Caldera Chronicles: Brother of Yellowstone in the Southern Hemisphere: Taupo, New Zealand | wild montana

An aerial view of Lake Taupo, New Zealand, looking southwest. This lake fills the caldera of the volcano that continues to alter the surrounding seismic and subterranean landscape. Ruapeho and Tongariro volcanoes can be seen in the background.

Dougal Townsend, GNS Science

Yellowstone Caldera Chronicles is a weekly column written by scientists and collaborators at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. This week’s contribution is from Michael Poland, a USGS geophysicist and scientist in charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.

Although Yellowstone is distinct in many ways—for example, it has the largest concentration of geysers in the world—it is not entirely unique. There are other large caldera systems all over the planet, many of which are “restless” and recent geological eruptions have occurred. The Taupō in New Zealand is one such system and is a good counterpart to Yellowstone in many ways.

Located in the center of the North Island of New Zealand, Taupō is an abbreviation of “Taupō-nui-a – Tia”, which means “Tia’s Wonderful Cloak”. In Maori tradition, the early explorer and Chief Tia noticed some cliffs along the shores of Lake Taupo that resembled his coat, giving rise to the name of the area.

Like Yellowstone, Taup has experienced frequent large eruptions punctuated by smaller eruptions of ash and lava. At Yellowstone, volcanic activity is driven by a hotspot – a melting region within the Earth that is constant relative to the tectonic plates that make up the crust. In contrast, Taupō’s volcanic activity is fueled by the subduction of one plate under another, generating melt. Both volcanic systems are surrounded by a large basaltic magma system that warms the upper crust and maintains a shallow rhyolite magma chamber, which is responsible for large explosive eruptions and lava flows. In both Taupō and Yellowstone, the reservoir of rhyolite magma is mostly solid, based on seismic imaging, although the melting rate at Taupō (20-30%) is higher than that of Yellowstone (5-15%).

Eruptions first began from the Taup system about 300,000 years ago, and culminated with the Oruanui eruption 25,500 years ago. This volcanic eruption, which caused surface collapse and created a caldera now largely filled with Lake Taupo, was larger than the eruption that formed the Yellowstone Caldera 631,000 years ago! After the Oruanui eruption, there were an additional 28 but smaller eruptions of ash and lava, 25 of which have occurred in the past 12,000 years. The most recent eruption occurred 1,800 years ago (before humans reached New Zealand), and was huge in itself, comparable in size to the eruption of Tambora in Indonesia in 1815. The eruption was followed by a lava eruption under the lake. During this period of extraordinary activity at Taupō, Yellowstone took a nap – the most recent volcanic eruption was 70,000 years ago.

In addition to violent histories, Taup and Yellowstone share powerful hydrothermal systems that have resulted in geysers, hot springs, and even small steam explosions. Both volcanic regions also experience disturbances in the form of earthquakes and land deformation. In Yellowstone, there are typically 1,500-2,500 earthquakes per year, and the ground rises and falls at rates of about 2-3 cm (1 inch) per year. Much of the disturbance is attributable to groundwater accumulation and migration below the surface and interaction with crustal faults. In Taupo, earthquake swarms are also common, and as in Yellowstone, they are often caused by the movement of water in the Earth’s interior near faults in the crust. Land deformation at Taupō can be more severe than in Yellowstone, at rates of more than 10 cm (4 in) per year. While in Yellowstone it is difficult to associate any disturbances with magma, some episodes of disturbances in Taupo may have been driven by molten activity.

The turmoil of 2019 in Taupo is a good example. During that year, New Zealand volcanologists were able to identify more than 7,000 small earthquakes that occurred as parts of seven separate swarms. Although the first two swarms have properties associated with tectonic seismicity – movement along existing faults – and groundwater migration, the subsequent five swarms appear to have been related to the movement of magma. Of particular note is the M5.3 earthquake that occurred in September 2019 and was followed by more than 1,100 earthquakes in the following 72 hours. While most earthquakes are caused by sliding of rocks along the fracture, these unusual earthquakes have the character of suggesting that the fractures were opening up by injecting magma deep into the volcano. Throughout the year, a small amount – about 1 cm (less than 1 inch) – of volcanic enlargement is also observed.

A MODIS satellite image of New Zealand’s North Island was acquired on October 23, 2002 (https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/3101/new-zealand). Lake Taupō is located in the center of the North Island.

photo courtesy

These findings underscore the importance of monitoring caldera systems such as the Taupō and Yellowstone, to distinguish magma-driven activity from activity resulting from tectonic rifting and groundwater migration. At Yellowstone, monitoring consists of dozens of seismic and deformation stations, along with satellite and ground-based surveys of thermal and gaseous emissions. Observing at Taupō is more difficult, because most of the caldera is filled with a lake – in fact, Lake Taupō is twice the size of Lake Yellowstone. But the lessons learned at each volcano can be applied to the other – what we learn from Taup can teach us more about how Yellowstone works, and vice versa. In some ways, Taupō can be considered a much younger brother in Yellowstone. While Yellowstone has been around for a while and is a mature and laid-back discipline, Taup is still an energetic teenager.

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