HYDROTHERMAL ACTIVITY IN LAKE KARYMSKOE AFTER THE 1996 UNDERWATER ERUPTION

Abstract

This paper sums up the results of previous studies of the thermal springs in the Akademii Nauk caldera, and presents the results of investigations on the condition of the springs as at July 1996, namely, a description of all the geothermal activity in the area, detailed maps of the spring vents, information on the macrochemical composition of the geothermal waters, and estimates of spring flow rates, heat removal, and the scale of material migration. These results are compared with data obtained in the preceding investigations, and the scale of the changes that took place is quantitatively estimated. The suggestion is made that exogenic processes played an important part in and seismotectonics had a dominant effect (as compared with that of volcanism) on the changes in the condition of the hot springs. An opinion is stated as to the character of the eruption.