Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

New insights into the evolution of the magmatic system of a composite andesite volcano revealed by clasts from distal mass-flow deposits: Ruapehu volcano, New Zealand

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Bulletin of Volcanology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Stratovolcanoes characteristically build large composite edifices over long periods with stacked lavas intercalated with pyroclastic deposits. In most cases, only the most recent volcanic products are exposed on the flanks of the volcano, and consequently the search for deposits recording an older eruptive and magmatic history is typically focussed far from the cone, within distal tephra deposits. Clasts within lahar and debris avalanche deposits may also provide unique insights into the earliest eruptive and magmatic history of long-lived volcanoes, especially when widespread fallout is absent. Careful sampling and subsequent petrological and geochemical analyses of lava and pumice clasts from six distal mass-flow deposit sequences (hyperconcentrated flow, debris flows and debris avalanche deposits) from Mt. Ruapehu (New Zealand), combined with detailed stratigraphic studies and radiometric age dating, give new perspectives on the pre-50 ka magmatic system of this complex volcano. A conglomerate emplaced between 340 and 310 ka contains evidence for the oldest episode of Mt. Ruapehu volcanism, and unusually for the composite cone, pumice clasts from this unit contain amphibole-bearing xenoliths. Chemical and petrological data for these oldest Ruapehu clasts indicate that a deep (∼40 km) crustal storage system had already developed under Mt. Ruapehu before ∼340 ka. From the very earliest stages, evolution was largely controlled by magma mixing, along with decoupled assimilation and fractional crystallization within numerous isolated small-scale magma batches stored throughout the crust. From around 340 to 160 ka, there was a progressive shift towards more primitive compositions, suggesting that during this period large-scale replenishment events involving mantle-derived basaltic magmas occurred within the mid- to upper crustal storage system. Subsequent magmas became progressively more evolved due to decoupled fractional crystallization and assimilation processes accompanied by magma recharge events, which triggered major phases of eruptive activity.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adams CJ, Campbell HJ, Griffin WL (2007) Provenance comparisons of Permian to Jurassic tectonostratigraphic terranes in New Zealand: perspectives from detrital zircon age patterns. Geol Mag 144:701–729

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arculus RJ, Powell R (1986) Source component mixing in regions of arc magma generation. J Geophys Res 91:5913–5926

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arguden AT, Rodolfo KS (1990) Sedimentologic and dynamic differences between hot and cold laharic debris flows of Mayon Volcano, Philippines. Geol Soc Am Bull 102:865–876

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cameron E, Gamble J, Price R, Smith I, McIntosh W, Gardner M (2010) The petrology, geochronology and geochemistry of Hauhungatahi volcano, SW Taupo Volcanic Zone. J Volcanol Geotherm Res 190:179–191

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coats RR (1950). Volcanic activity in the Aleutian arc. US Government Printing Office: 35-49

  • Cole JW (1978) Andesites of the Tongariro Volcanic Centre, North Island, New Zealand. J Volcanol Geotherm Res 3:121–153

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cole JW, Cashman KV, Rankin PC (1983) Rare-earth element geochemistry and the origin of andesites and basalts of the Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand. Chem Geol 38:255–274

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Conway CE, Townsend DB, Leonard GS, Wilson CJN, Calvert AT, Gamble JA (2015) Lava-ice interaction on a large composite volcano: a case study from Ruapehu, New Zealand. Bull Volcanol 77:1–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cronin SJ, Neall VE (1997) A late Quaternary stratigraphic framework for the northeastern Ruapehu and eastern Tongariro ring plains, New Zealand. N Z J Geol Geophys 40:185–197

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson J, Turner S, Handley H, Macpherson C, Dosseto A (2007) Amphibole “sponge” in arc crust? Geology 35:787–790

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Donoghue SL, Neall VE, Palmer AS (1995) Stratigraphy and chronology of late Quaternary andesitic tephra deposits, Tongariro Volcanic Centre, New Zealand. J R Soc N Z 25:115–206

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eggins SM, Rudnick RL, McDonough WF (1998) The composition of peridotites and their minerals: a laser-ablation ICP–MS study. Earth Planet Sci Lett 154:53–71

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ersoy Y, Helvaci C (2010) FC–AFC–FCA and mixing modeler: a Microsoft® Excel© spreadsheet program for modeling geochemical differentiation of magma by crystal fractionation, crustal assimilation and mixing. Comput Geosci 36:383–390

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Francis PW, Gardeweg M, Ramirez CF, Rothery DA (1985) Catastrophic debris avalanche deposit of Socompa volcano, northern Chile. Geology 13(9):600–603

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gamble JA, Wood CP, Price RC, Smith IEM, Stewart RB, Waight T (1999) A fifty year perspective of magmatic evolution on Ruapehu Volcano, New Zealand: verification of open system behaviour in an arc volcano. Earth Planet Sci Lett 170:301–314

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gamble JA, Price RC, Smith IEM, McIntosh WC, Dunbar NW (2003) 40Ar-39Ar geochronology of magmatic activity, magma flux and hazards at Ruapehu Volcano, Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand. J Volcanol Geotherm Res 120:271–287

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gerst A, Savage MK (2004) Seismic anisotropy beneath Ruapehu volcano: a possible eruption forecasting tool. Science 306:1543–1547

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graham IJ, Hackett WR (1987) Petrology of calc-alkaline lavas from Ruapehu Volcano and related vents, Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand. J Petrol 28:531–567

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graham IJ, Blattner P, McCulloch MT (1990) Meta-igneous granulite xenoliths from Mt. Ruapehu, New Zealand: fragments of altered oceanic crust? Contrib Mineral Petrol 105:650–661

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graham IJ, Cole JW, Briggs RM, Gamble JA, Smith IEM (1995) Petrology and petrogenesis of volcanic rocks from the Taupo Volcanic Zone: a review. J Volcanol Geotherm Res 68:59–87

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Green DH, Hibberson W (1969) Experimental duplication of conditions of precipitation of high pressure phenocrysts in basaltic magma. Phys Earth Planet Inter 3:247–254

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hackett WR, Houghton BF (1989) A facies model for a Quaternary andesitic composite volcano: Ruapehu, New Zealand. Bull Volcanol 51:51–68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hawkesworth CJ, Gallagher K, Hergt JM, McDermott F (1993) Mantle and slab contribution in arc magmas. Annu Rev Earth Planet Sci 21:175–204

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hobden BJ (1997). Modelling magmatic trends in time and space: eruptive and magmatic history of Tongariro volcanic complex. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Canterbury, New Zealand.

  • Hobden BJ, Houghton BF, Lanphere MA, Nairn IA (1996) Growth of the Tongariro volcanic complex: new evidence from K-Ar age determinations. N Z J Geol Geophys 39:151–154

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Houghton BF, Latter JH, Hackett WR (1987) Volcanic hazard assessment for Ruapehu composite volcano, Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand. Bull Volcanol 49:737–751

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Houghton BF, Wilson CJN, McWilliams MO, Lanphere MA, Weaver SD, Briggs RM, Pringle MS (1995) Chronology and dynamics of a large silicic magmatic system: central Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand. Geology 23:13–16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Janda RJ, Scott KM, Nolan KM, Martinson HA (1981) Lahar movement, effects, and deposits. US Geol Surv Prof Pap 1250:461–478

    Google Scholar 

  • Keigler R, Thouret JC, Hodgson KA, Neall VE, Lecointre JA, Procter JN, Cronin SJ (2011) The Whangaehu Formation: debris-avalanche and lahar deposits from ancestral Ruapehu volcano, New Zealand. Geomorphology 133:57–79

  • Keleman PB, Hanghoj K, Greene AR (2005) One view of the geochemistry of subduction-related magmatic arcs, with an emphasis on primitive andesite and lower crust. In: Rudnick RL (ed) The crust, vol 3, Treatise on Geochemistry. Elsevier Pergamon, Oxford, pp 593–659

    Google Scholar 

  • Koppers AA (2002) ArArCALC—software for 40Ar/39Ar age calculations. Comput Geosci 28:605–619

  • Leake BE, Woolley AR, Arps GES, Birch WD, Gilbert MG, Grice JD, Hawthorne FG, Kato A, Kisch HJ, Krivovichev VG, Linthout K, Laird J, Mandarino JA, Maresch WV, Nickel EH, Rock NMS, Schumacher JG, Smith DC, Stephenson NCN, Ungaretti L, Whittaker EJW, Guo YZ (1997) Nomenclature of amphiboles, report of the Subcommitee on amphiboles of the International Mineralogical Association Commission on new minerals and mineral names. Am Mineral 82:1019–1037

    Google Scholar 

  • LeBas MJ, Lemaitre RW, Streckeisen A, Zanettin B (1986) A chemical classification of volcanic rocks based on the total alkali-silica diagram. J Petrol 27:745–750

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lecointre J, Hodgson KA, Neall VE, Cronin SJ (2004) Lahar-triggering mechanisms and hazard at Ruapehu volcano, New Zealand. Nat Hazards 31:85–109

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • LeMaitre RW (1989) A classification of igneous rocks and glossary of terms. Blackwell, Oxford, 193 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindsley DH (1983) Pyroxene thermometry. Am Mineral 68:477–493

    Google Scholar 

  • Martin AP, Cooper AF, Price RC (2013) Petrogenesis of Cenozoic, alkalic volcanic lineages at Mount Morning, West Antarctica and their entrained lithospheric mantle xenoliths: lithospheric versus asthenospheric mantle sources. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 122:127–152

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCulloch MT, Gamble JA (1991) Geochemical and geodynamical constraints on subduction zone magmatism. Earth Planet Sci Lett 102:358–374

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller V, Savage M (2001) Changes in seismic anisotropy after volcanic eruptions: evidence from Mt. Ruapehu. Science 293:2231–2233

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moore G, Carmichael IS (1998) The hydrous phase equilibria (to 3 kbar) of an andesite and basaltic andesite from western Mexico: constraints on water content and conditions of phenocryst growth. Contrib Mineral Petrol 130:304–19

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mothes PA, Hall ML, Janda RJ (1998) The enormous Chillos Valley Lahar: an ash-flow-generated debris flow from Cotopaxi Volcano, Ecuador. Bull Volcanol 59:233–244

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nockolds SR, Allen R (1954) The geochemistry of some igneous rock series: Part II. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 5:245–285

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Norrish K, Hutton JT (1969) An accurate X-ray spectrographic method for the analysis of a wide range of geological samples. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 33:431–453

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palmer BA, Neall VE (1989) The Murimotu Formation—9500 year old deposits of a debris avalanche and associated lahars, Mt. Ruapehu, North Island, New Zealand. N Z J Geol Geophys 32:477–486

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Price RC, Waight TE, Chapman JR, Beyer EE, Smith IEM, Stewart RB (1997) The geochemical evolution of arc magmas in a continental setting: evidence from detailed chemo-stratigraphy at Ruapehu, New Zealand. State of the arc’97, Island arc magma genesis workshop, Adelaide, Australia, 1997. Abstr Geol Soc Aust 45:115–117

    Google Scholar 

  • Price RC, Stewart RB, Woodhead JD, Smith IEM (1999) Petrogenesis of high-K arc magmas: evidence from Egmont volcano, North Island, New Zealand. J Petrol 40:167–197

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Price RC, Gamble JA, Smith IEM, Stewart RB, Eggins S, Wright IC (2005) An integrated model for the temporal evolution of andesites and rhyolites and crustal development in New Zealand’s North Island. J Volcanol Geotherm Res 140:1–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Price RC, George R, Gamble JA, Turner S, Smith IEM, Cook C, Hobden B, Dosseto A (2007) U–Th–Ra fractionation during crustal-level andesite formation at Ruapehu volcano, New Zealand. Chem Geol 244:437–451

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Price RC, Gamble JA, Smith IEM, Maas R, Waight T, Stewart RB, Woodhead J (2012) The anatomy of an andesite volcano: a time–stratigraphic study of andesite petrogenesis and crustal evolution at Ruapehu Volcano, New Zealand. J Petrol 53:2139–2189

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Renne PR, Swisher CC, Deino AL, Karner DB, Owens TL, DePaolo DJ (1998) Intercalibration of standards, absolute ages and uncertainties in 40Ar/39Ar dating. Chem Geol 145:117–52

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roser B, Kimura J-I, Sifeta K (2003) Tantalum and niobium contamination from tungsten carbide ring mills: much ado about nothing. Geosci Rep Shimane Univ 22:107–110

    Google Scholar 

  • Rudnick RL, Gao S (2005) Composition of the continental crust. In: Rudnick RL (ed) The crust, vol 3, Treatise in Geochemistry. Elsevier-Pergamon, Oxford, pp 1–64

    Google Scholar 

  • Salmon ML, Stern TA, Savage MK (2011) A major step in the continental Moho and its geodynamic consequences: the Taranaki–Ruapehu line, New Zealand. Geophys J Int 186:32–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stern T, Stratford W, Seward A, Henderson M, Savage M, Smith E, Benson A, Greve S, Salmon M (2010) Crust–mantle structure of the central North Island, New Zealand, based on seismological observations. J Volcanol Geotherm Res 190:58–74

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stipp JJ (1968). The geochronology and petrogenesis of the Cenozoic volcanics of the North Island, New Zealand. Unpublished PhD thesis, Australian National University Canberra, ACT, Australia.

  • Stoopes GR, Sheridan MF (1992) Giant debris avalanches from the Colima Volcanic Complex, Mexico: implications for long-runout landslides (>100 km) and hazard assessment. Geology 20:299–302

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sun SS, McDonough W (1989) Chemical and isotopic systematics of oceanic basalts: implications for mantle composition and processes. Geol Soc Lond, Spec Publ 42:313–345

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tatsumi Y, Hamilton DL, Nesbitt RW (1986) Chemical characteristics of fluid phase released from a subducted lithosphere and origin of arc magmas: evidence from high-pressure experiments and natural rocks. J Volcanol Geotherm Res 29:293–309

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tost M, Cronin SJ (2015) Linking distal volcaniclastic sedimentation and stratigraphy with the development of Ruapehu volcano, New Zealand. Bull Volcanol 77:1–17

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tost M, Cronin SJ, Procter JN (2014) Transport and emplacement mechanisms of channelizing long-runout debris avalanches, Ruapehu volcano, New Zealand. Bull Volcanol 76:1–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tost M, Cronin SJ, Procter JN, Smith IEM, Neall VE, Price RC (2015) Impacts of catastrophic volcanic collapse on the erosion and morphology of a distal fluvial landscape: Hautapu River, Mt. Ruapehu, New Zealand. Geol Soc Am Bull 127(1-2):266–280

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner MB, Cronin SJ, Smith IEM, Stewart RB, Neall VE (2008) Eruption episodes and magma recharge events in andesitic systems: Mt Taranaki, New Zealand. J Volcanol Geotherm Res 177:1063–1076

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner MB, Cronin SJ, Bebbington MS, Smith IEM, Stewart RB (2011) Relating magma composition to eruption variability at andesitic volcanoes: a case study from Mount Taranaki, New Zealand. Geol Soc Am Bull 123:2005–2015

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vallance JW, Scott KM (1997) The Osceola Mudflow from Mount Rainier: sedimentology and hazard implications of a huge clay-rich debris flow. Geol Soc Am Bull 109:143–63

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Villamor P, Berryman KR (2006a) Late Quaternary geometry and kinematics of faults at the southern termination of the Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand. N Z J Geol Geophys 49:1–21

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Villamor P, Berryman KR (2006b) Evolution of the southern termination of the Taupo Rift, New Zealand. N Z J Geol Geophys 49:23–37

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wager LR, Mitchell RL (1951) The distribution of trace elements during strong fractionation of basic magma—a further study of the Skaergaard intrusion, East Greenland. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 1:129–208

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weaver BL, Tarney J (1984) Major and trace element composition of the continental lithosphere. Phys Chem Earth 15:39–68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zernack AV, Cronin SJ, Neall VE, Procter JN (2011) A medial to distal volcaniclastic record of an andesite stratovolcano: detailed stratigraphy of the ring-plain succession of south-west Taranaki, New Zealand. Int J Earth Sci 100:1937–1966

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Manuela Tost was supported by a Massey University Doctoral Scholarship and a University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship. This work is supported by the New Zealand Natural Hazards Research Platform contract “Living with Volcanic Risk” to PI Cronin. We thank Mr Jeff Williams and Mr Rex Martin, along with other farmers for access to their land. We further thank Mr Gordon Holm for the thin section preparation, Mr Jon Wilmshurst for XRF analyses, Dr Anja Moebis for assistance during sample preparation and Dr John Procter for assistance during field studies. We also appreciate useful discussions with Dr Robert Stewart and Dr Alan Palmer regarding the Turakina deposits, and very helpful comments from Dr Adam Martin on an earlier version of this manuscript. We are grateful for the thorough and constructive comments from Dr Steffen Kutterolf, Dr Vern Manville, Prof Vadim Kamenetsky and an anonymous reviewer.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Volcanic Risk Solutions, Massey University, Palmerston North, 4442, New Zealand

    M. Tost & S. J. Cronin

  2. School of Environment, University of Auckland, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand

    M. Tost, S. J. Cronin & I. E. M. Smith

  3. Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Waikato, 3105, Hamilton, New Zealand

    R. C. Price

Authors
  1. M. Tost
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. R. C. Price
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. S. J. Cronin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. I. E. M. Smith
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. Tost.

Additional information

Editorial responsibility: V.S. Kamenetsky

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

ESM 1

(XLSX 83 kb)

ESM 2

(XLSX 54 kb)

ESM 3

(XLSX 30 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Tost, M., Price, R.C., Cronin, S.J. et al. New insights into the evolution of the magmatic system of a composite andesite volcano revealed by clasts from distal mass-flow deposits: Ruapehu volcano, New Zealand. Bull Volcanol 78, 38 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-016-1030-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-016-1030-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation