T. K. Pinegina

Institute Of Volcanology And Seismology

Currently, the most popular approach for assessing the tsunami hazard on a coast is the PTHA (Probabilistic Tsunami Hazard Assessment). In this preliminary study, we develop one of the variants of the SPTHA (Seismic PTHA) method, adapted to solving local tsunami zonation problems for near-field sources. The approach is applied to assessing the tsun...

The first studies of geological evidences of coastal coseismic subsidence (associated with subduction-zone earthquakes) were carried out in Russia at the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, in Kamchatka. We developed a special method based on tephrostratigraphy and tephrochronology, descriptions and dating of the soil-pyroclastic sequence (SPS...

Like tsunamis and storms, volcanic eruptions are short-lived events, and thus their deposits can provide time lines in geological/stratigraphic sections. Moreover, airfall deposits from explosive volcanic eruptions can blanket large regions and can be distinctive in mineralogy, glass chemistry, grain-size distribution and other features. The interb...

This article presents results of the study of tsunami deposits on the Avachinsky Bay coast, Kurile-Kamchatka island arc, NW Pacific. We used tephrochronology to assign ages to the tsunami deposits, to correlate them between excavations, and to restore paleo-shoreline positions. In addition to using established regional marker tephra, we establish a...

Geochemically fingerprinted widespread tephra layers serve as excellent marker horizons which can directly link and synchronize disparate sedimentary archives and be used for dating various deposits related to climate shifts, faulting events, tsunami, and human occupation. In addition, tephras represent records of explosive volcanic activity and pe...

The northern part of the Kamchatka subduction zone (KSZ) experienced three tsunamigenic earthquakes in the 20th century – February 1923, April 1923, December 1997 – events that help us better understand the behavior of this segment. A particular focus of this study is the nature and location of the 5 December 1997 Kronotsky rupture (Mw ∼ 7.8) as el...

T.K. Pinegina, L.I. Bazanova. NEW DATA ON CHARACTERISTIC OF HISTORICAL TSUNAMI ON THE COAST OF AVACHA BAY (KAMCHATKA). In this article we introduce updated characteristics of historical tsunami that struck the coast of Avacha Bay, based on studies of tsunami deposits. In order to control tsunami age we used tephrachronology method.

Paleotsunami records from the central Kuril Island segment of the Japan-Kuril-Kamchatka subduction zone indicate that the region has been frequently inundated by tsunamis. As many as 20–22 tsunami deposits are recognized on Matua Island for the past 3300 yr with an average tsunami recurrence interval of ∼150 yr, and 34–36 tsunami deposits are evide...

A brief review of the modern views concerning the geodynamics of Bering Plate is presented. The discussion covers the spatial distribution of seismicity in the Kamchatka-Aleutian-Alaskan region, the manifestations of tsunami, the active faults in the margins of the Komandor Basin known to date, the position of the collisional contact between the Ka...

Many coasts feature sequences of Quaternary and Neogene shorelines that are shaped by a combination of sea-level oscillations and tectonics. We compiled a global synthesis of sea-level changes for the following highstands: MIS 1, MIS 3, MIS 5e and MIS 11. Also, we date the apparent onset of sequences of paleoshorelines either from published data or...

Detailed data are discussed on the rate of Holocene horizontal and vertical movements along a fault in the southeastern Kamchatsky Peninsula, which is situated between the converging Aleutian and Kamchatka island arcs. The fault is the northern boundary of the block invading into the peninsula under pressure of the Komandorsky Block of the Aleutian...

Kamchatsky Bay is the northernmost bay at the Pacific Kamchatka coast. It is located at the junction between the Kamchatka segment of the Pacific subduction zone and the dextral transform fault of the western Aleutians. The combination of the subduction and collision processes in this region results in the unique set of tectonic controls influencin...

Kamchatsky Peninsula lies within a complex meeting place of tectonic plates, in particular, the orthogonal interaction of the west-moving Komandorsky Island block with mainland Kamchatka. Examining the Holocene history of vertical deformation of marine wave-built terraces along the peninsular coast, we differentiated tectonic blocks undergoing upli...

[1] At the NW corner of the Pacific region, just south of the Kamchatsky Peninsula, the northern tip of the Pacific plate subduction and associated volcanic arc interacts with the western end of the Aleutian-Komandorsky dextral transform plate boundary and associated arc. Study of both Holocene and Pleistocene sequences of uplifted marine terraces...

Over the last about 20 years, the Bering coast of Kamchatka was not considered as an area with a high level of earthquakes and tsunami risks, despite the 1969 Mw 7.7 tsunamigenic earthquake near the Ozernoi Peninsula. However, the 1991 Khailinskoe (Mw 6.6) earthquake in the southern part of the Koryakia, and especially the 2006 Olytorskoe earthquak...

Active structural pattern in the northernmost Kamchatka island arc and its junction with the Aleutians manifest along-arc variation in respect to the vertical projection of the northern lateral edge of the subducted Pacific plate slab. South of the slab lateral edge, the Kamchatka island arc is experiencing arc-normal extension. This extension is m...

We explore the magnitude and slip distribution of the 1952 Kamchatka earthquake (M-w 8.8-9.0) using constraints from the 1952 Kamchatka tsunami. Our new field data provide more comprehensive coverage of the near-field tsunami than had been available to date. We examine the effects of internal slip distribution within complex earthquake ruptures on...

Stratigraphy of tsunami deposits and tephras was arranged in the lowlands of downstream region of Medvezh'ya (a.k.a. Hamanaka) River and Zaozernaya (Akaishi) River, Paramushir Island, northern Kuril Islands. Twenty-seven Holocene tephra layers were found and three of them were identified as the widespread tephras from Kamchatka: Kambalny phreatic a...

The 15 November 2006 Kuril earthquake (Mw 8.1-8.4) and tsunami enabled us to collect a compelling data set of coastal geomorphic change in the Kuril Islands from ∼3 months before to 9 (and 21) months after the tsunami. Our pre-tsunami and post-tsunami surveys of the islands, including four topographic profiles measured in 2006 and reoccupied in 200...

The near-field expression of the tsunami produced by the 15 November 2006 Kuril earthquake (Mw 8.1–8.4) in the middle Kuril Islands, Russia, including runup of up to 20 m, remained unknown until we conducted a post-tsunami survey in the summer of 2007. Because the earthquake occurred between summer field expeditions in 2006 and 2007, we have observ...

1] Large tsunamigenic earthquakes occurred in 1969 (Mw 7.7) and 1971 (Mw 7.8) along the Bering Sea and northernmost Pacific coast of Kamchatka. Both resultant tsunamis were recorded on tide gauges, but only the 1969 tsunami has cataloged observations of runup, and these observations are limited and questionable. We used a combination of field mappi...

The famous Valley of Geysers along with active volcanoes appears to be a beautiful visiting card of Kamchatka. It is well known in Russia and other countries as the most popular tourist place. Annually it is visited by thousands of Russian and foreign tourists. The Valley of Geysers is the most potentially hazardous area in Kamchatka because of int...

Pioneering tsunami-deposit studies by I. Melekestseev and T. Pinegina led to an extensive (and ongoing) field campaign on Kamchatka and the Kuril Islands over the last ten years. This work has included large teams of Russian and American scientists and students, funded primarily by NSF Earth Sciences and Biocomplexity, the Russian Foundation for Ba...

Because the 15 Nov 2006 middle Kuril Island earthquake (Mw 8.3) and tsunami occurred between two field expeditions of the Kuril Biocomplexity Project, we have detailed topographic profiles and photographs from 3 months before and 9 months after the event. Thus, we are in the position to define tsunami-induced changes in coastal geomorphology both q...

Two great earthquakes occurred in the middle Kurils on 15 Nov 2006 (Mw 8.3) and 13 Jan 2007 (Mw 8.1). These earthquakes were the first big events in the short (< 300-yr) historical catalogue of this segment of the Kuril- Kamchatka subduction zone. This segment had been identified as a "seismic gap," and some researchers suggested that in this gap,...

Two expeditions to the middle Kuril Islands [IMGG FED RAS, NSF Kurils Biocomplexity Project] in the summer of 2007 yielded tsunami runup and inundation measurements from the 15 Nov 2006 Mw 8.3 subduction-zone earthquake, and possibly from the 13 Jan 2007 Mw 8.1 earthquake seaward of the subduction zone. Both earthquakes produced measurable tsunamis...

On April 20, 2006, 23:25, large earthquake with magnitude Mw=7.6 occurred in northeastern Russia, directly north- northeast of the Kamchatka Peninsula. This earthquake was named as Olyutorsky earthquake. It occurred in sparsely populated region. About 40 people were injured fortunately nobody was killed. The intensity of ground motions in Mercally...

This paper addresses one part of an outstanding tectonic problem regarding the nature of the plate boundary between Eurasia and North America in northeastern Russia. In this region, the northwestern corner of the Pacific plate interacts either simply with the North American plate, or more complexly with one or more blocks independent of North Ameri...

The Bering Sea coast of Kamchatka overlies a boundary between the proposed Okhotsk and Bering blocks, or (micro)plates, of the North American plate in the Russian Far East. A history of tsunamis along this coast for the past 4000 yr indicates that the zone north of the Kuril-Kamchatka subduction zone produces tsunamigenic earthquakes every few cent...

As graphically demonstrated in Sumatra last year, tsunamis erode and redeposit sediment, thereby altering the geomorphology of a coastline. Some alterations are transitory, but many effects are apparent decades to centuries later. Recognition of more permanent alterations is a useful tool for evaluating the long-term tsunami record of a coastline....

We studied the Holocene seismotectonic evolution of Soldatskaya Bay, Kamchatskiy Peninsula, Kamchatka, via coastal geomorphology and morphodynamics. In this bay we examined morphology, geological structure and ages of beach ridges, which compose a marine terrace. Each relic beach ridge marks the position and altitude of the shoreline at the time wh...

Despite decades of analysis, the origin of beach ridges remains debatable, and coastal morphotectonics an open field. On the eastern coast of Kamchatka, along about 700 km of coastline (northwest Pacific and southwest Bering Sea), we have measured accumulative Holocene coastal profiles spanning a range of conditions including variable tectonics (co...

The eastern coast of Kamchatka can be divided into several morphotectonic zones, which appear to correspond primarily to variations in the subducting crust, rather than to characteristics of the subduction zone such as rate of subduction or subduction angle. Pleistocene marine terraces and Holocene coastal stratigraphy along Kamchatka show variabil...

The Ozernoi Peninsula on Kamchatka exhibits neotectonic evidence comparable to many subduction zones, although this peninsula is north of the Kuril-Kamchatka subduction zone as identified by active volcanism and intense seismicity. This evidence includes active thrust faulting (Ozernoi tsunamigenic earthquake of 1969), Holocene marine terraces (upl...

During the last 10 years, at more than 15 localities along about 700 km of the east coast of Kamchatka, we have investigated historical and paleotsunami deposits of more than 100 strong tsunamis (runup more than 5 m). Most localities provide a record 3000 to 5000 years long; with age control set primarily by well-mapped and dated tephra. Tsunami fr...

Since 1995 we have been conducting detailed neotectonic and paleoseismological field studies of the Holocene at more than 15 localities along the east coast of Kamchatka. Specific methods of these investigations include 1) application of tephra chronology and tephra stratigraphy for dating and correlation of various types of coastal deposits and la...

The Kamchatka segment of the Pacific "Ring of Fire" is one of the most active seismic and volcanic regions in the world. During the last 10,000 years it has produced more than 30 large explosive eruptions with tephra volumes of 0.5-170 km3. Widespread on-land tephra layers formed by these eruptions have been identified, dated and studied to develop...

There are several proposed origins for beach ridges, or berms, with the majority of studies focused on Atlantic-type margins. Primary factors invoked for beach-ridge formation include changes in sea-level, in wave climate, and in sediment supply. On subduction-zone margins, co-seismic deformation can force any of these three factors. For example, s...

To find, identify and correlate the deposits of ancient tsunamis and study their parameters, preliminary geological and geomorphological explorations carried out in 2002 on the Kamchatka coast of the Bering Sea, to the north from the subduction zone (the Bays Ozernoy, Ukinsky, the Peninsula Ozernoy) gave unexpected results. Here were found deposits...

Deposits from as many as 50 large tsunamis during the last 7000 years are preserved on the Pacific coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula near the mouth of the Zhupanova River, southern Kronotskiy Bay. These deposits are dated and correlated using Holocene marker tephra layers. The combined, preserved record of tsunami deposits and of numerous marker tep...

An example of solution of the problem of quantitative evaluation of the tsunami hazard is considered using tsunami data for the Kamchatka coast. This approach is based on the probability model of the Poisson type for tsunami process, with parameters calculated using geophysical data. The quality of the model used for tsunami risk estimation depends...

Along the eastern coast of Kamchatka, at a number of localities, we have identified and attempted to assign ages to deposits of both historic and prehistoric (paleo-) tsunamis. These deposits are dated and correlated using tephrochronology from Holocene marker tephra and local volcanic ash layers. Because the historical record of earthquakes and ts...

The tsunami hazard for the Kamchatka peninsula coast can be estimated using historical data from catalogues, but the dispersion of found parameters is rather large because of the small number of good tsunami data. This situation can be considerably improved using paleotsunami data. The relative a priori error of characteristic tsunami height H ∗ fo...

For the first time in Kamchatka, 47 paleotsunamis that had hit the shore of the Kronotskii Gulf during Holocene time were identified and dated using a tephrochronological method. The data for the time period from 3000 B.P. to the present were examined to estimate the recurrence of tsunamis having a well-pronounced peak of activity 1500-2000 B.P. du...

The Kamchatka Peninsula is one of the most tectonically restless areas in the world, with a highly active volcanic arc, and a frequently tsunamigenic subduction zone. Yet partly because Kamchatka was closed to most visitors before 1992, and also because the coastal zone is sparsely populated, observational data for even recent tsunamis is limited....

Khalaktirskiy beach is a long, open Pacific beach just north of the narrow entrance to Avacha Bay, and is the ocean beach nearest the city of Petropavlovsk- Kamchatskiy [The city is well protected from tsunamis and has the most complete tide gage record of tsunamis affecting Kamchatka.] Khalaktirskiy is one of most populated beach areas on Kamchatk...

The western Aleutians (the Komadorsky Islands block, KIB) are commonly thought to be driven northwest by the subducting Pacific plate to collide with Kamchatka in the area of the Kamchatsky Peninsula. Geist and Scholl (1994) placed the collisional contact east of the Kamchatsky Peninsula, at the foot of its underwater slope. Gaedicke et all (2000),...