2018 was a highly successful year for the volcanology team. Together we published 14 journal articles, including two articles by PhD students Fumi Ikegami and Sam Holt. Other highlights included developing new collaborations during an International Ocean Discovery Program workshop that Martin Jutzeler held in Washington DC, and the 2018 voyage to the Tasman Sea that was highly successful and will lead to an exciting decade of future research.

Our PhD and Honours students have been outstandingly productive. Sam Holt and Daniele Vergani have submitted their theses for assessment, and Jodi Fox will submit in January 2019. Jodi hosted a field workshop at Cape Grim associated with the Australian Institute of Geophysicists as a part of the Tasmanian Geoscience Forum in Stanley. Naomi Potter submitted her paper on the February 2013 eruption of Etna volcano, Italy, to the Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research in late 2018.

The sub-projects within ‘Subaerial and submarine volcanology and natural hazards’ also achieved excellent progress:

SUBMARINE SILICIC VOLCANISM: HAVRE 2012 ERUPTION, KERMADEC ARC, NEW ZEALAND

In addition to the publication in Science Advances, this project has produced a further four publications in prestigious geological journals including Geology. Rebecca Carey and Martin Jutzeler have submitted proposals for two ship-time voyages to go back to Havre to understand the volcanic architecture of the volcano and also assess the disturbance and recovery of the hydrothermal systems and the biological communities.

LARGE IGNEOUS PROVINCE VOLCANISM: KERGUELEN PLATEAU

Big Ben volcano on Heard Island is one of three hotspot volcanoes globally. Rebecca Carey is the geoscience lead for a multidisciplinary research project designed to understand the volcanism of the Kerguelen Plateau.

PhD student Jodi Fox is leading the study of the geological history of Heard and McDonald Islands on the Kerguelen Plateau together with Jocelyn McPhie, Trevor Falloon and IMAS collaborators. Together with tsunami modellers at New Zealand’s National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research, we are using the sector collapse scar and deposit of Big Ben to determine tsunami dynamics in the Indian Ocean and potential impacts.

HOTSPOT VOLCANISM: 1983–1986 AND THE 2018 ERUPTION OF KILAUEA VOLCANO

Sam Holt’s PhD research on pyroclasts from explosive fountaining eruptions has determined a new parameter of vesicularity as a proxy for the amount of time that the pyroclast was in the fountain. This research was published in the Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research in 2018. We are collaborating with researchers at the University of Oregon to understand the development of the insulating crust on lava lakes, and how the lid modulates the surface manifestation of bubbling on the lava lake surface.

This year Kilauea volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii had its biggest eruption on the East Rift Zone ever recorded. This event began on 3 May, and continued through to August. It was a complex event with eruptive vents along 17 fissures, some of which were erupting magma at >100m³s^-1. Rebecca Carey was invited to go with the team from current affairs TV program 60 Minutes to Hawaii to provide the geological background and volcanology expertise for a feature about the eruption. Rebecca was able to see first-hand the impacts of the event on surrounding communities and the >2500 destroyed homes.

Adjunct researcher Gerrit Olivier and Rebecca Carey are working together on understanding the onset of the 2018 eruption of Kilauea volcano using seismic velocity data. Current research suggests that the eruption was preceded by significant damage of the magma plumbing system that potentially drove greater permeability of the system moving magma from the summit to the East Rift Zone.

HOTSPOT VOLCANISM: 2007 ERUPTION OF PITON DE LA FOURNAISE VOLCANO, REUNION ISLAND

Piton de la Fournaise volcano on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean is a hotspot volcano, with magma fed from a mantle plume and erupting at the surface. The 2007 eruption of Piton de la Fournaise is one of the larger eruptions of this volcano in human history. Daniele Vergani has submitted his PhD for assessment, which includes studies of lava–water interaction explosions, lava fountaining and the eruption and collapse of the summit caldera.

KUTCHARO CALDERA, HOKKAIDO, JAPAN

Jocelyn McPhie and long-term CODES collaborator Dr Yoshi Goto have produced a new map and interpretation of Kutcharo caldera, Hokkaido, Japan. Kutcharo is the largest Quaternary silicic caldera in Japan, and formed in response to nine large-volume explosive eruptions, the most recent of which was at ~34 ka. Of major importance in this research is the recognition that Kutcharo has a resurgent dome and that the caldera structure is coupled with regional faults related to the wider convergent margin setting. The results were published this year in the Geological Society of America Bulletin.

SURTSEY INTERNATIONAL CONTINENTAL SCIENTIFIC DRILLING PROGRAM

Surtsey is a small volcanic island formed by eruptions over a four-year period beginning in 1963. The volcano was drilled in 1979 and again in 2017. Logs of the 2017 drill core show that ‘dry’ explosions operated alongside ‘wet’ explosions driven by interaction with seawater. Co-existence of these two eruption scenarios was not evident in the historical records of the activity. Comparison of the 1979 and 2017 drill cores has revealed the rapid rate of diagenetic and hydrothermal alteration; the initially loose pyroclastic deposits were partly lithified in 1979 but now are almost entirely lithified and much of the glass has devitrified. An abstract summarising results of volcanological analysis of the Surtsey 2017 drill core has been accepted for presentation at the European Geophysical Union General Assembly (Vienna, 2019) and a manuscript giving a comprehensive account of the drilling operation and scientific themes has been submitted to Scientific Drilling.

CASCADE SEAMOUNT AND THE BALLENY MANTLE PLUME

Honours student Rhiannan Mundana, together with Associate Professor Joanne Whittaker and Rebecca Carey, are using RV Investigator data to understand the geological history of the Cascade Seamount on the East Tasman Plateau. Rhiannan’s research has demonstrated that the Cascade Seamount was at, or very close to, sea level at ~35 Ma, before subsiding to its current depth of 650 mbsl as the Balleny Mantle Plume moved southwards with time. The subsidence rate is important – as subsidence was essential to the opening of the Tasman Gateway between Tasmania and Antarctica and the initiation of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Rhiannan, Joanne and Rebecca are currently writing up this research for publication.

Joanne Whittaker (IMAS) and Rebecca Carey led a ship voyage to the Tasman Sea and Southern Ocean in 2018/2019 to dredge a hypothesised age progressive chain of large 15x30 km seamounts that extend from the Lord Howe Rise to the south of Tasmania. Karin Orth, Martin Jutzeler and four Earth Sciences students participated in the two-week voyage. The voyage was highly successful, with 16 dredges of 13 seamounts and around 30 seamounts mapped in this region. An ageprogressive chain would be convincing evidence of the Balleny Mantle Plume, and the exact timing of volcanism would place constraints on the role of the plume on the separation of Tasmania and Cape Adare, Antarctica.

NATURAL HAZARDS

In August 2018, Rebecca Carey and colleagues from the Centre for Rural Health and IMAS hosted a workshop titled: ‘Partnering with interdisciplinary experts on disaster preparedness and management to develop a collaborative research agenda to minimise risk and improve the future resilience of Tasmanian communities’. Researchers from across the University and the Tasmanian Community of Practice in disaster resilience, response and management attended. The goals of the workshop were to define a Tasmanian-centred research agenda for the University of Tasmania in natural hazards and disasters, identify vehicles for funding this research across government and industry on short and long timescales, and identify teaching and training needs in this field across the state. This workshop was highly successful with 34 identified topical research projects, 34 funding bodies identified for disaster research and 26 teaching and training needs identified at all levels across the state. Four interdisciplinary research projects (up to $1 million each) with external stakeholders are already under discussion as a result of this workshop. Rebecca and colleagues were also awarded a $5,000 grant from the Environment, Resources and Sustainability Research Theme to continue to develop the outcomes of this workshop with the Community of Practice.

The submarine volcanology research theme is focused on developing an understanding of volcanic eruption and transport processes, volcanic architectures and hydrothermal systems in modern and ancient environments. Research in subaerial volcanology covers a wide range of topics. Current research includes projects in various global locations where active hotspot volcanism is taking place: Hawaii, Reunion Island, Kerguelen Plateau and the Etna and Stromboli volcanoes in Italy.

There were many highlights to report in 2017 on this project, including the hosting of a Chapman Conference on submarine volcanism in Hobart and the team’s success in obtaining funding to foster collaboration in submarine volcanism with other globally recognised oceanographic institutes. We are on track to deliver at least 10 publications, most led by PhD students.

In August 2017, Rebecca Carey, Martin Jutzeler, Karin Orth, Jodi Fox and Fumi Ikegami went to the IAVCEI conference in Portland, USA. Rebecca was invited to give a presentation of research at CODES/Earth Sciences on submarine volcanology. UTAS staff and students participated in pre- and post-workshop field trips in Oregon, Northern California and Washington.

PhD and Honours students have been outstandingly productive. Jodi Fox has completed research on the volcanic architecture and setting of Cenozoic volcanism in northwest Tasmania. Jodi hosted a workshop at Cape Grim associated with the AGU Chapman Conference on Submarine Volcanism, which included past Alumni Kate Bull and other high-profile academics from Japan, Australia and the USA. Naomi Potter has been working with Rebecca Carey to prepare and translate her Honours research into a manuscript for an international peer-reviewed journal. She is making excellent progress.

The sub-projects within ‘Subaerial and submarine volcanology’ also achieved excellent progress:

SUBMARINE SILICIC VOLCANISM: HAVRE 2012 ERUPTION, KERMADEC ARC, NEW ZEALAND

This year the volcanology group have had an article accepted in the highly prestigious journal Science Advances (to be published in January 2018) providing the first quantitative eruption data for a large-scale silicic submarine eruption. Rebecca Carey is the lead scientist for this project which is currently composed of 27 UTAS and international participants, including nine PhD, Honours and undergraduate students. PhD student Fumihiko Ikegami has used a high-resolution 1 m-scale seafloor topographic map of the volcano summit to identify 15 individual domes and lavas that erupted in 2012 on faults. Together these two studies provide a stratigraphic framework and quantitative constraints on eruption dynamics critical to understanding the role of the ocean in modulating submarine seafloor eruptions.

LARGE IGNEOUS PROVINCE VOLCANISM: KERGUELEN PLATEAU

Big Ben volcano on Heard Island is one of three hotspot volcanoes globally. Rebecca Carey is the geoscience lead for a multidisciplinary research project designed to understand volcanism of the Kerguelen Plateau and its role in physical and chemical oceanography in this region. PhD student Jodi Fox is leading the study of the geological history of Heard and McDonald Islands on the Kerguelen Plateau, and relating this to submarine volcanos on the wider plateau together with Professor Jocelyn McPhie, Dr Trevor Falloon and IMAS collaborators. Jodi is due to finish her PhD in mid-2018.

HOTSPOT VOLCANISM: 1983–1986 ERUPTION OF KILAUEA VOLCANO

Lava lakes are mesmerising, and a fascination for volcanologists and the public alike. It is rare to have the opportunity to study these lakes in combination with high-frequency multidisciplinary monitoring data in order to understand mass and heat transfer from the deep Earth to the atmosphere. PhD student Sam Holt, Rebecca Carey and Jocelyn McPhie are collaborating with staff from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and University of Oregon, using high-speed camera footage of the summit lava lake on Kilauea volcano to understand shallow conduit and lake convection dynamics. Video observations of the lake surface reveal a consistent bubble rise pattern that is hypothesised to be related to the deep conduit geometry. Work is still in progress, but initial data is exciting and Sam will be writing up this research as his final PhD project component. He is on track for submission in mid-2018.

HOTSPOT VOLCANISM: 2007 ERUPTION OF PITON DE LA FOURNAISE VOLCANO, REUNION ISLAND

Piton de la Fournaise volcano on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean is a hotspot volcano, with magma fed from a mantle plume and erupting at the surface. The 2007 eruption of Piton de la Fournaise is one of the larger eruptions of this volcano in human history. Daniele Vergani’s PhD thesis is focussed on understanding the dynamics of eruptions during this phase. The eruptions were diverse, encompassing lava–water interaction explosions, lava fountaining and the eruption and collapse of the summit caldera. Daniele has pieced together all of the observation data to aid in the understanding of this eruption, and how the magma plumbing system is connected at depth. His PhD study will conclude in mid-2018.

KUTCHARO CALDERA, HOKKAIDO, JAPAN

Jocelyn McPhie and long-term CODES collaborator Dr Yoshi Goto have produced a new map and interpretation of Kutcharo caldera, Hokkaido, Japan. Kutcharo is the largest Quaternary silicic caldera in Japan, and formed in response to nine large-volume explosive eruptions, the most recent of which was at ~34 ka. Of major importance in this research is the recognition that Kutcharo has a resurgent dome and that the caldera structure is coupled with regional faults related to the wider convergent margin setting. This setting and signs of unrest (fumarolic activity and hot springs, a series of large earthquakes, ground deformation) indicate that Kutcharo must be considered active and highly hazardous. The results have been accepted for publication in the Geological Society of America Bulletin.

SURTSEY INTERNATIONAL CONTINENTAL SCIENTIFIC DRILLING PROGRAM

In September 2017, Jocelyn McPhie and collaborator James White logged drill core from Surtsey, Iceland, as part of an International Continental Scientific Drilling Program project. Surtsey was formed by submarine and later subaerial eruptions over a four-year period beginning in 1963. Much of the activity was explosive, involving interaction between basalt and seawater, and this style of explosive eruption is now known as ‘Surtseyan’. The drill core will provide data on the character of the products of the explosive eruptions, and also on the mineralogical and textural changes accompanying hydrothermal, diagenetic and microbial alteration.

CASCADE SEAMOUNT AND THE BALLENY MANTLE PLUME

Honours student Rhiannan Mundana, together with Jo Whittaker and Rebecca Carey, are using R/V Investigator data to understand the geological history of the Cascade Seamount on the East Tasman Plateau. Rhiannan’s research has demonstrated that the Cascade Seamount was at, or very close to, sea level at ~35 Ma, before subsiding to its current depth of 1,400 mbsl as the Balleny plume moved southwards with time. The subsidence rate is important – as subsidence was essential to the opening of the Tasman Gateway between Tasmania and Antarctica and the initiation of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.