Posteruption chemical evolution of a volcanic caldera lake: Karymsky Lake, Kamchatka

• Published in: Geophysical Research Letters
• Main Authors: Taran, Yuri, Inguaggiato, Salvatore, Karpov, Gennady, CARDELLINI, Carlo
• Other Authors: Cardellini, Carlo
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: Caldera lake; Box model; Hydrochemistry; Karymsky; Kamchatka
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11391/1188680; https://doi.org/10.1002/grl.50961

he 1996 short-lived subaqueous eruption at the Karymsky caldera lake suddenly changed the composition of the lake water. The lake, with a surface area of ~10 km2 and a volume of ~0.5 km3, became acidic, increased its salinity to ~1000 mg/kg, and became dominated by SO42− and Ca2+. Since the eruption, the lake chemistry has evolved in a predictable manner described by simple box model. As a result of dilution by incoming SO4-Ca-Mg-poor water, SO4, Ca, and Mg concentrations follow a simple exponential decrease with a characteristic time close to the residence time of the lake. Na, K, and Cl decrease relatively significantly slower, indicating a continuing input of these constituents into the lake that was initiated during the eruption. Thus, the dynamics of two groups of lake water solutes can be predicted by a simple box model for water and solute mass balance.