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Lava-ice interaction on a large composite volcano: a case study from Ruapehu, New Zealand

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Abstract

Ice exerts a first-order control over the distribution and preservation of eruptive products on glaciated volcanoes. Defining the temporal and spatial distributions of ice-marginal lava flows provides valuable constraints on past glacial extents and is crucial for understanding the eruptive histories of such settings. Ice-marginal lava flows are well displayed on Ruapehu, a glaciated andesite-dacite composite cone in the southern Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand. Flow morphology, fracture characteristics and 40Ar/39Ar geochronological data indicate that lavas erupted between ~51 and 15 ka interacted with large valley glaciers on Ruapehu. Ice-marginal lava flows exhibit grossly overthickened margins adjacent to glaciated valleys, are intercalated with glacial deposits, display fine-scale fracture networks indicative of chilling against ice, and are commonly ridge-capping due to their exclusion from valleys by glaciers. New and existing 40Ar/39Ar eruption ages for ice-marginal lava flows indicate that glaciers descending to 1300 m above sea level were present on Ruapehu between ~51–41 and ~27–15 ka. Younger lava flows located within valleys are characterised by blocky flow morphologies and fracture networks indicative of only localised and minor interaction with ice and/or snow, mainly in their upper reaches at elevations of ~2600–2400 m. An 40Ar/39Ar eruption age of 9 ± 3 ka (2σ error) determined for a valley-filling flow on the northern flank of Ruapehu indicates that glaciers had retreated to near-historical extents by the time of emplacement for this lava flow. The applicability of 40Ar/39Ar dating to ice-marginal flows on glaciated andesite-dacite composite volcanoes makes this technique an additional proxy for paleoclimate reconstructions.

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Acknowledgments

This work was part funded by Department of Conservation contract DOCDM-593774. We are also grateful to DoC for preparing sample permits and arranging accommodation for fieldwork. C.E.C. was supported by Victoria University of Wellington DVC Research Grant 103311. We are very grateful to John Watson of the Open University, UK, for carrying out XRF analyses and to James Brigham-Watson and Jason Marshall for assistance with fieldwork and sample preparation. D.B.T. and G.S.L. gratefully acknowledge Tom Sisson and Jim Vallance for helpful discussions during fieldwork at the beginning of this study. C.E.C. and G.S.L. thank Lucy Porritt and Dan Woodell for organising comparative fieldwork in British Columbia, which was funded by a Victoria University Science Faculty Strategic Research Grant and a Tongariro Natural History Memorial Award (C.E.C). We gratefully acknowledge insightful reviews from Tom Sisson, Dave McGarvie and Pierre-Simon Ross.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington, 6140, New Zealand

    C. E. Conway, C. J. N. Wilson & J. A. Gamble

  2. GNS Science, 1 Fairway Drive, Avalon, PO Box 30-368, Lower Hutt, 6315, New Zealand

    D. B. Townsend & G. S. Leonard

  3. US Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, MS-937, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, USA

    A. T. Calvert

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  1. C. E. Conway
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  2. D. B. Townsend
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  3. G. S. Leonard
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  4. C. J. N. Wilson
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  5. A. T. Calvert
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  6. J. A. Gamble
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Correspondence to C. E. Conway.

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Editorial responsibility: P-S Ross

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Conway, C.E., Townsend, D.B., Leonard, G.S. et al. Lava-ice interaction on a large composite volcano: a case study from Ruapehu, New Zealand. Bull Volcanol 77, 21 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-015-0906-2

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