Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Solid matter that is ejected into the air by an erupting volcano.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun geology The solid material thrown into the air by a volcanic eruption that settles on the surrounding areas.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Greek tephrā, ash; see dhegwh- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From the Ancient Greek τέφρα (tephra, "ash").

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Examples

  • The volcano ejected a minimum of 1.1 km3 of uncompacted tephra, which is equivalent to 0. 20-0.25 km3 of magma or solid rock.

    volcanic ash hazards and ways to minimize them 2009

  • The volcano ejected a minimum of 1.1 km3 of uncompacted tephra, which is equivalent to 0. 20-0.25 km3 of magma or solid rock.

    volcanic ash hazards and ways to minimize them 2009

  • Fortunately, a detailed 7,000 year record is preserved in peat bogs and lake beds in the form of microscopic layers of volcanic material, including ash, called tephra.

    BBC News - Home 2011

  • In the air, after it’s blown out of the volcano, it’s pyroclast—broken rock—but on the ground it’s called tephra.

    The Burning Wire Jeffery Deaver 2010

  • In the air, after it’s blown out of the volcano, it’s pyroclast—broken rock—but on the ground it’s called tephra.

    The Burning Wire Jeffery Deaver 2010

  • The type of dust that attracted the engineers to Hawaii is called "tephra," a fine, powder-like material that is ejected during a volcanic eruption.

    Eyebeam reBlog 2009

  • The type of dust that attracted the engineers to Hawaii is called "tephra," a fine, powder-like material that is ejected during a volcanic eruption.

    SPACE.com 2009

  • As catastrophic as that would be, it was insignificant compared to the loss of life that was predicted as a result of the volcanic winter caused by the trillions of cubic meters of tephra ejected into the atmosphere.

    365 tomorrows » 2009 » March : A New Free Flash Fiction SciFi Story Every Day 2009

  • Fluorine adhering to tephra of the 1970 Hekla eruption: Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, v. 8, p. 251-266.

    Volcanic Ash -- Effects on Water Supply and Mitigation Strategies 2009

  • After tephra falls during the 1947 eruption of Hekla, fluorine contents of stream waters in areas that received between 1 to 10 cm of ash were found to be between 1.0 and 4.5 ppm for a short duration (Thorarinsson, 1979), elevated from the normal background level of 0.2 ppm.

    Volcanic Ash -- Effects on Water Supply and Mitigation Strategies 2009

Comments

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  • Geol.

    Dust and rock fragments that have been ejected into the air by a volcanic eruption.

    (OED)

    March 11, 2007