Chronology of Magmatic Activity of the Elbrus Volcano (Greater Caucasus): Evidence from K-Ar Isotope Dating of Lavas

摘要

The following work considers isotopic-geochrono-logical data on dacites from the reference section composed of lava flows on the southern slope of the Elbrus Volcano. New K-Ar data combined with previous dates obtained for rocks constituting western and northern slopes of the Elbrus Volcano, the largest Quaternary volcano in Europe, allow us to reconstruct the chronology of its eruptions. In recent years, the study of regions of the Earth that are subject to volcanic activity and contain potentially active volcanoes, which are hazardous to the inhabitants of adjacent areas and environments, has become one of the priority problems of modern geology and geoecology. In Russia, such works aimed at the comprehensive study, including the isotopic-geochronolog-ical investigation, of Quaternary volcanism in different regions of the country, are carried out in the framework of special programs supported by the Ministry of Science and by the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences.