Compositional zonation in olivine phenocrysts and diffusion modelling have been used in the last ten years to estimate magma residence times and the duration of magma ascent. The fundamental assumption is that mixing with newly injected magma into a reservoir triggers diffusional exchange between mafic olivine crystals and more evolved magma and that this magma mixing eventually triggers eruption. If depth of mixing is known, this translates to ascent rates of magmas to the surface. We applied this approach to a series of different arc basalt lavas from Kamchatka to constrain the rates of magma ascent and magma resident in what is one of the most active subduction zones in the world that is also dominated by an abundance of unusually mafic magmas. Our sample collection cover the principal modes of arc magmatism in Kamchatka: from different volcanic complexes (stratovolcano, dikes, summit eruptions, monogenetic cones), of different age (from Late-Pleistocene to Holocene and recent eruptions), from different magmatic regimes (long-lived volcanoes vs. monogenetic eruptions) and different major element composition (from basalt to basaltic andesite of different geochemical character including LILE enrichments). We analyzed and modelled zonation profiles for a range of elements with different diffusivities (e.g. Mg-Fe, Ca, Ni, Mn, Cr) to assess the role of variable diffusivities as a function of major and trace elements in the olivines from different P-T conditions. First data were obtained on samples from the Klyuchevskoy, Shiveluch and Tolbachik, including recent most eruption in 2012/2013. These data show that for some samples the zonation patterns are much more complex than is usually observed: high-Mg olivines at different volcanoes have very different zonation patterns, including normally, reversely zoned grains or even show highly complex repetitive zonation that indicate large compositional changes in the surrounding magma at very short time scales (years). Thus in some Kamchatka basalts, we observe unusual Mg-Fe zonations that are linked to complex mixing, possibly resorption and subsequent crystal growth processes that are generally not preserved due to fast diffusion of Mg-Fe. Based on a first assessment of our measured profiles, the values for diffusion times in Fo-rich olivines (88 to 92% Fo) vary from only a few months to years and thus magma ascent from deep magma sources must have been fast.

Temporal irregularity of the output of volcanic material is studied for the sequence of large (V ≥ 0.5 km3, N = 29) explosive eruptions on Kamchatka during the last 10,000 years. Informally, volcanic productivity looks episodic, and dates of eruptions cluster. To investigate the probable self-similar clustering behavior of eruption times, we determine correlation dimension Dc. For intervals between events 800 and 10,000 years, Dc ≈ 1 (no self-similar clustering). However, for shorter delays, Dc = 0.71, and the significance level for the hypothesis Dc < 1 is 2.5%. For the temporal structure of the output of volcanic products (i.e., for the sequence of variable-weight points), a self-similar “episodic” behavior holds over the entire range of delays 100–10,000 years, with Dc = 0.67 (Dc < 1 at 3.4% significance). This behavior is produced partly by the mentioned common clustering of event dates, and partly by another specific property of the event sequence, that we call “order clustering”. This kind of clustering is a property of a time-ordered list of eruptions, and is manifested as the tendency of the largest eruptions (as opposed to smaller ones) to be close neighbors in this list. Another statistical technique, of “rescaled range” (R/S), confirms these results. Similar but weaker-expressed behavior was also found for two other data sets: historical Kamchatka eruptions and acid layers in Greenland ice column. The episodic multiscaled mode of the output of volcanic material may be a characteristic property of a sequence of eruptions in an island arc, with important consequences for climate forcing by volcanic aerosol, and volcanic hazard.

Abstract—This study is concerned with the petrographic, mineralogic, and geochemical features in the K-high basaltic trachyandesites that were discharged by the 2012–2013 parasitic eruption on Ploskii Tolbachik Volcano. These K-high basaltic trachyandesites exhibit some obvious characteristics that testify to their suprasubduction origin. They are deeply differentiated rocks with strongly fractionated plagioclase.A study of the Sr, Nd, and Pb radiogenic isotope ratios in the K-high basaltic trachyandesites provided evidence of their mantle origin and of the fact that the crust has exerted no influence on their compositions. We performed a comparative analysis of the ratios of the concentrations for some incoherent elements in the K-high basaltic trachyandesites, as well as in intraplate, riftogenic, and island-arc moderate potassium basalts and basaltic andesites in relation to the concentrations of these elements in the primitive mantle. The geochemical features of these K-high basaltic trachyandesites classify them as belonging to the suprasubduction subalkaline formation of the potassium series.

Abstract A new fissure eruption began on 27 November 2012 on the southern slope of Plosky Tolbachik volcano, which is located in central Kamchatka, Russia, and is part of the Klyuchevskoy volcano group. We analyzed the displacement of the earth surface and the seismicity during several months before the eruption onset. According to seismic and GPS data the eruption was preceded by about 4–5 months (July–November 2012) of synchronous crustal deformation and seismicity. The seismic anomaly comprises low energy level seismicity (mainly M = 1.2–2.3) under Plosky Tolbachik volcano at a depth of less than 5 km. In the 2–3 weeks immediately preceding the eruption the rate of seismicity and the amount of radiated seismic energy exceeded the long-term average values (2000–2011) by more than 40 times. The deformation anomaly was recorded by displacement of the GPS points at distances from 20 to 60 km to the north of Tolbachik. The principal axis of the compressive strain was approximately directed towards the Tolbachik eruption site. The permanent GPS network detected radial compression and tangential stretching. The compressive strain reached about 10− 7 prior to eruption onset. The comparable duration of seismic and deformation anomalies (~ 4–5 months before the eruption) is consistent with a common origin, connected to magma rising from depth, and is interpreted as indicating that they were medium-term precursors to the eruption. Data recorded during this unrest episode of the Tolbachik volcanic zone will contribute to understanding of the reawakening of volcanic activity in this region and others worldwide with similar characteristics.

Clusters of small-volume volcanoes that individually may be defined as monogenetic, but have interlinked and
interconnected plumbing systems, are used to be categorized as monogenetic volcanic fields (MVF).We argue
that such volcanic clusters should be distinguished as separate type of volcanism, intermediate between monogenetic and polygenetic. The magma plumbing system structure of the MVF (its complexity and polymagmatic
character) is the key argument for the potential separation of themin a classification. To avoid confusion caused by geneticmeaning of the used words we suggest using a term “areal volcanism” or “areal volcanic fields” (AVF instead of MVF) as defining this special type of volcanic activity. Herewe provide a reviewof themain characteristic features of one of the largest Holocene AVF, which is active now – the Tolbachik field of cinder cones in the southern part of Klyuchevskaya volcano group (Kamchatka), known in the literature as Tolbachinsky Dol. This paper is focused on the research of magma plumbing system. We consider structural,morphological, geological, geochemical and petrological data on the erupted basalts and their genesis. Specially planned seismic experiments made in 2010–2015 (seismic tomography and microseismic sounding) allowedmodeling of the principal elements of the magma plumbing system of Tolbachik AVF. Analysis of the investigations made in this area shows that Tolbachik AVF has a complex, dynamic, variable magmatic feeding system, which can be visualized as a superposition of subvertical and sublateral magma conduits. The contrast composition of the erupted rocks is caused by their different, although genetically connected, magma sources and mixing processes. One of the long-lived eruptive centers of Tolbachik AVF is Plosky Tolbachik stratovolcano, which lost its independent activity and was captured by Tolbachik AVF in Holocene. The AVF formed rejuvenated volcanism using the feeding system of the stratovolcano like an “old anthill”. The magma plumbing system characteristics of Tolbachinsky Dol strongly support the idea of separation of AVF from monogenetic volcanism type in the classification.