Description: Ash layers from explosive volcanic eruptions (i.e. tephra) represent isochronous surfaces independent from the environment in which they are deposited and the distance from their source. In comparison to eastern Beringia (non-glaciated Yukon and Alaska), few Plio-Pleistocene distal tephra are known from western Beringia (non-glaciated arctic and subarctic eastern Russia), hindering the dating and correlation of sediments beyond the limit of radiocarbon and luminescence methods. The identification of eight visible tephra layers (T0–T7) in sediment cores extracted from Lake El'gygytgyn, in the Far East Russian Arctic, indicates the feasibility of developing a tephrostratigraphic framework for this region. These tephra range in age from ca. 45 ka to 2.2 Ma, and each is described and characterized by its major-, minor-, trace-element and Pb isotope composition. These data show that subduction zone related volcanism from the Kurile–Kamchatka–Aleutian–Arc and Alaska Peninsula is the most likely source, with Pb isotope data indicating a Kamchatkan volcanic source for tephra layers T0–T5 and T7, while a source in the Aleutian Arc is possible probable for Tephra T6. The location of Lake El'gygytgyn relative to potential source volcanoes (〉1000 km) suggests these tephra are distributed over a vast area. These deposits provide a unique opportunity to correlate the high-resolution paleoenvironmental records of Lake El'gygytgyn to other terrestrial paleoenvironmental archives from western Beringia and marine records from the northwest Pacific and Bering Sea. This is an important first step towards the development of a robust integrated framework between the continuous paleoclimatic records of Lake El'gygytgyn and other terrestrial and marine records in NE Eurasia.

Description: The fullest summary on composition, age and distribution of 23 tephra layers detected and investigated in the Okhotsk Sea Pleistocene-Holocene deposits is presented. Seven tephra layers are surely identified with powerful explosive eruptions of volcanoes of Kamchatka, Kurile and Japanese Islands. For them, the areas of ash falls including which weren't revealed earlier on the land are specified and established. It is estimated that explosive eruptions of volcanoes of the Kamchatka Sredinny Range were the sources for three tephra layers. Complex investigations of morphological, mineralogical and chemical composition of tephras including composition of rare and earth-rare elements (electron microprobe analysis and laser ablation method - LA ICP MS) have been made for all studied layers. They were a basis for tephrostratigraphic correlation of the regional deposits promoting to specification of stages of volcanic explosive activity in this region.

Description: Kamchatsky Bay is the northernmost bay at the Pacific Kamchatka coast. It is located at the junction between the Kamchatka segment of the Pacific subduction zone and the dextral transform fault of the western Aleutians. The combination of the subduction and collision processes in this region results in the unique set of tectonic controls influencing its geological and geomorphological evolution. The Kamchatka River estuarine area is located on the northern coast of Kamchatsky Bay. The modern Kamchatka River valley, its estuary, and an aggradation marine terrace some 30 km long and up to 5 km wide were formed in this area during the Holocene. A vast area in the rear part of the terrace and in the Stolbovskaya lowlands is now occupied by the peats deposited directly above lacustrine-lagoonal and fluvial facies. These aggradational landforms record traces of tsunamis and vertical coseismic deformations associated with great subduction earthquakes, as well as strike-slip and thrust faulting associated with the collision. The results indicate that the average recurrence interval for major tsunamis in the Kamchatsky Bay is 300 years. The recurrence interval on individual fault zones associated with the collision between the western Aleutian and Kamchatka arcs is a few thousand years for earthquakes of magnitude between 7 and 7.5. For the entire region, the recurrence interval for major crustal earthquakes associated with motions along faults may be equal to a few hundred years, which is comparable with that for subduction-zone earthquakes.

Description: Detailed data are discussed on the rate of Holocene horizontal and vertical movements along a fault in the southeastern Kamchatsky Peninsula, which is situated between the converging Aleutian and Kamchatka island arcs. The fault is the northern boundary of the block invading into the peninsula under pressure of the Komandorsky Block of the Aleutian arc. The rate of right-lateral slip along the fault was increasing in the Holocene and reached 18–19 mm/yr over the last 2000 years and 20 mm/yr by contemporary time. Comparison of these estimates with those that follow from offsets of older rocks also indicates acceleration of horizontal movements along the fault from the early Quaternary to the present. The results obtained from rates of GPS station migration show that about half the rate of the northwestern drift of the Komandorsky Block is consumed for movement of the block of the southern side of the fault. The remainder of movement of the Komandorsky Block is consumed for movements (probably, underthrusting) at the eastern continental slope of the Kamchatsky Peninsula.

Description: Tephra layers produced by volcanic eruptions are widely used for correlation and dating of various deposits and landforms, for synchronization of disparate paleoenvironmental archives, and for reconstruction of magma origin. Here we present our original database TephraKam, which includes chemical compositions of volcanic glass in tephra and welded tuffs from the Kamchatka volcanic arc. The database contains 7049 major element analyses obtained by electron microprobe and 738 trace element analyses obtained by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) on 487 samples collected in proximity of their volcanic sources in all volcanic zones in Kamchatka. The samples characterize about 300 explosive eruptions, which occurred in Kamchatka from the Pliocene until historic times. Precise or estimated ages for all samples are based on published 39Ar/40Ar dates of rocks and 14C dates of host sediments, statistical age modelling and geologic relationships with dated units. All data in TephraKam is supported by information about source volcanoes and analytical details. Using the data, we present an overview of geochemical variations of Kamchatka volcanic glasses and discuss application of this data for precise identification of tephra layers, their source volcanoes, temporal and spatial geochemical variations of pyroclastic rocks in Kamchatka.

Description: Highlights • 14C-based Holocene chronology of explosive eruptions from Avachinsky group volcanoes. • Bulk rock and glass chemistry (single-shard microprobe and LA-ICP-MS data). • Two stages of Avachinsky volcano activity. • Volcanic glasses reflect temporal evolution of Avachinsky magma plumbing system〉 • Slab temperature increasing with depth causes difference between neighboring Kamchatka volcanoes. Abstract Avachinsky, Kozelsky, and Koryaksky volcanoes form one of the most volcanically active clusters in the Kamchatka volcanic arc and are located in close proximity of the cities of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and Elizovo – the most populated area in Kamchatka. In this paper, we report a compilation of new and revised previously published data on the eruptive history of these volcanoes during the past 13.5 kyrs. We identify 217 explosive eruptions of these volcanoes, determine their ages using 207 radiocarbon dates and Bayesian statistical modeling, and characterize their tephra geochemically using major and trace element compositions of bulk samples (40 samples) and volcanic glass (75 samples). Avachinsky has been the most active during the Holocene time and had 〉150 explosive eruptions; Koryaksky produced ~60 eruptions; and Kozelsky had only two final eruptions in the early Holocene. Our new data confirm the onset of the Avachinsky postglacial activity at 11.3 cal ka BP and previously distinguished two major stages of Avachinsky Holocene eruptive history: stage I (8–3.8 cal ka BP) and stage II (3.8 cal ka BP – present). During stage I, eruptions were relatively rare, but they included at least six large pumice eruptions with tephra volumes exceeding 0.5 km3. Stage I tephras had low-K andesitic bulk compositions and low-K rhyolitic matrix glasses. The andesites likely sampled volatile-rich crystal mush from a long-lived magma chamber under Avachinsky volcano. The stage II started at ~3.8 cal ka BP with a powerful eruption and was related to the construction of the Young Cone inside the Avachinsky somma. The subsequent late Holocene eruptions were frequent, but most of them did not exceed the volume of 0.3 km3. The stage II tephras are mostly cindery basaltic andesites containing well-crystallized groundmasses of andesitic composition. These tephras originate from smaller, perhaps more shallow magmatic reservoirs, and their matrix glasses are likely products of in-situ crystallization of relatively mafic magmas on their ascent to the surface. Koryaksky volcano was mostly active in the early Holocene when Avachinsky was quiet. Koryaksky tephras had a relatively constant bulk medium-K andesitic composition during the Holocene. Thanks to characteristic compositions, high frequency, and well-constrained ages, tephras of Avachinsky and Koryaksky volcanoes can be used for high resolution dating of local sediments. Some eruptions of Avachinsky volcano reached volcanic explosivity index (VEI) 5 and produced widely dispersed tephras. These eruptions could have had global environmental effects, and their tephras can be used for the correlation of disparate sedimentary archives. Some Avachinsky and Koryaksky eruptions were closely spaced in time. However, their tephras are easily distinguished by respective low-K and medium-K compositions and by different trace element patterns, which imply compositionally different sources in the mantle wedge. We interpret these differences to reflect the increasing slab surface temperature and transition of slab component from a relatively low-temperature fluid-like phase under Avachinsky to more high-temperature and solute-rich supercritical fluid or melt under Koryaksky. The transition appears to be very sharp in Kamchatka, causing a large compositional shift in magmas just behind the volcanic front.

Description: This paper presents the first detailed study of a late Pleistocene marine tephra sequence from the NW Pacific, downwind from the Kamchatka volcanic arc. Sediment core SO201-2-40, located on the Meiji Rise similar to 400 km offshore the peninsula, includes 25 tephras deposited within the last 215 ka. Volcanic glass from the tephras was characterized using single-shard electron microprobe analysis and laser ablation inductively coupled mass spectrometry. The age of tephras was derived from a new age model based on paleomagnetic and paleoclimate studies. Geochemical correlation of distal tephras to Kamchatkan pyroclastic deposits allowed the identification of tephras from the Karymsky, Gorely, Opala and Shiveluch eruptive centers. Three of these tephras were also correlated to other marine and terrestrial sites and hence are identified as the best markers for the north-west Pacific region. These are an early Holocene tephra from the Karymsky caldera (similar to 8.7 ka) and two tephras falling into the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6 glacial time: an MIS 6.4 tephra from Shiveluch (similar to 141 ka) and the MIS 6.5 Rauchua tephra (similar to 175 ka) from Karymsky. The data presented in this study can be used in paleovolcanological and paleoceanographic reconstructions.