The volcano rock stars of Kamchatka, Russia
- Dr. Janine Krippner I am pretty excited this week. Next week I am flying back to Kamchatka (Russia) for field work. I get to join a team of Russian scientists to look at deposits on Tolbachik volcano which produced a beautiful flank fissure eruption over 9 months, starting November 2012. Tolbachik erupting on 22 December, 2012. Image courtesy of NASA Earth Observatory . A common reaction I get when I say I am studying a Russian volcano is some variation of "there are volcanoes in Russia?". Yes. Yes there are. And they are amazing! So first off, Kamchatka is the eastern-most peninsula off Russia which sits on top of a subduction zone. Here the Pacific plate moves westward underneath Kamchatka - hence all the volcanic activity. Here, the Map of Active Volcanoes in Kamchatka and Northern Kuriles shows the current activity levels using the aviation color codes . Map of active volcanoes of Kamchatka and Northern Kuriles. Note the subduction zone to the east show...