Geochemically fingerprinted widespread tephra layers serve as excellent marker horizons which can directly link and synchronize disparate sedimentary archives and be used for dating various deposits related to climate shifts, faulting events, tsunami, and human occupation. In addition, tephras represent records of explosive volcanic activity and permit assessment of regional ashfall hazard. In this paper we report a detailed Holocene tephrochronological model developed for the Kamchatsky Peninsula region of eastern Kamchatka (NW Pacific) based on ∼2800 new electron microprobe analyses of single glass shards from tephra samples collected in the area as well as on previously published data. Tephra ages are modeled based on a compilation of 223 14C dates, including published dates for Shiveluch proximal tephra sequence and regional marker tephras; new AMS 14C dates; and modeled calibrated ages from the Krutoberegovo key site. The main source volcanoes for tephra in the region are Shiveluch and Kliuchevskoi located 60–100 km to the west. In addition, local tephra sequences contain two tephras from the Plosky volcanic massif and three regional marker tephras from Ksudach and Avachinsky volcanoes located in the Eastern volcanic front of Kamchatka. This tephrochronological framework contributes to the combined history of environmental change, tectonic events, and volcanic impact in the study area and farther afield. This study is another step in the construction of the Kamchatka-wide Holocene tephrochronological framework under the same methodological umbrella. Our dataset provides a research reference for tephra and cryptotephra studies in the northwest Pacific, the Bering Sea, and North America.

Ash clouds resulting from explosive volcanic eruptions pose a real threat to human (for aircraft flights, airports operations, etc.); therefore, the detection, monitoring, and forecast of their movement is an urgent and important issue. The features and examples of application of the new tool developed on the basis of "Monitoring of active volcanoes of Kamchatka and the Kurile Islands" information system (VolSatView) are described. It allows the integrated monitoring and forecasting of ash cloud transport using the data of remote sensing and mathematical modeling as well as the assessment of the parameters of explosive events.

Satellite based remote sensing of active volcanoes has been performed in various forms since 1965. Compared to “on the ground” observations it lets data to be gathered globally at regular pace for long periods of time without the need for local maintenance. Currently existing publicly available volcanoes thermal activity monitoring systems rely on the detection algorithms narrowly specified for volcanoes temperature ranges and operate using the data from previous generation of sensors, which is supported with non-reserved constellation of two satellites. The presented work proposes pipeline (the sequence of actions) based on the clustering of the data received from the Nightfire thermal anomalies detection algorithm, which is not focused on the specific type of infrared sources. Pipeline has been tested on Kamchatka’s region 2016 year dataset and proved to produce sound results corresponding to manual observations.

The volcanoes of Kamchatka are the most active in the world. Annually, from 3 to 7 volcanoes produce eruptions, during which the explosions eject ash to 10−15 km above sea level, and ash clouds spread thousands of kilometers from volcanoes. Strenuous volcanic activity could cause ash falls in towns and settlements, destruction of forests and communications. Ash clouds and plumes pose a serious threat to the present-day jet aviation. Since 1993, the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT) has conducted daily monitoring of Kamchatka volcanoes to mitigate volcanic hazards to airline operations and population. Since 2014, satellite monitoring of volcanoes is carried out by KVERT scientists using the VolSatView information system that since 2016 has utilized data from Himawari-8 geostationary satellite. The system has created special tools that allow us to work with promptly received data, as well as analyze series of long-term observations. Using data from Himawari-8, as well as the tools implemented in VolSatView to work with them, enables to: significantly raise the efficient response to detection of explosive events in the region; identify the onset of eruptive events with an accuracy of 10 minutes or less; track and forecast all changes in the dynamics of volcanic activity, including the near onset of strong explosive events. The paper describes the technology features for integrating Himawari-8 data into VolSatView and the main possibilities of working with them, implemented now
in the system.

Since 2011, experts from IVS FEB RAS, SRI RAS, CC FEB RAS and FE Planeta RC are operating and developing the “Remote monitoring of Volcanic Activity in Kamchatka and the Kurile Islands” (VolSatView) information sys-tem that utilize all the available satellite data, weather and video observations to ensure continues monitoring and study of volcanic activity in Kamchatka and the Kurile Islands. This paper provides the capabilities of VolSatView for real-time monitoring of volcanoes, analysis of eruptions dynamics and their products, and forecasting of eruptive activity.