Investigation of the Mid-Age (65–34 ka) Period of Taranaki Volcano, New Zealand: Indications for the Effect of Volcano Growth

Abstract

Many stratovolcanoes are characterised by cycles of edifice growth, interrupted by collapse events. The long-term record of the evolution of such magmatic systems is mainly preserved in the deposits of the volcanic apron surrounding the active cone. Taranaki Volcano in New Zealand provides an unusually detailed example of these processes due to excellent coastal ring-plain and young cone exposures. In this study, we investigate the magmatic system of this volcano through three consecutive growth phases by sampling a detailed, stratigraphically controlled selection of volcanic clasts from volcaniclastic mass-flow deposits in the medial ring-plain.