The Holocene eruptive history of Shiveluch volcano, Kamchatka Peninsula, has been reconstructed using geologic mapping, tephrochronology, radiocarbon dating, XRF and microprobe analyses. Eruptions of Shiveluch during the Holocene have occurred with irregular repose times alternating between periods of explosive activity and dome growth. The most intense volcanism, with frequent large and moderate eruptions occurred around 6500–6400 BC, 2250–2000 BC, and 50–650 AD, coincides with the all-Kamchatka peaks of volcanic activity. The current active period started around 900 BC; since then the large and moderate eruptions has been following each other in 50–400 yrs-long intervals. This persistent strong activity can be matched only by the early Holocene one.
Most Shiveluch eruptions during the Holocene produced medium-K, hornblendebearing andesitic material characterized by high MgO (2.3–6.8 wt %), Cr (47–520 ppm), Ni (18–106 ppm) and Sr (471–615 ppm), and low Y (> 18 ppm). Only two mafic tephras erupted about 6500 and 2000 BC, each within the period of most intense activity.
Many past eruptions from Shiveluch were larger and far more hazardous then the historical ones. The largest Holocene eruption occurred ∼1050 AD and yielded >2.5 km3 of tephra. More than 10 debris avalanches took place only in the second half of the Holocene. Extent of Shiveluch tephra falls exceeded 350 km; travel distance of pyroclastic density currents was > 22 km, and that of the debris avalanches ≤20 km.

Late Pleistocene-Holocene volcanism in Kamchatka results from the subduction of the
Pacific Plate under the peninsula and forms three volcanic belts arranged in en echelon manner
from southeast to northwest. The cross-arc extent of recent volcanism exceeds 250 km and
is one of the widest worldwide. All the belts are dominated by mafic rocks. Eruptives with
SiO2>57% constitute ~25% of the most productive Central Kamchatka Depression belt and
~30% of the Eastern volcanic front, but <10% of the least productive Sredinny Range belt.
All the Kamchatka volcanic rocks exhibit typical arc-type signatures and are represented
by basalt-rhyolite series differing in alkalis. Typical Kamchatka arc basalts display a strong
increase in LILE, LREE and HFSE from the front to the back-arc. La/Yb and Nb/Zr increase
from the arc front to the back arc while B/Li and As, Sb, B, Cl and S concentrations decrease.
The initial mantle source below Kamchatka ranges from N-MORB-like in the volcanic front
and Central Kamchatka Depression to more enriched in the back arc. Rocks from the Central
Kamchatka Depression range in 87Sr/86Sr ratios from 0.70334 to 0.70366, but have almost
constant Nd isotopic ratios (143Nd/144Nd 0.51307–0.51312). This correlates with the highest
U/Th ratios in these rocks and suggest the highest fluid-flux in the source region.
Holocene large eruptions and eruptive histories of individual Holocene volcanoes have been
studied with the help of tephrochronology and 14C dating that permits analysis of time-space
patterns of volcanic activity, evolution of the erupted products, and volcanic hazards.

The 7600 14C-year-old Kurile Lake caldera-forming eruption (KO) in southern Kamchatka, Russia, produced a 7-km-wide caldera now mostly filled by the Kurile Lake. The KO eruption has a conservatively estimated tephra volume of 140–170 km3 making it the largest Holocene eruption in the Kurile–Kamchatka volcanic arc and ranking it among the Earth’s largest Holocene explosive eruptions. The eruptive sequence consists of three main units: (I) initial phreatoplinian deposits; (II) plinian fall deposits, and (III) a voluminous and extensive ignimbrite sheet and accompanying surge beds and co-ignimbrite fallout. The KO fall tephra was dispersed over an area of >3 million km2, mostly in a northwest direction. It is a valuable stratigraphic marker for southern Kamchatka, the Sea of Okhotsk, and a large part of the Asia mainland, where it has been identified as a f6 to 0.1 cm thick layer in terrestrial and lake sediments, 1000–1700 km from source. The ignimbrite, which constitutes a significant volume of the KO deposits, extends to the Sea of Okhotsk and the Pacific Ocean on either side of the peninsula, a distance of over 50 km from source. Fine co-ignimbrite ash was likely formed when the ignimbrite entered the sea and could account for the wide dispersal of the KO fall unit. Individual pumice clasts from the fall and surge deposits range from dacite to rhyolite, whereas pumice and scoria clasts in the ignimbrite range from basaltic andesite to rhyolite. Ignimbrite exposed west and south of the caldera is dominantly rhyolite, whereas north, east and southeast of the caldera it has a strong vertical compositional zonation from rhyolite at the base to basaltic andesite in the middle, and back to rhyolite at the top. Following the KO eruption, Iliinsky volcano formed within the northeastern part of the caldera producing basalt to dacite lavas and pyroclastic rocks compositionally related to the KO erupted products. Other post-caldera features include several extrusive domes, which form islands in Kurile Lake, submerged cinder cones and the huge silicic extrusive massif of Dikii Greben’ volcano.

The Kamchatka volcanic arc (NW Pacific) is one of the most productive arcs in the world, known for its highly explosive activity. At the same time, the Kamchatkan record of late Pleistocene explosive eruptions has remained fragmentary. Here we present the first continuous record of Kamchatkan explosive activity between ~12 and 30 ka, which includes ~70 eruptions and extends the earlier reconstructed Holocene sequence for another 20 ka. Our record is based on geochemical correlations of 14C-dated tephras that represent all Kamchatka volcanic zones and are buried in lacustrine deposits along the 200 km stretch of the Central Kamchatka Depression (CKD). The accompanying geochemical database of volcanic glass compositions includes 3104 new electron microprobe and 221 LA-ICP-MS analyses. The data show that during the period under study, large silicic explosive eruptions peaked at 30e25 ka. Later times were mostly associated with the moderate activity from northern CKD volcanoes Shiveluch and Zarechny. Our tephra record provides the first tephrochronological model for dating and correlating Central Kamchatka late Pleistocene deposits and gives us some insight into the timing of glacial advances in the Kliuchevskoi volcanic group and volcanic response to the onset of the Last Glacial Maximum and glacial unloading at its termination. In addition, studied sections of lacustrine deposits tightly linked by tephra markers suggest the existence of a large lake system within the CKD for ~20 kyr until its final discharge at ~12 ka BP.

Shiveluch Volcano, located in the Central Kamchatka Depression, has experienced multiple flank failures during its lifetime, most recently in 1964. The overlapping deposits of at least 13 large Holocene debris avalanches cover an area of approximately 200 km2 of the southern sector of the volcano. Deposits of two debris avalanches associated with flank extrusive domes are, in addition, located on its western slope. The maximum travel distance of individual Holocene avalanches exceeds 20 km, and their volumes reach ∼3 km3. The deposits of most avalanches typically have a hummocky surface, are poorly sorted and graded, and contain angular heterogeneous rock fragments of various sizes surrounded by coarse to fine matrix. The deposits differ in color, indicating different sources on the edifice. Tephrochronological and radiocarbon dating of the avalanches shows that the first large Holocene avalanches were emplaced approximately 4530–4350 BC. From ∼2490 BC at least 13 avalanches occurred after intervals of 30–900 years. Six large avalanches were emplaced between 120 and 970 AD, with recurrence intervals of 30–340 years. All the debris avalanches were followed by eruptions that produced various types of pyroclastic deposits. Features of some surge deposits suggest that they might have originated as a result of directed blasts triggered by rockslides. Most avalanche deposits are composed of fresh andesitic rocks of extrusive domes, so the avalanches might have resulted from the high magma supply rate and the repetitive formation of the domes. No trace of the 1854 summit failure mentioned in historical records has been found beyond 8 km from the crater; perhaps witnesses exaggerated or misinterpreted the events.

Volcanic eruptions from Kamchatka have deposited many unique tephra layers over a large region within the North Pacific, providing important isochrons between key sites such as marine ODP core 883 (Pacific Ocean, Detroit Seamount) and Elgygytgyn Lake (Chukotka, eastern Siberia). Here we present a compilation of C14 dates on major Holocene tephras from the volcanically highly active region, based on decades of detailed stratigraphical fieldwork on Shiveluch, Kliuchevskoy, and other volcanoes.The 12-m thick tephra sequence at the Kliuchevskoy slope has been continuously accumulating during the last ∼11 ka. It contains over 200 visible individual tephra layers and no datable organic material. The section is dominated by dark-gray mafic cinders related to Kliuchevskoy activity. In addition, it contains 30 light-colored thin layers of silicic tephra from distant volcanoes including 11 layers from Shiveluch volcano located only 65 km to the north. We have used EMPA glass analysis to correlate most of the marker tephra layers to their source eruptions dated earlier by C14 (Braitseva et al., 1997; Ponomareva et al., 2007), and in this way linked Kliuchevskoy tephra sequence to sequences at other volcanoes including Shiveluch. The C14 dates and tephras from the northern Kamchatka are then combined into a single Bayesian framework taking into account stratigraphical ordering within and between the sites. This approach has allowed us to enhance the reliability and precision of the estimated ages for the eruptions. Age-depth models are constructed to analyse changes in deposition rates and volcanic activity throughout the Holocene. This detailed chronology of the eruptions serves as a basis for understanding temporal patterns in the eruption sequence and geochemical variations of magmas. This research could prove important for the long-term forecast of eruptions and volcanic hazards.

On Kamchatka, detailed geologic and geomorphologic mapping of young volcanic terrains and observations on historical eruptions reveal that landslides of various scales, from small (0.001 km3) to catastrophic (up to 20–30 km3), are widespread. Moreover, these processes are among the most effective and most rapid geomorphic agents. Of 30 recently active Kamchatka volcanoes, at least 18 have experienced sector collapses, some of them repetitively. The largest sector collapses identified so far on Kamchatka volcanoes, with volumes of 20–30 km3 of resulting debris-avalanche deposits, occurred at Shiveluch and Avachinsky volcanoes in the Late Pleistocene. During the last 10,000 yr the most voluminous sector collapses have occurred on extinct Kamen' (4–6 km3) and active Kambalny (5–10 km3) volcanoes. The largest number of repetitive debris avalanches (> 10 during just the Holocene) has occurred at Shiveluch volcano. Landslides from the volcanoes cut by ring-faults of the large collapse calderas were ubiquitous. Large failures have happened on both mafic and silicic volcanoes, mostly related to volcanic activity. Orientation of collapse craters is controlled by local tectonic stress fields rather than regional fault systems.

Specific features of some debris avalanche deposits are toreva blocks — huge almost intact fragments of volcanic edifices involved in the failure; some have been erroneously mapped as individual volcanoes. One of the largest toreva blocks is Mt. Monastyr' — a ∼ 2 km3 piece of Avachinsky Somma involved in a major sector collapse 30–40 ka BP.

Long-term forecast of sector collapses on Kliuchevskoi, Koriaksky, Young Cone of Avachinsky and some other volcanoes highlights the importance of closer studies of their structure and stability.

Developing chronologies for sediments in the Arctic Ocean and its continental margins is an important but challenging task. Tephrochronology is a promising tool for independent age control for Arctic marine sediments and here we present the results of a cryptotephra study of a Holocene sedimentary record from the Chukchi Sea. Volcanic glass shards were identified and quantified in sediment core HLY0501-01 and geochemically characterized with single-shard electron microprobe and laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). This enabled us to reveal a continuous presence of glass shards with identifiable chemical compositions throughout the core. The major input of glasses into the sediments is geochemically fingerprinted to the ∼3.6 ka Aniakchak caldera II eruption (Alaska), which provides an important chronostratigraphic constraint for Holocene marine deposits in the Chukchi-Alaskan region and, potentially, farther away in the western Arctic Ocean. New findings of the Aniakchak II tephra permit a reevaluation of the eruption size and highlight the importance of this tephra as a hemispheric late Holocene marker. Other identified glasses likely originate from the late Pleistocene Dawson and Old Crow tephras while some cannot be correlated to certain eruptions. These are present in most of the analyzed samples, and form a continuous low-concentration background throughout the investigated record. A large proportion of these glasses are likely to have been reworked and brought to the depositional site by currents or other transportation agents, such as sea ice. Overall, our results demonstrate the potential for tephrochronology for improving and developing chronologies for Arctic Ocean marine records, however, at some sites reworking and redistribution of tephra may have a strong impact on the record of primary tephra deposition.

This review is intended to highlight recent exciting advances in the study of distal (>100 km from the source) tephra and cryptotephra deposits and their potential application for volcanology. Geochemical correlations of tephra between proximal and distal locations have extended the geographical distribution of tephra over tens of millions square kilometers. Such correlations embark on the potential to reappraise volume and magnitude estimates of known eruptions. Cryptotephra investigations in marine, lake, and ice-core records also give rise to continuous chronicles of large explosive eruptions many of which were hitherto unknown. Tephra preservation within distal ice sheets and varved lake sediments permit precise dating of parent eruptions and provide new insight into the frequency of eruptions. Recent advances in analytical methods permit an examination of magmatic processes and the evolution of the whole volcanic belts at distances of hundreds and thousands of kilometers from source. Distal tephrochronology has much to offer volcanology and has the potential to significantly contribute to our understanding of sizes, recurrence intervals and geochemical make-up of the large explosive eruptions.

Very few age controls exist for Quaternary deposits over the vast territory of the East Russian Arctic, which hampers dating of major environmental changes in this area and prevents their correlation to climatic changes in the Arctic and Pacific marine domains. We report a newly identified ~177 ka old Rauchua tephra, which has been dispersed over an area of >1,500,000 km2 and directly links terrestrial paleoenvironmental archives from Arctic Siberia with marine cores in the northwest Pacific, thus permitting their synchronization and dating. The Rauchua tephra can help to identify deposits formed in terrestrial and marine environments during the oxygen isotope stage 6.5 warming event. Chemical composition of volcanic glass from the Rauchua tephra points to its island-arc origin, while its spatial distribution singles out the Kamchatka volcanic arc as a source. The Rauchua tephra represents a previously unknown, large (magnitude >6.5) explosive eruption from the Kamchatka volcanic arc.