The Hydrochemical Evolution of Water in Lake Karymskii during 1996‒2015 after an Underwater Eruption in Kamchatka

Abstract

This study considers variations in the physical and chemical characteristics of water in Lake Karymskii for the period from January 1996, when a phreatomagmatic eruption occurred in the lake, until 2015. Our monitoring revealed two characteristic sets of components whose behavior characterizes the hydrochemical evolution of lake water: a comparatively rapid exponential decay of the concentrations of SO₄, Ca, and Mg and a slow decrease in the concentrations of Cl, Na, and K. We arrived at the conclusion that two components of the fluid flow (a fumarolic and a hydrothermal component proper) simultaneously occurred during the eruption and thus had an effect on the lake water. We adduce evidence to show that the water balance and the chemical composition of Lake Karymskii stabilized toward 2015.