Postcaldera volcanism and hydrothermal activity revealed by autonomous underwater vehicle surveys in Myojin Knoll caldera, Izu-Ogasawara arc

Myojin Knoll caldera, one of the submarine silicic calderas lying on the volcanic front of the northern Izu-Ogasawara arc, has attracted increasing attention since the discovery of a large hydrothermal field called the Sunrise deposit. Although numerous submersible surveys have been conducted in Myojin Knoll caldera, they have not sufficiently explored areas to produce a complete picture of the caldera and understand the origin of the Sunrise deposit. We conducted comprehensive deep-sea surveys using an autonomous underwater vehicle and obtained high-resolution bathymetric and magnetic data and sonar images from ~70% of the caldera. The detailed bathymetric map revealed that faulting and magma eruptions, possibly associated with an inflation-deflation cycle of the magma reservoir during postcaldera volcanism, had generally occurred in the caldera wall. The main dome of the central cone was covered with lava flows and exhibits exogenous growth, which is unusual for rhyolitic domes. The magnetization distribution in the central cone indicates preferential magma intrusion along a NW-SE direction. It is presumed that magma migrated along this direction and formed a rhyolite dome at the foot of the southeastern caldera wall, where the Sunrise deposit occurs. The Sunrise deposit is composed mainly of three ridges extending in slope directions and covers ~400 × ~400 m. Magnetization reduction in the deposit area is small, indicating that the alteration zone beneath the Sunrise deposit is slanting rather than vertical. It is presumed that several slanting and near-vertical volcanic vents serve as pathways of hydrothermal fluid in Myojin Knoll caldera.