Radiocarbon Dating of Large Holocene Volcanic Events Within South Kamchatka (Russian Far East)

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Radiocarbon dating is widely used when studying recent volcanic activity in the Kamchatka Peninsula due to the abundance of organic matter that is associated with the volcanic deposits. Here, we present the results of 14 C dating of major volcanic events within the active South Kamchatka volcanic zone. South Kamchatka includes 8 recently active volcanic centers (stratovolcanoes, calderas, and large craters) that have been erupting during the Holocene. Their tephras represent useful markers for both the southern part of the peninsula and the Northern Kurile Islands. Since these marker tephra layers facilitate stratigraphie and tephrochronological studies in this area, it was important to determine their ages. We have obtained 73 new individual l4 C dates on paleosol, peat, charcoal, and wood associated with the marker tephra layers, then complemented these data with 37 earlier published dates and analyzed the resulting data set. We selected the reliable dates and then obtained average l4 C ages of marker tephra layers. The details of these procedures, as well as brief descriptions of South Kamchatka Holocene eruptions and their tephra beds, are presented in the paper.

Ultra-distal Kamchatkan ash on Arctic Svalbard: Towards hemispheric cryptotephra correlation

“…of different (rhyodacitic) composition to the west of Ksudach (Braitseva et al, 1997;Kyle et al, 2011;Zaretskaya et al, 2007). Braitseva et al (1997) first proposed an age for the KS 2 eruption of 6950-6740 cal.…”

Distal tephrochronology in volcanic regions: Challenges and insights from Kamchatkan lake sediments

“…The result is usually a 14 C 483 determination with a narrower uncertainty envelope (<50 yr), although it is acknowledged that bulk 484 sediment dates may be contaminated by younger carbon from downward penetrating rootlets 485 (Zaretskaya et al, 2007). Such an effect may explain why the published age for the KS 2 tephra now 486 appears to be too young (see section 1.1).…”

Late Pleistocene-Holocene volcanism on the Kamchatka Peninsula, Northwest Pacific Region

“…Ksudach) and effusive (Dikii Greben') volcanoes, and those located closer to the Kamchatka trench (Kikhpinych) and farther west (Kizimen) [Melekestsev et al, 2001]. Braitseva et al, 1997aBraitseva et al, ,b, 1998Dirksen et al, 2002;Pevzner et al, 1998;Ponomareva et al, 2004, and Zaretskaya et al, 2007. For Avachinsky eruptions new tephra codes are from Bazanova et al, 2004, and old codes (in parentheses) are from Braitseva et al, 1997a,b;1998.…”