Identification of tephra horizons in a glacier on the Ushkovsky volcano (Kamchatka)

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Abstract

Identification of tephra and its allocation (association) with known eruptive events allows obtainng chronostratigraphic markers, on the basis of which an age scale for dating glacial strata can be developed. To determine the sources of ash in the ice core obtained in 2022 during drilling of glacier in the crater of the Ushkovsky volcano in Kamchatka, the chemical composition of volcanic glass in individual ash particles was analyzed. The accuracy of determination of the volcanic glass composition was verified by analyzing of international standard samples of volcanic and synthetic glass. Based on a comparison of the data we obtained with published data on the composition of tephra glasses from the present-day eruptions in Kamchatka, we determined affiliation of each tephra horizon to specific volcano-source. We have found that the main source of tephra in the ice core of the Ushkovsky Glacier is the Kliuchevskoi volcano, which is the closest and the most productive one among the Kamchatka volcanoes. Ash particles from Bezymyannyi volcano were identified in two horizons. A mixed population of particles was found in one of the horizons, including the ash particles from volcanoes Kizimen, Kliuchevskoi and Bezymyannyi. Analysis of published data on the chronology and distribution of ash plumes from known eruptive events made it possible to confidently correlate the tephra horizon at a depth of 762–777 cm with the initial phase of the eruption of the Kizimen volcano in late 2010–early 2011. Ash from the uppermost tephra buried in the glacier at depths of 89–94 cm belongs to the Bezymyannyi volcano eruption, which the most likely occurred in October 2020. Single particles with rhyolitic composition of glass in the sample from the depth of 348–354 cm may belong to the eruption of the Shiveluch volcano in December 2018. The results of our work can be used on further studying of the ice core from the Ushkovsky volcano, in particular for comparison and correlation with the chronostratigraphic data obtained by glacio-chemical and isotope methods.

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About the authors

N. V. Gorbach

Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, FEB RAS; Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences

Author for correspondence.
Email: n_gorbach@mail.ru
Russian Federation, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky; Moscow

T. M. Philosofova

Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, FEB RAS

Email: n_gorbach@mail.ru
Russian Federation, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky

V. N. Mikhalenko

Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences

Email: n_gorbach@mail.ru
Russian Federation, Moscow

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2. Fig. 1. Ushkovsky volcano surrounded by the largest volcanoes of the Kliuchevskoi group, view from the southeast in August, 2023. Photo by V. I. Frolov. The inset shows the regional position of the volcano.

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3. Fig. 2. Examples of ash particles completely (а–в) or partially (г) composed of volcanic glass: а — pumice particle from the soil profile in the area of Zhupanovsky volcano, Kamchatka; б — enlarged fragment of pumice; в-glass shard from the tephra from Kliuchevskoi volcano; г — glassy particle with microlites of pyroxenes and plagioclase, Kliuchevskoi volcano. Images are shown in the back-scattered electron mode: Cpx — clinopyroxene; Pl — plagioclase; Gl — glass.

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4. Fig. 3. Examples of ash layers buried in the Ushkovsky Glacier: а — fragment of ice core containing tephra at the depth 762–777 cm (sample Ush 762–777); б — fragment of ice core containing tephra at the depth 828–834 cm (sample Ush 828–834); в — ash particles from the Ush 762–777 sample; г — glassy, highly porous ash particle from the Ush 762–777 sample with a phenocryst of orthopyroxene (Opx), glass composition (Gl) corresponds to the products of eruptions of the Bezymyannyi volcano; д — ash particles from the Ush 828–834 sample; е — glassy ash particles from the Ush 828–834 sample with microlites of pyroxenes, plagioclase and olivine, Kliuchevskoi volcano.

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5. Fig. 4. Volcanic glass compositions from the ice core tephras on the SiO2–Na2O+K2O classification diagram (Le Bas et al., 1986) (а) and on the diagrams of variations of sodium (б) and potassium (в) oxide contents in relation to the silicа content: 1 — points of glass compositions of all studied samples; 2 — points of glass compositions from sample Ush 762–777 with mixed population of particles from eruptions of Kizimen, Kliuchevskoi and Bezymyannyi volcanoes; 3 — points of glass compositions from sample Ush 348–354 with mixed population of particles of ash from Kliuchevskoi and Shiveluch volcanoes. The fields of glass compositions of products of modern volcanic eruptions in Kamchatka are shown in different colours based on data from (Ponomareva et al., 2012; Gorbach et al., 2016; 2022; Portnyagin et al., 2020; Davydova et al., 2022).

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6. Fig. 5. Distribution of individual tephra horizons in the ice core section. Ash particles from different volcanoes are shown in different colours. The time of ash deposition is explained in the text. The inset shows the volcanoes whose tephras buried in the upper horizons of Ushkovsky Glacier.

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