Transport and deposition processes of the hydrothermal blast of the 6 August 2012 Te Maari eruption, Mt. Tongariro

Abstract

The 2012 eruption of Tongariro volcano (New Zealand) produced highly mobile, low-temperature, blast-derived pyroclastic density currents after partial collapse of the western flank of the Upper Te Maari crater. Despite a low volume (340,000 m3), the flows traveled up to 2.5 km from source, covering a total area of 6.1 km2. Along one of the blast axes, freshly exposed, proximal-to-distal sedimentary structures and grain-size data suggest emplacement of the fining upward tripartite depositional sequence (massive, stratified, and laminated) under a dilute and strongly longitudinally zoned turbulent density current. While the zoning formed in the deposit in the first 1500 m of runout, the current progressively waned to the extent where it transported a nearly homogenous grain-size mixture at the liftoff position. Our data indicate that after the passage of an erosive flow front, massive unit A was deposited under a rapid-suspension sedimentation regime. Unit B was deposited under a traction-dominated regime generated by a subsequent portion of the flow moving at lower velocities and with lower sediment transport capacity than the portion depositing unit A. The final and slowest flow zone deposited the finest particles under weakly tractive conditions. Transport and emplacement dynamics inferred in this study show strong similarities between hydrothermal explosions, magmatic blasts, and high-energy dilute PDCs. The common occurrence of hydrothermal fields on volcanic flanks points to this hazard being an under-appreciated one at stratovolcanoes worldwide.