The feeder system of the Toba supervolcano from the slab to the shallow reservoir

Ivan Koulakov (), Ekaterina Kasatkina, Nikolai M. Shapiro, Claude Jaupart, Alexander Vasilevsky, Sami El Khrepy, Nassir Al-Arifi and Sergey Smirnov
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Ivan Koulakov: Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics, SB RAS
Ekaterina Kasatkina: Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics, SB RAS
Nikolai M. Shapiro: Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Sorbonne Paris Cité, CNRS (UMR 7154)
Claude Jaupart: Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Sorbonne Paris Cité, CNRS (UMR 7154)
Alexander Vasilevsky: Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics, SB RAS
Sami El Khrepy: King Saud University
Nassir Al-Arifi: King Saud University
Sergey Smirnov: Sobolev Institute of Geology and Mineralogy SB RAS

Nature Communications, 2016, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract The Toba Caldera has been the site of several large explosive eruptions in the recent geological past, including the world’s largest Pleistocene eruption 74,000 years ago. The major cause of this particular behaviour may be the subduction of the fluid-rich Investigator Fracture Zone directly beneath the continental crust of Sumatra and possible tear of the slab. Here we show a new seismic tomography model, which clearly reveals a complex multilevel plumbing system beneath Toba. Large amounts of volatiles originate in the subducting slab at a depth of ∼150 km, migrate upward and cause active melting in the mantle wedge. The volatile-rich basic magmas accumulate at the base of the crust in a ∼50,000 km3 reservoir. The overheated volatiles continue ascending through the crust and cause melting of the upper crust rocks. This leads to the formation of a shallow crustal reservoir that is directly responsible for the supereruptions.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12228

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