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Volcanic Activity, Kamchatka Peninsula
Caption:
Illustration of tectonic plate activity off the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia [Image 2 of 2 related images; see also, Karymsky Volcano.]
More about this Image
Just off Kamchatka Peninsula which curves down from the Russian mainland, the pacific plate plunges under the North American plate, giving rise to dozens of active volcanoes. In this illustration, Kamchatka and the North American plate have been made transparent to show where the Pacific plate has torn, allowing the underlying mantle to erode the plate’s edges. The tear may account for the presence of adakites—bits of hardened lava that contain plate material—in the region’s volcanism.
National Science Foundation (NSF) grantee Jonathan Lees, an associate professor of geological sciences, has been studying the area and it’s surrounding volcanoes for years, setting up an array of seismic instruments on Kamchatka.
This work was supported by National Science Foundation grants EAR 96-14639, “Side Edge of Kamchatka Slab” [6/1/97–7/31/00]; and EAR 94-18990, “Supplement to: Collaborative Research: RUI: Paleogene Collision and Obduction of the far-traveled Olyutorsky Island Arc, Northern Kamchatka, Russian Far East” [7/1/96-6/30/07].
(Preview Only)
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| Credit: |
Illustration by Jason Smith; source: Jonathan Lees; 2001, © Endeavors magazine, UNC-Chapel Hill |
| Decade of Image: |
2000 - 2009 |
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Categories:
EARTH SCIENCE / Volcanoes, Earthquakes
Formats Available:
Restrictions:
No additional restrictions--beyond NSF's general restrictions--have been placed on this image. For a list of general restrictions that apply to this and all images in the NSF Image Library, see the section "Conditions".
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