How to Use tephra in a Sentence

tephra

noun
Definition of tephranext
  • That enough to cover 10-20 football fields in one foot deep of tephra.
    — Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 16 Dec. 2020
  • Volcanic ash, a finer form of tephra, consists of tiny, sharp pieces of rock and glass.
    — Zoe Sottile, CNN, 29 Nov. 2022
  • People hid their faces inside their hoods to avoid the hail of tephra—small, lightweight rocks ejected by each volcanic spasm.
    — Heidi Julavit, The New Yorker, 16 Aug. 2021
  • However, the tephra used in the tomb's mortar contained much more potassium-rich leucite.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 17 Feb. 2022
  • The ice cores' tephra, which has a unique geochemical fingerprint, can be used to link the volcanic eruption to an exact volcanic source.
    — David Bressan, Forbes, 3 May 2022
  • The chemical composition of the tephra shards in the ice cores matched that of material from Okmok volcano in Alaska.
    — Kate Baggaley, Popular Science, 25 June 2020
  • Enlarge / Lava overlying volcanic tephra in the substructure of the tomb.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 1 Jan. 2022
  • This is due to the nature of the material that constructs those early volcanic island, that being volcanic tephra.
    — Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 21 Nov. 2013
  • This is likely related to the appearance of a dome in the summit crater of the cone that could collapse to produce the flows of hot ash, tephra, volcanic blocks and gases if the dome gets big enough to reach the edge of the crater (see image below).
    — Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 31 Jan. 2011
  • That volcano last erupted in 1985 producing lava flows with minor tephra.
    — Erik Klemetti, WIRED, 31 Jan. 2011
  • The nest location is exposed to continuous, strongly acidic gas emissions (>2.7 ppm of SO2), and sporadic vent clearing episodes that blanket the surrounding area with ash and tephra.
    — Seriously Science, Discover Magazine, 2 Dec. 2016
  • The ash emissions have ceased according to the latest report from GNS Science -- however, new observations show that a small tephra cone was built within the crater during last week's events (but the spiny dome remains!).
    — Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 4 Mar. 2013
  • Roman concrete consisted of a mixture of a white powder known as slaked lime, small particles and rock fragments called tephra ejected by volcanic eruptions, and water.
    — Byjacklin Kwan, science.org, 6 Jan. 2023
  • As every layer of ice represents one year, layers showing traces of volcanic tephra can be precisely dated.
    — David Bressan, Forbes, 3 May 2022
  • Until now, efforts to explain the longevity of Roman concrete have pointed to its use of volcanic tephra—the fragments of rock emitted in an eruption—mined in the Naples area and shipped to construction sites throughout the sprawling Roman empire.
    — WIRED, 3 Feb. 2023
  • The scientists discovered that the tomb's mortar was similar to that used in the walls of the Markets of Trajan: volcanic tephra from the pozzolane rosse pyroclastic flow, binding together large chunks of brick and lava aggregate.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 17 Feb. 2022
  • Jackson’s team, for instance, has collaborated with an industry partner to create a synthetic version of the volcanic tephra the Romans mined, because of the tremendous volume that will be needed.
    — WIRED, 3 Feb. 2023
  • Understanding tephra is usually harder than finding it.
    — Erin McKittrick, Alaska Dispatch News, 29 July 2017
  • These inconceivably vast tephra emissions would blacken the atmosphere, diminishing solar radiation and plunging Earth into a global winter; plant growth would suffer and mass extinctions could follow.
    — Stav Dimitropoulos, Popular Mechanics, 16 Dec. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tephra.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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