First Historical Eruption of Kambalny Volcano

The first historical eruption of Kambalny volcano began on March 24, 2017 with the powerful ash emission from the summit crater reaching as high as 6 km above sea level. The explosive activity continued without interruption from March 24 to March 30. The most powerful ash emission was registered on March 25–26, when the ash plume drifted several thousand kilometers SW, S, and SE from the volcano. On April 2 and April 9, after several calm days, powerful ash explosions occurred generating ash plumes up to 7 km high. The area of the land and sea over which the ash plume drifted during the day of March 25, was 650000 km2; the area of the ash accumulation on the land that was formed from March 24 to April 9, exceeded 1500 km2. These parameters were measured using the satellite-based data in the VolSatView information system. Domination of the silty fraction and the presence of secondary minerals (pyrite, gypsum, sulfur, and others) in the ash point to the phreatic character of the volcanic eruption

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

Field work on the northern slopes of Kronotsky volcano in July–August 2023

In July-August 2023, field work was carried out on the northern slopes of Kronotsky volcano in the territory of the Kronotsky State Reserve, which is rarely visited by researchers. The aim of our work was to sample lavas that build the volcanic edifice in this sector, and also to search for traces of the volcano’s explosive activity in the Holocene. This report lists and illustrates interesting findings and the main results of the work. In particular, lava flows, dikes and pyroclastic horizons were sampled at altitudes ranging from 780 to 2200 m; several cinder and lava cones were discovered; samples of cognate inclusions and xenoliths were found. In addition, Holocene soil-pyroclastic sections, presumably containing tephra horizons from Kronotsky volcano, were documented in detail and sampled

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

Evidence for Superhydrous Primitive Arc Magmas from Mafic Enclaves at Shiveluch Volcano, Kamchatka

Mafic enclaves preserve a record of deep differentiation of primitive magmas in arc settings. We analyze the petrology and geochemistry of mafic enclaves from Shiveluch volcano in the Kamchatka peninsula to determine the differentiation histories of primitive magmas and to estimate their pressures, temperatures, and water contents. Amphibole inclusions in high forsterite olivine suggest that the primitive melt was superhydrous (i.e. >8 wt% H2O) and was fractionating amphibole and olivine early on its liquid line of descent. We find that the hydrous primitive melt had liquidus temperatures of 1062±48°C and crystallized high Mg# amphibole at depths of 23.6-28.8 km and water contents of 10-14 wt% H2O. The major and trace element whole rock chemistry of enclaves and of published analyses of andesites suggest that they are related through fractionation of amphibole-bearing assemblages. Quantitative models fractionating olivine, clinopyroxene, and amphibole reproduce geochemical trends defined by enclaves and andesites in variation diagrams. These models estimate 0.2%-12.2% amphibole fractionated from the melt to reproduce the full range of enclave compositions, which overlaps with estimates of the amount of amphibole fractionated from parental melts based on whole rock dysprosium contents. This contribution extends the published model of shallow processes at Shiveluch to greater depths. It provides evidence that primitive magmas feeding arc volcanoes may be more hydrous than estimated from other methods, and that amphibole is an important early fractionating phase on the liquid line of descent of superhydrous, primitive mantle-derived melts

The 15 March 2019 Bezymianny Volcano Explosive Eruption and Its Products

Bezymianny Volcano is one of the most active volcanoes in Kamchatka and in the world. This paper describes the preparation, behavior, products, dynamics, and the geological effect of the March 15, 2019 explosive eruption of the volcano, which was predicted 6.5 h before it began. The sequence of eruptive events was analyzed using data provided by video and satellite-based monitoring of the volcano; the quantitative characteristics for the distribution of pyroclastic deposits were obtained in the information system “Remote Monitoring of Activity of Volcanoes in Kamchatka and the Kurile Islands”. The explosions lifted ash to heights of 15 km above sea level (up to 12 km above the volcano), the eruptive cloud was moving northeastward and east from the volcano, the main ashfall area was 210 400 km2, including 15 000 km2 on land. Apart from tephra, the eruption produced pyroclastic flows and pyroclastic surges covering an area of 30 km2. The total volume of explosive products is estimated as 0.1–0.2 km3. The eruptive rocks are calc-alkaline moderate-K basaltic andesites (SiO2 = 54.84–56.29 wt %), they are the most mafic among all rocks of the current Bezymianny eruption cycle