A study of the relationship between volcanic activity and great earthquakes: The Kuril-Kamchatka region

We used the data on the activity of volcanoes in Kamchatka and the North Kuril Islands for the period from 1840 to early 2013 to identify the most significant cyclic components. The resulting periodicities were compared with the recurrence spectrum for great (M ≥ 7.7) earthquakes in the Kuril-Kamchatka region for 1841–2012. We detected 52.8–54.0, 8.58, and 5.72-year cycles, which are common both to seismicity and to volcanic activity. The first interval is close to the three times the value of the 18.613-year lunar rhythm (55.84 years). The 8.58 and 5.72-year periodicities seem to be controlled by solar activity variations and are the second and third harmonics in the 17.15-year cycle. This cycle and its harmonics are used for long-term prediction of great (M ≥ 7.7) earthquakes in the Kuril-Kamchatka region as a whole. It was concluded that the existing increased hazard of great earthquake occurrence in the Kuril-Kamchatka region will last until February 2016 (a 40% probability of a great earthquake during that period). In addition, the long-period phase of increased seismic hazard will last until 2027 with the probability of great earthquakes being 1.6 times the long-term average value.