This study presents data on the geochemical composition of boiling mud pools at the Mutnovsky volcano. The physicochemical characteristics of the pools and the concentrations of major, minor and trace elements in pool solutions vary widely. A comparison of the geochemical compositions of host rocks and solutions indicates that leaching from rocks is not the only source of chemicals in thermal solutions. Geophysical studies reveal the inner structure of thermal fields, which reflect the shapes of the underground reservoirs and feed channels. Using geophysical methods (electrical resistivity tomography and frequency domain investigations), it was shown that the vertical structure and complex geochemical zonation of the feed channels leads to a high contrast in the compositions of the mud solutions. These findings answer questions about the origin and composition of surface manifestations. To elucidate the mechanisms of solution formation, an attempt was made to describe the magmatic fluid evolution and the resulting mixing of waters by physical and mathematical models. The model illustrates fluid migration from a magma chamber to the surface. It is shown that the formation of brines corresponding to the mud pool composition is possible during secondary boiling.

Kamchatka is one of the most active volcanic regions on the planet. Large explosive volcanic eruptions, in which the ash elevates up to 8–15 km above sea level, occur here every 1.5 years. Study of eruptions precursors in order to reduce a volcanic risk for the population is an urgent problem of Volcanology. The available precursor of strong explosive eruptions of volcanoes, identified from satellite data (thermal anomaly), as well as examples of successful prediction of eruptions using this precursor, are represented in this paper.

Fossil diatom assemblages in a sediment core from a small lake in Central Kamchatka (Russia) were used to reconstruct palaeoenvironmental conditions of the late Holocene. The waterbody may be a kettle lake that formed on a moraine of the Two-Yurts Lake Valley, located on the eastern slope of the Central Kamchatka Mountain Chain. At present, it is a seepage lake with no surficial outflow. Fossil diatom assemblages show an almost constant ratio between planktonic and periphytic forms throughout the record. Downcore variations in the relative abundances of diatom species enabled division of the core into four diatom assemblage zones, mainly related to changes in abundances of Aulacoseira subarctica, Stephanodiscus minutulus, and Discostella pseudostelligera and several benthic species. Associated variations in the composition and content of organic matter are consistent with the diatom stratigraphy. The oldest recovered sediments date to about 3220 BC. They lie below a sedimentation hiatus and likely include reworked deposits from nearby Two-Yurts Lake. The initial lake stage between 870 and 400 BC was characterized by acidic shallow-water conditions. Between 400 BC and AD 1400, lacustrine conditions were established, with highest contributions from planktonic diatoms. The interval between AD 1400 and 1900 might reflect summer cooling during the Little Ice Age, indicated by diatoms that prefer strong turbulence, nutrient recycling and cooler summer conditions. The timing of palaeolimnological changes generally fits the pattern of neoglacial cooling during the late Holocene on Kamchatka and in the neighbouring Sea of Okhotsk, mainly driven by the prevailing modes of regional atmospheric circulation.

Abstract—We discuss the water!level variations in the E!1 well for the time period between May 2006 and
2010, inclusive. A trend towards an increasing level at an abnormally high rate occurred from mid!2006 to
December 2009. This increase is regarded as the response of the aquifer of gas!saturated ground water that
exists in the volcanogenic–sedimentary deposits of the Avacha volcano!tectonic depression to volumetric
strain changes during the precursory period and the occurrence of a swarm of small earthquakes ( = 8.3)
in the area of Koryakskii Volcano and to its phreatic eruption. We estimated the volumetric compression as
Δε = –(4.1 × 10–6–1.5 × 10–5) from the amplitude of water!level rise using the elastic parameters of the wa!
ter!saturated rocks. While the strain source was active, we observed a decreasing sensitivity of the hydrologic
regime in the well to the precursory processes before large (M ≥ 5.0) tectonic earthquakes.

This paper presents results from a study of lava flows that were discharged by Bezymyannyi Volcano at different times, from old (about 3500 years ago) to recent ones (1985–1989). We provide detailed descriptions of the composition, structure, and petrophysical properties for the main types of constituent rocks, which are andesites and basaltic andesites. It was found that porosity is the leading factor that controls rock properties, while the effects of structural and mineralogical features are less prominent. We demonstrate the variation in the properties of rocks that compose the lava flows in relation to their ages: the older a rock is, the higher its density and strength and the lower its porosity is.

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.

Numerous ash layers deposited at the slopes of Kliuchevskoi volcano provide a detailed and continuous record of its explosive activity during the last ca. 10,000 years.