Monogenetic Basaltic Volcanoes: Genetic Classification, Growth, Geomorphology and Degradation. In: Nemeth K, editor. Updates in Volcanology - New Advances in Understanding Volcanic Systems

Abstract

Plate motion and associated tectonics explain the location of magmatic systems along plate boundaries [1], however, they cannot give satisfactory explanations of the origin of intra- plate volcanism. Intraplate magmatism such as that which created the Hawaiian Islands (Figure 1, hereafter for the location of geographical places the reader is referred to Figure 1) far from plate boundaries is conventionally explained as a result of a large, deep-sourced, mantle-plume [2-4]. Less volumetric magmatic-systems also occur far from plate margins in typical intraplate settings with no evidence of a mantle-plume [5-7]. Intraplate volcanic sys- tems are characterized by small-volume volcanoes with dispersed magmatic plumbing sys- tems that erupt predominantly basaltic magmas [8-10] derived usually from the mantle with just sufficient residence time in the crust to allow minor fractional crystallization or wallrock assimilation to occur [e.g. 11]. However, there are some examples for monogenetic eruptions that have been fed by crustal contaminated or stalled magma from possible shallower depths [12-19]. The volumetric dimensions of such magmatic systems are often comparable with other, potentially smaller, focused magmatic systems feeding polygenetic volcanoes [20-21]. These volcanic fields occur in every known tectonic setting [1, 10, 22-28] and also on other planetary bodies such as Mars [29-33]. Due to the abundance of monogenetic volcanic fields in every tectonic environment, this form of volcanism represents a localized, unpredictable volcanic hazard to the increasing human populations of cities located close to these volcanic fields such as Auckland in New Zealand [34-35] or Mexico City in Mexico [36-37].