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Submarine volcanoes and high-temperature hydrothermal venting on the Tonga arc, southwest Pacific

¹ Institute of Geosciences, University of Kiel, Olshausenstrasse 40, 24118 Kiel, Germany
² Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe, Stilleweg 2, 30655 Hannover, Germany
³ Department of Earth Sciences, University of Ottawa, 140 Louis Pasteur, Ottawa K1N 6N5, Canada
⁴ Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences, PO Box 31312, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
⁵ Keryunan, 29290 Saint Renan, France
⁶ Institute of Geosciences, University of Kiel, Olshausenstrasse 40, 24118 Kiel, Germany
⁷ Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, 7700 Sandholdt Road, Moss Landing, California 95039-9644, USA
⁸ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Hatfield Marine Center, 030 SE Marine Science Drive, Newport, Oregon 97365, USA
⁹ Ministry of Lands, Survey and Natural Resources, Nuku'alofa, Kingdom of Tonga
¹⁰ Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory, University of Hawaii, 1000 Pope Road, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, USA

Submarine hydrothermal vents and associated seafloor mineralization on the Tonga arc have been found for the first time, in the summit calderas of two shallow-water volcanoes, greatly extending the known areas and diversity of seafloor hydrothermal activity in the western Pacific region. The highest temperature vents (245–265 °C) occur at water depths of 385–540 m near the summit of one volcano at 24°S. The vents are spatially related to basaltic dike swarms exposed at a summit cone and in the caldera walls. Clusters of large (to 10 m high) barite, anhydrite, and sulfide chimneys on the summit cone are vigorously discharging clear hydrothermal fluids with temperatures on the seawater boiling curve. There is abundant evidence of phase separation, which can be seen as flame-like jets of steam (H₂O vapor) at the chimney orifices. Pyrite, marcasite, sphalerite, and chalcopyrite line the interiors of the highest temperature vents, similar to black smoker chimneys on the mid-ocean ridges.

Key Words: Tonga arc • submarine hydrothermal vents • boiling • sulfide-sulfate chimneys

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. T.S. Little, A. G. Magalashvili, and D. A. Banks Neotethyan Late Cretaceous volcanic arc hydrothermal vent fauna Geology, September 1, 2007; 35(9): 835 - 838. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. I. Foustoukos and W. E. Seyfried Jr. Fluid Phase Separation Processes in Submarine Hydrothermal Systems Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, July 1, 2007; 65(1): 213 - 239. [Full Text] [PDF]