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Exhumed conduit records magma ascent and drain-back during a Strombolian eruption at Tongariro volcano, New Zealand

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Abstract

Field evidence from a basaltic-andesite dyke preserved in the eroded wall of a scoria cone at Red Crater, Tongariro volcano, New Zealand, records a history of up-conduit magma flow during a Strombolian eruption, subsequent drain-back and final cessation of flow. The dyke intrudes pre-Strombolian andesite lavas, and the overlying proximal basaltic-andesite scoria deposits associated with contemporaneous lavas, which are, in turn overlain by laminated lapilli-tuff and large blocks. Textural and kinematic evidence of ductile shear recorded in basaltic andesite at the dyke margins records magma deformation imposed by bypassing movement of magma up the centre of the conduit during the eruption, whereas the basaltic andesite occupying the central part of the lowermost exposures of the dyke preserves ductile flow-folds with the opposite (down-flow) shear sense. The evidence indicates that the downward magma flow followed the eruption, and this draining left the central part of the dyke empty (unfilled) at uppermost levels. We discuss the kinematic constraints in the context of the criteria for up-flow of mafic magma and present the factors most likely to result in a final drain-back event. With reference to experimental and numerical work, we propose a draining model for the end of this eruption, and that magmatic drain-back may feature commonly during closing stages of Strombolian eruptions at mafic volcanoes. Drain-back which leaves large cavities in a volcanic edifice could result in hazardous structural instabilities.

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Acknowledgments

We thank James D. L. White for a critical reading of the manuscript, Sonia Calvari for editorial handling, Marco Neri, Nabuo Geshi and Ed Llewellin for reviews of our work and Paul Ashwell, James Cowlyn, and Simon Bloomberg for field assistance. We are grateful to the New Zealand Department of Conservation for field access and sampling permission. BM. Kennedy acknowledges funding from the fast start Marsden Fund (09-UO-017C); and the International Science and Technology (ISAT) Linkages Fund (in New-Zealand) for an international co-operation grant with Germany, Y. Lavallée thanks the European Research Council Starting Grant on Strain Localisation in Magmas (SLiM, 306488).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Earth and Environmental Sciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Theresienstr. 41, 80333, Munich, Germany

    Fabian B. Wadsworth

  2. Geological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, 8140, New Zealand

    Ben M. Kennedy

  3. Department of Geology, University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK

    Michael J. Branney

  4. Department of Earth, Ocean and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK

    Felix W. von Aulock & Yan Lavallée

  5. Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, SO14 3ZH, UK

    Amaya Menendez

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  1. Fabian B. Wadsworth
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  2. Ben M. Kennedy
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  4. Felix W. von Aulock
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Correspondence to Fabian B. Wadsworth.

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Editorial responsibility: S. Calvari

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Wadsworth, F.B., Kennedy, B.M., Branney, M.J. et al. Exhumed conduit records magma ascent and drain-back during a Strombolian eruption at Tongariro volcano, New Zealand. Bull Volcanol 77, 71 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-015-0962-7

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