Eight strong eruptions of four Kamchatka volcanoes (Bezymyannyi, Klyuchevskoi, Shiveluch, and Karymskii) and Chikurachki Volcano on Paramushir Island, North Kurils took place in 2007. In addition, an explosive event occurred on Mutnovskii Volcano and increased fumarole activity was recorded on Avacha and Gorelyi volcanoes in Kamchatka and Ebeko Volcano on Paramushir Island, North Kurils. Thanks to close cooperation with colleagues involved in the Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT) project from the Elizovo Airport Meteorological Center and volcanic ash advisory centers in Tokyo, Anchorage, and Washington (Tokyo VAAC, Anchorage VAAC, and Washington VAAC), all necessary precautions were taken for flight safety near Kamchatka.

Silicate glasses in peridotite xenoliths from Avacha volcano have high SiO2 (up to 72 wt.) and highly SiO2-oversaturated characteristics; normative quartz content is up to 50 wt.. The glasses represent secondary melts solidified after interaction with mantle peridotite, i.e. crystallization of secondary orthopyroxene at the expense of olivine. We identified two kinds of silicate glasses in Avacha peridotites; one is higher in K2O and enriched in Rb, Ba, U, and Pb than the other. The glasses show basically similar chemical characteristics to the host basaltic andesite to andesite of the Avacha volcano. These chemical characteristics are inherited from slab-derived fluids/melts, which metasomatize the mantle wedge and induce partial melting. The differences of chemical features among the Avacha glasses are attributed to chemical difference of the slab-derived fluids/melts, possibly due to the difference of sediments/basalt ratio of the relevant slab. The low-degree partial melt of peridotite assisted by these fluids/melts, is primarily SiO2-oversaturated, and can conduct silicate metasomatism, evolving through interaction with surrounding mantle peridotite, i.e. formation of orthopyroxene at the expense of olivine. Highly silicic glasses, also reported from peridotite xenoliths from oceanic hotspots and continental rift zones, mostly result from assimilation of orthopyroxene by SiO2-undersaturated melts, which crystallize clinopyroxene and olivine. The glasses also show similar trace-element patterns to their host alkali basaltic magmas, as in the case of arc glasses/calc-alkali magmas. If the glasses in peridotite xenoliths are of silicate metasomatism origin, they are similar in chemistry to host magmas. Reaction between carbonatite melts and peridotites shows the same petrographical feature as that of SiO2-undersaturated silicate melts with peridotites. The glasses originated from carbonatite metasomatism, however, exhibit clearly different trace-element patterns from their host alkali basaltic magmas.

Lithospheric mantle is inferred to be more oxidized than the asthenosphere, and mantle-wedge peridotites are characterized by high oxidation state relative to abyssal and continental peridotites due to addition of slab-derived fluids or melts. We found metals (native Ni, Fe silicides, native Fe and possible native Ti) from otherwise oxidized sub-arc mantle peridotite xenoliths from Avacha volcano, Kamchatka. This is contrary to the consensus and experimental results that the metals are stable only in deeper parts of the mantle (> 250 km). The metals from Avacha are different in chemistry and petrography from those in serpentinized peridotites. The Avacha metals are characteristically out of chemical equilibrium between individual grains as well as with surrounding peridotite minerals. This indicates their independent formation from different fluids. Some of the Avacha metals form inclusion trails with fluids and pyroxenes, leading to the inference that very local metal saturation resulted from rapid supply (‘flashing’) of reducing fluids from deeper levels. The fluids, possibly rich in H2, are formed by serpentinization at the cold base of the mantle wedge just above the slab, and they reduce overlying peridotites. We propose a metal-saturated peridotite layer, underlying the main oxidized portion, within the mantle wedge beneath the volcanic front to fore-arc region.

We determine a 3-D P-wave velocity structure of the mantle down to 700 km depth under the Kamchatka peninsula using 678 P-wave arrival times collected from digital seismograms of 75 teleseismic events recorded by 15 portable seismic stations and 1 permanent station in Kamchatka. The subducting Pacific slab is imaged clearly that is visible in the upper mantle and extends below the 660-km discontinuity under southern Kamchatka, while it shortens toward the north and terminates near the Aleutian–Kamchatka junction. Low-velocity anomalies are visible beneath northern Kamchatka and under the junction, which are interpreted as asthenospheric flow. A gap model without remnant slab fragment is proposed to interpret the main feature of high-V anomalies. Combining our tomographic results with other geological and geophysical evidences, we consider that the slab loss may be induced by the friction with surrounding asthenosphere as the Pacific plate rotated clockwise at about 30 Ma ago, and then it was enlarged by the slab-edge pinch-off by the asthenospheric flow and the presence of Meiji seamounts. As a result, the slab loss and the subducted Meiji seamounts have jointly caused the Pacific plate to subduct under Kamchatka with a lower dip angle near the junction, which made the Sheveluch and Klyuchevskoy volcanoes shift westward.

More than 65 potentially active volcanoes on the Kamchatka Peninsula and the Kurile Islands pose a substantial threat to aircraft on the Northern Pacific (NOPAC), Russian Trans-East (RTE), and Pacific Organized Track System (PACOTS) air routes. The Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT) monitors and reports on volcanic hazards to aviation for Kamchatka and the north Kuriles. KVERT scientists utilize real-time seismic data, daily satellite views of the region, real-time video, and pilot and field reports of activity to track and alert the aviation industry of hazardous activity. Most Kurile Island volcanoes are monitored by the Sakhalin Volcanic Eruption Response Team (SVERT) based in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. SVERT uses daily moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite images to look for volcanic activity along this 1,250-km chain of islands. Neither operation is staffed 24 h per day. In addition, the vast majority of Russian volcanoes are not monitored seismically in real-time. Other challenges include multiple time-zones and language differences that hamper communication among volcanologists and meteorologists in the US, Japan, and Russia who share the responsibility to issue official warnings. Rapid, consistent verification of explosive eruptions and determination of cloud heights remain significant technical challenges. Despite these difficulties, in more than a decade of frequent eruptive activity in Kamchatka and the northern Kuriles, no damaging encounters with volcanic ash from Russian eruptions have been recorded.