Székelyland is also in this region. The landscape dominated by forests and floodplain that we see today was used and shaped by Germans of Scandinavian origin, Slavs from Eastern Europe, and Hungarians and Székelys alike. Based on archaeological finds and written sources, this chapter reviews the history of the area during the third–fifteenth centuries. However, one has to be aware that this region does not appear in any historical sources until the fourteenth century and substantial data only start to leak from the sixteenth century. At the same time the situation of the archaeological research was and still is deficient, because the Migration and Medieval Period was a neglected topic in the communist era (until 1989).

   10. Chapter 17. Landscape History, Land Use, and Tourism of the Ciomadul–Balvanyos Region

       Ágnes Herczeg, Levente Dósa, Péter Szmolka

       Abstract

       It was in the middle of the 1990s when the formation of the Ciomadul–Balvanyos (Csomád-Bálványos) Region came to be. The region includes five neighbouring settlements; Lăzărești (Lázárfalva), Tușnad (Tusnád), Băile Tușnad (Tusnádfürdő), Bixad (Sepsibükszád) and Turia (Torja), which are all related to the range of hills dominating the region, but which had been developed and managed independently. The region has a rich heritage of local, national and also European significance. In the past centuries, people living here made their living from farming determined by the landscape characteristics. However, it has been a long story from the ancient times and the “fire-breathing dragon” living inside the hill, through the medieval legends including the one about the origin of the crater lake Saint Anne (Sf. Ana/Szent Anna), to the chapel built on the shore of the lake and the related pilgrimages, and finally to the tourism development and utilisation of the natural springs and mofettas in the modern age. The last chapter of our book provides an overview about landscape history and development, and the tourism in the past and present days of this outstanding region of Europe.

4. Backmatter