Three-dimensional resistivity structure in Toya caldera region, Southwest Hokkaido, Japan — Constraints on magmatic and geothermal activities

Abstract

Southwestern Hokkaido, Japan, is characterized by numerous Quaternary volcanoes and geothermal areas. At the same time, the region hosts various critical infrastructures, and there is a need to assess the impact of volcanic hazards on them. Geophysics could provide scientific clues for the hazard assessment by elucidating the abundance of subsurface magma. To clarify the resistivity structure from the crust to uppermost mantle of the Toya caldera, a representative Quaternary volcanic area, a wideband magnetotellurics survey of 117 points over land, sea, and lake areas, as well as 3D inversion, has been conducted. In combination with petrological and seismological findings, quantitative interpretation of the inverted model has found that conductive bodies in the uppermost mantle (14–68 [Formula: see text]) suggest the presence of melts (0.25 vol%–3.4 vol%) or fluids (0.068 vol%–0.45 vol%). An extremely conductive body (<10 [Formula: see text]) at a depth of approximately 3–14 km in the eastern geothermal area could be interpreted as a hydrothermal reservoir; below this body, the conductive column (1.8–15 [Formula: see text]), rising from the uppermost mantle, suggests fluid upwelling. In contrast, high resistivity (>100 [Formula: see text]) beneath Usu Volcano, the center of active volcanism, suggests that no mobile magma was present. A columnar-shaped region of slightly low resistivity (44 [Formula: see text] at minimum) is observed below the Toya caldera, which was inferred as cooling magma or an altered or heated upper crust attributed to past magma intrusion. A resistivity structure observed below the volcanic edifice is considered to reflect the steady state of the dormant volcanic system in this area, and there is likely no large amount of melt that would be deemed imminent for a caldera-forming eruption. This information could be a valuable scientific contribution to the volcanic hazard risk assessments currently being conducted in Japan.