Klyuchevskoy volcano, in Kamchatka’s subduction zone, is one of the most active arc volcanoes in the world and contains some of the highest δ18O values for olivines and basalts. We present an oxygen isotope and melt inclusion study of olivine phenocrysts in conjunction with major and trace element analyses of 14C- and tephrochronologically-dated tephra layers and lavas spanning the eruptive history of Klyuchevskoy. Whole-rock and groundmass analyses of tephra layers and lava samples demonstrate that both high-Mg (7–12.5 wt% MgO) and high-Al (17–19 wt% Al2O3, 3–6.5 wt% MgO) basalt and basaltic andesite erupted coevally from the central vent and flank cones. Individual and bulk olivine δ18O range from normal MORB values of 5.1‰ to values as high as 7.6‰. Likewise, tephra and lava matrix glass have high-δ18O values of 5.8–8.1‰. High-Al basalts dominate volumetrically in Klyuchevskoy’s volcanic record and are mostly high in δ18O. High-δ18O olivines and more normal-δ18O olivines occur in both high-Mg and high-Al samples. Most olivines in either high-Al or high-Mg basalts are not in oxygen isotopic equilibrium with their host glasses, and Δ18Oolivine–glass values are out of equilibrium by up to 1.5‰. Olivines are also out of Fe–Mg equilibrium with the host glasses, but to a lesser extent. Water concentrations in olivine-hosted melt inclusions from five tephra samples range from 0.4 to 7.1 wt%. Melt inclusion CO2 concentrations vary from below detection (<50 ppm) to 1,900 ppm. These values indicate depths of crystallization up to ~17 km (5 kbar). The variable H2O and CO2 concentrations likely reflect crystallization of olivine and entrapment of inclusions in ascending and degassing magma. Oxygen isotope and Fe–Mg disequilibria together with melt inclusion data indicate that olivine was mixed and recycled between high-Al and high-Mg basaltic melts and cumulates, and Fe–Mg and δ18O re-equilibration processes were incomplete. Major and trace elements in the variably high-δ18O olivines suggest a peridotite source for the parental magmas. Voluminous, highest in the world with respect to δ18O, and hydrous basic volcanism in Klyuchevskoy and other Central Kamchatka depression volcanoes is explained by a model in which the ascending primitive melts that resulted from the hydrous melt fluxing of mantle wedge peridotite, interacted with the shallow high-δ18O lithospheric mantle that had been extensively hydrated during earlier times when it was part of the Kamchatka forearc. Following accretion of the Eastern Peninsula terrains several million years ago, a trench jump eastward caused the old forearc mantle to be beneath the presently active arc. Variable interaction of ascending flux-melting-derived melts with this older, high-δ18O lithospheric mantle has produced mafic parental magmas with a spectrum of δ18O values. Differentiation of the higher δ18O parental magmas has created the volumetrically dominant high-Al basalt series. Both basalt types incessantly rise and mix between themselves and with variable in δ18O cumulates within dynamic Klyuchevskoy magma plumbing system, causing biannual eruptions and heterogeneous magma products.

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.