Magmatic plumbing systems of the monogenetic volcanic fields: A case study of Tolbachinsky Dol, Kamchatka

Clusters of small-volume volcanoes that individually may be defined as monogenetic, but have interlinked and interconnected plumbing systems, are used to be categorized as monogenetic volcanic fields (MVF).We argue that such volcanic clusters should be distinguished as separate type of volcanism, intermediate between monogenetic and polygenetic. The magma plumbing system structure of the MVF (its complexity and polymagmatic character) is the key argument for the potential separation of themin a classification. To avoid confusion caused by geneticmeaning of the used words we suggest using a term “areal volcanism” or “areal volcanic fields” (AVF instead of MVF) as defining this special type of volcanic activity. Herewe provide a reviewof themain characteristic features of one of the largest Holocene AVF, which is active now – the Tolbachik field of cinder cones in the southern part of Klyuchevskaya volcano group (Kamchatka), known in the literature as Tolbachinsky Dol. This paper is focused on the research of magma plumbing system. We consider structural,morphological, geological, geochemical and petrological data on the erupted basalts and their genesis. Specially planned seismic experiments made in 2010–2015 (seismic tomography and microseismic sounding) allowedmodeling of the principal elements of the magma plumbing system of Tolbachik AVF. Analysis of the investigations made in this area shows that Tolbachik AVF has a complex, dynamic, variable magmatic feeding system, which can be visualized as a superposition of subvertical and sublateral magma conduits. The contrast composition of the erupted rocks is caused by their different, although genetically connected, magma sources and mixing processes. One of the long-lived eruptive centers of Tolbachik AVF is Plosky Tolbachik stratovolcano, which lost its independent activity and was captured by Tolbachik AVF in Holocene. The AVF formed rejuvenated volcanism using the feeding system of the stratovolcano like an “old anthill”. The magma plumbing system characteristics of Tolbachinsky Dol strongly support the idea of separation of AVF from monogenetic volcanism type in the classification

Remote sensing and petrological observations on the 2012–2013 fissure eruption at Tolbachik volcano, Kamchatka: Implications for reconstruction of the eruption chronology

Abstract We present a reconstruction of the chronological sequence of events that took place during the first days of the 2012–2013 Tolbachik fissure eruption using petrological data and remote sensing methods. We were forced to use this approach because bad weather conditions did not allow direct observations during the first two days of the eruption. We interpreted infrared images from the scanning radiometer {VIIRS} Suomi {NPP} and correlated the output with the results of the geochemical study, including comparison of the ash, deposited at the period from 27 to 29 November, with the samples of lava and bombs erupted from the Menyailov and Naboko vents. We argue that the compositional change observed in the eruption products (the decrease of SiO2 concentration and K2O/MgO ratio, increase of MgO concentration and Mg#) started approximately 24 h after the eruption began. At this time the center of activity moved to the southern part of the fissure, where the Naboko group of vents was formed; therefore, this timeframe also characterizes the timing of the Naboko vent opening. The Naboko group of vents remained active until the end of eruption in September 2013

Monitoring of the volcanic rock compositions during the 2012–2013 fissure eruption at Tolbachik volcano, Kamchatka

Abstract Here we present the results from monitoring of the composition of rocks produced during the 2012–2013 fissure eruption at Tolbachik volcano (FTE). Major and trace element concentrations in 75 samples are reported. Products of this eruption are represented by high alumina basaltic trachyandesites with higher alkalis and titanium contents than in all previously studied rocks of the Tolbachik monogenetic volcanic field. Rocks erupted during the first three days (27–30 November) from the northern (also called Menyailov) group of vents are the most silica- and alkali-rich (SiO2 concentrations up to 55.35 wt. and {K2O} up to 2.67 wt.). From December onwards, when the eruptive activity switched from the Menyailov vents to the southern (Naboko) group of vents, silica content dropped by 2 wt., concentrations of MgO, FeO, TiO2 and Mg# increased, and {K2O} and Na2O concentrations and K2O/MgO ratio decreased. For the rest of the eruption the compositions of rocks remained constant and homogeneous; no systematic compositional differences between lava, bombs and scoria samples are evident. Trace element distributions in the rocks of the Menyailov and Naboko vent lavas are relatively uniform; Menyailov lavas have slightly higher Th, Nb, Hf, Y, and {HREE} concentrations than the Naboko vent lavas at more or less constant element ratios. We explain the initial change in geochemistry by tapping of a slightly cooler and fractionated (~ 3 Mt and 8 Cpx) upper part of the magma storage zone before the main storage area began to feed the eruption. Thermodynamic constraints show that apparent liquidus temperatures varied from 1142 °C to 1151 °C, and thermodynamic modeling shows that variations in compositions are consistent with a high degree of low pressure (100–300 MPa), nominally anhydrous fractionation of a parent melt compositionally similar to the 1975 Northern Breakthrough high-Mg basalt. Geochemistry, petrological observations and modeling are in agreement with the newly erupted material being derived from remnant high-Al magma from the 1975–76 Southern Breakthrough eruption with only slight amounts of cooling (less than 1 °C per year) during the intervening 36 years

Chromium spinel in Late Quaternary volcanic rocks from Kamchatka: Implications for spatial compositional variability of subarc mantle and its oxidation state

Highlights • First comprehensive dataset of spinel inclusions in high-Mg olivine from Kamchatka • Oxidation state of parental magmas of Kamchatka ranging from ΔQFM+0.7 to +3.7 • ΔQFM correlates with Ba/La and La/Nb for back-arc magmas of Kamchatka • Decoupling of Cr# and TiO2 in primitive Cr-Spinel suggests slab melt contribution Abstract The Kamchatka volcanic arc (Russia) is one of well-studied but complex tectonic margins on Earth, with an extensive geologic history stretching as far back as the Late Cretaceous. Unlike many other subduction zones, primitive basalts with Mg# > 65 are abundant in Kamchatka, thereby allowing characterization of the mantle source through compositional analyses of near-liquidus minerals in the rocks. In this paper, we present a comprehensive dataset on the composition of Cr-spinel inclusions in olivine for all main Late Quaternary volcanic zones in Kamchatka, comprising of analyses of 1604 spinel inclusions and their host-olivine from 104 samples representing 30 volcanoes and volcanic fields. The studied rocks are basalts, basaltic andesites and high-Mg andesites, which cover the whole compositional range the Late Quaternary primitive volcanic rocks in Kamchatka. The composition of spinel shows large variability. Spinel inclusions with the lowest Cr# and Fe3+/Fe2+ ratios were found in basalts from Sredinny Range and Northern Kamchatka, whereas the most Cr-rich and oxidized spinel inclusions occur in basalts and high-Mg andesites from the Central Kamchatka Depression. Intermediate Cr-spinel compositions characterize the Eastern Volcanic Belt of Kamchatka. The compositions of olivine-spinel pairs were used to quantify the oxidation state of parental Kamchatka magmas and the degree of partial mantle melting. The redox conditions recorded in spinel compositions range from ΔQFM = +0.7 to +3.7. ΔQFM for samples from the Sredinny Range and Northern Kamchatka correlates with a number of proxies of the involvement of slab-derived components incorporated in the composition of their host-rocks (e.g., La/Nb and Ba/La), which suggests a coupling between the mantle oxidation and metasomatism by slab-derived fluids or melts. These correlations were not observed for frontal Kamchatka volcanoes with the highest estimated ΔQFM, which possibly indicates a buffering of the mantle oxidation state by sulfur. The estimated degrees of partial mantle melting range from 8 to >20% for Kamchatka volcanoes. Spinel from the Central Kamchatka Depression has the highest Cr# and could crystallize from magmas generated from the most depleted sources. In contrast to the Eastern Volcanic Belt, spinel Cr# and the inferred degrees of melting in the Central Kamchatka Depression do not correlate with spinel TiO2 content. The apparent decoupling between the proxies of mantle depletion in the CKD spinel is interpreted to reflect refertilization of the CKD mantle by oxidized Ti-rich slab- or mantle lithosphere-derived melts near the northern edge of the subducting Pacific Plate. This study demonstrates that the composition of Cr-spinel in volcanic rocks in combination with bulk-rock compositions can be a powerful tool to map regional variations of the mantle source depletion, oxidation state, and involvement of various slab derived components in island-arc magmatism