Large-volume silicic volcanism in Kamchatka: Ar–Ar and U–Pb ages, isotopic, and geochemical characteristics of major pre-Holocene caldera-forming eruptions

The Kamchatka Peninsula in far eastern Russia represents the most volcanically active arc in the world in terms of magma production and the number of explosive eruptions. We investigate large-scale silicic volcanism in the past several million years and present new geochronologic results from major ignimbrite sheets exposed in Kamchatka. These ignimbrites are found in the vicinity of morphologically-preserved rims of partially eroded source calderas with diameters from ∼ 2 to ∼ 30 km and with estimated volumes of eruptions ranging from 10 to several hundred cubic kilometers of magma. We also identify and date two of the largest ignimbrites: Golygin Ignimbrite in southern Kamchatka (0.45 Ma), and Karymshina River Ignimbrites (1.78 Ma) in south-central Kamchatka. We present whole-rock geochemical analyses that can be used to correlate ignimbrites laterally. These large-volume ignimbrites sample a significant proportion of remelted Kamchatkan crust as constrained by the oxygen isotopes. Oxygen isotope analyses of minerals and matrix span a 3‰ range with a significant proportion of moderately low-δ18O values. This suggests that the source for these ignimbrites involved a hydrothermally-altered shallow crust, while participation of the Cretaceous siliceous basement is also evidenced by moderately elevated δ18O and Sr isotopes and xenocryst contamination in two volcanoes. The majority of dates obtained for caldera-forming eruptions coincide with glacial stages in accordance with the sediment record in the NW Pacific, suggesting an increase in explosive volcanic activity since the onset of the last glaciation 2.6 Ma. Rapid changes in ice volume during glacial times and the resulting fluctuation of glacial loading/unloading could have caused volatile saturation in shallow magma chambers and, in combination with availability of low-δ18O glacial meltwaters, increased the proportion of explosive vs effusive eruptions. The presented results provide new constraints on Pliocene–Pleistocene volcanic activity in Kamchatka, and thus constrain an important component of the Pacific Ring of Fire

Amphibole record of 1964 plinian and following dome-forming eruptions of Shiveluch volcano, Kamchatka

Shiveluch is one of the most active explosive volcanoes worldwide. During the last рlinian eruption in 1964 and the following (1980-current time) dome-forming eruptions Shiveluch has produced andesites and dacites (SiO2~60-64 wt.%) containing variably zoned, compositionally and texturally diverse amphibole phenocrysts. In this work, we attempt to decode the complex zoning of the amphibole crystals in the 55-year series of pumice, dome rocks and mafic enclaves in order to reconstruct the most recent evolution of the volcano plumbing system. The amphibole zoning in Shiveluch andesites reveals correlation with the style and date of eruption. High-Al cores mantled by low-Al rims in amphiboles from the 1964 plinian eruption record a drastic decrease of pressure and rapid magma ascent from the lower crust to the shallow magma chamber. Typically unzoned and often opacitized low-Al crystals from the early dome-building episodes in 1980-1981 and 1993-1995 reflect magma crystallization in the shallow magma chamber. Complexly zoned amphiboles from andesites erupted in 2000s indicate replenishment of the shallow magma chamber with mafic magma and syn-eruptive mixing processes. Amphibole-based barometric calculations obtained by different approaches indicate that the Shiveluch plumbing system is complex and comprises two, mafic and silicic magma storage zones at ~15-20 km and ~5-6 km depths. We suggest that both episodes of the plinian eruption in 1964 and the extensive dome growth in 2001-2016 were driven by influx of mafic magma in the shallow storage zone beneath Shiveluch. The mafic replenishment likely preceded the 1964 plinian eruption and repeatedly occurred during the period of extensive dome growth in 2001-2016. The variable styles of the recent Shiveluch eruptions may be controlled by the relative volume of the mafic recharges and their thermal and viscosity effects on the efficiency of magma mixing

The Composition of Volcanic Ash and the Dynamics of the 2013–2016 Zhupanovsky Volcano Eruption

This paper presents the results from a study of ash compositions that were erupted in 2013–2016. The juvenile component has been identified in the ejecta using data on the morphology and textural features of ash particles and the composition of volcanic glasses. The data set suggests that the activity of the volcano was phreatomagmatic

H2O and CO2 in parental magmas of Kliuchevskoi volcano inferred from study of melt and fluid inclusions in olivine

This paper reports new FTIR data on the H2O and CO2 concentrations in glasses of 26 naturally quenched and experimentally partially homogenized melt inclusions in olivine (Fo85–91) phenocrysts from rocks of the Kliuchevskoi volcano. Measured H2O concentrations in the inclusions range from 0.02 to 4 wt.%. The wide variations in the H2O content of the inclusions, which do not correlate with the host olivine composition and contents of major elements in the melts, are explained by the H2O escape from inclusions via diffusion through the host olivine during the magma eruption and the following cooling. The largest H2O loss is characteristic of inclusions from lava samples which cooled slowly after eruption. The minimal H2O loss is observed for inclusions from rapidly quenched pyroclastic rocks. Parental magmas of the Kliuchevskoi volcano are estimated to contain 3.5 wt.% H2O. The new data imply a 40 °C lower mantle temperatures than that estimated earlier for the Kliuchevskoi primary melts. The concentrations of CO2 in glasses range from <0.01 to 0.13 wt.% and do not correlate with the type of studied inclusions and their composition. The calculated pressures of melt equilibria with H2O–CO2 fluid inside the inclusions are lower than 270 MPa. They are significantly lower than a pressure of 500 MPa calculated from the density (~0.8 g/cm3) of cogenetic fluid inclusions in high-Fo olivine. The significant pressure drop inside the melt inclusions after their trapping in olivine might be due to the H2O loss and redistribution of CO2 from melt to daughter fluid phase. Compared with melt inclusions, cogenetic fluid inclusions provide independent information about the crystallization pressures of olivine and initial CO2 content in the Kliuchevskoi magma, which were estimated to be at least 500 MPa and 0.35 wt.%, respectively. The maximum CO2 concentrations in the primary Kliuchevskoi melts are estimated at 0.8–0.9 wt.%. The decompression crystallization of the Kliuchevskoi magmas starts at depths of 30–40 km and proceeds with a continuous decrease in CO2 content and an increase (up to 6–7 wt.%) and then a decrease (at <300 MPa) in H2O content in melts, which explains the origin of the whole spectrum of rocks and melt inclusions of the Kliuchevskoi volcano

The source of platinum group elements in basalts of the ophiolite complex of the Kamchatsky Mys Peninsula (Eastern Kamchatka)

Contents of platinum group elements (PGE—Os, Ir, Ru, Rh, Pt, and Pd) and rhenium in basalts of different geochemical types from the ophiolite complex of the Kamchatsky Mys Peninsula have been determined by the isotope dilution-mass spectrometry method. The total contents of PGE in different basalts are commensurate (1.4-3.6 ppb), but the element ratios vary considerably. A specific feature of the rocks is the low degree of PGE fractionation (Pd/Ir = 0.9-6.6, Pt/Pd = 1.0-7.3), which makes them similar to the Hawaiian tholeiitic basalts and picrites. The most fractionated PGE pattern is observed for alkali basalt (Pd/Ir = 6.6), and the least fractionated one, for E-MORB (Pd/Ir = 1.7). The similarity of the PGE patterns of basalts of different geochemical types suggests their similar mantle sources. We propose a model explaining the geochemical features of the basalts of the Kamchatsky Mys ophiolite complex by an impurity of the Earth’s core material in the plume source. The Ir/Pd-Ru/Pd and Pd/10-Ir-Ru discrimination diagrams can be used to identify enriched (plume) basalts based on their PGE content