The Auckland volcanic field, New Zealand: Geophysical evidence for structural and spatio-temporal relationships

Geophysical data from the monogenetic Auckland volcanic field reveal complex structural and spatio-temporal relationships at different scales. The volcanic field is coincident with regional magnetic and gravity anomalies that mark a major crustal suture and with a discontinuity marking a significant structural asperity. Here, the linear regional magnetic anomaly splays into a wide band of NNW-trending lineaments, arising from serpentinised shear zones in the upper crust, that matches the extent of the volcanic field and that may reflect a region of crustal weakness creating preferential permeability. However, there appears to be no simple correlation between the locations of individual vents and these lineaments that might delineate more shallow structural controls with this orientation, probably as a consequence of other structural influences. High-resolution aeromagnetic data over the volcanic field show that the volcanoes have a wide range of magnetic signatures indicating a variability of subsurface structure. Scoria cone volcanoes typically have strong anomalies (up to several 100 nT) whilst tuff-ring volcanoes typically have weak anomalies (less than 50 nT), though the surface geology is not always an indicator of the nature and extent of the subsurface deposits. Both cone and tuff-ring volcanoes in the Auckland field appear to be underlain by subsurface bowl-shaped bodies of basalt, implying that their eruption histories commonly involve lava ponding into early excavated craters. The present geophysical data give no evidence for subsurface dyke-like structures or for substantial near-surface volumes of basaltic rocks where there are no known eruption centres or buried flows. Aeromagnetic and palaeomagnetic data suggest that a number of adjacent vents with an implied structural linkage may be contemporaneous, though other examples occur where vents of clearly different ages exploit the same apparent structure. A unique feature of the Auckland field is that at least 5 widely separated and structurally unrelated volcanoes are contemporaneous. These observations highlight the spatial and temporal heterogeneities that can occur in monogenetic fields and have an important bearing on recurrence rates and temporally linked eruptions, which are probably more common than is generally supposed, and are key factors in statistically based hazard assessments. (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.