Whakaari/White Island: a review of New Zealand’s most active volcano

• Published in: New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics
• Main Authors: Kilgour, Geoff, Kennedy, Ben, Scott, Bradley, Christenson, Bruce, Jolly, Arthur, Asher, Cameron, Rosenberg, Michael, Saunders, Kate
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis 2021
• Subjects: Crater Lake; Main Crater; White Island
• Online Access: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/52639/; https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/52639/1/Kilgour%20et%20al.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1080/00288306.2021.1918186

Whakaari/White Island is a partially submerged, offshore andesite island volcano, located at the northern end of the Taupō Volcanic Zone. Since the late 1960s, volcanic activity has alternated between quiescence, unrest, and eruption on short timescales. For this review we compiled extensive observational records, examined the rich scientific literature, and use newly acquired data, to understand the broad volcanic history and system dynamics. Based on recent bathymetry data, we propose a distinction exists between the Whakaari edifice and Te Paepae o Aotea/Volkner Rocks, which were previously considered to be part of the same edifice. Geochemical analyses of scoria samples from the island have been used to build a magma system model where dominantly andesitic-dacitic magma is periodically intruded by basalt. More dynamic processes are recorded in the hydrothermal system, where the location and activity of fumarolic features have been ephemeral and the crater lake has varied in scale over short time intervals. Eruptions of the dominantly andesitic magma have historically been small and range from phreatomagmatic through to magmatic, largely depositing ash and scoria to a restricted distance that is confined to the main crater floor. Phreatic eruptions are the most common eruption style, based on recently observed and monitored activity.