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Seismic constraints on the magmatic system beneath Changbaishan intraplate volcano, China/North Korea

Qi-Fu Chen1,2, Xingli Fan3,1, Yuanxin Hao1,2, Xin Wang1,2

  • Affiliations:  1Key Laboratory of Earth and Planetary Physics, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; 2College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; 3 Key Laboratory of Earth Exploration and Information Techniques of the China Ministry of Education, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, China

  • Presentation type: Talk

  • Presentation time: Friday 14:45 - 15:00, Room R280

  • Programme No: 1.5.3

  • Theme 1 > Session 5

Abstract

Changbaishan volcanic field is located on the border between China and North Korea, consisting of three polygenic volcanoes (i.e., Tianchi, Wangtian'e and Namphothe) and over 200 monogenic volcanoes. Changbaishan volcano field is one of the most intriguing and hazardous volcanoes on Earth owing to its voluminous Holocene activities and unusual magma composition within a continental intraplate setting. There is a growing concern about the potential eruption of the Tianchi volcano in recent years, but the magmatic system beneath Changbaishan volcano field remains hotly debated. In this study, we present a high-resolution 3-D crust and upper mantle S-wave velocity model beneath Changbaishan volcano field based on unprecedented regional dense seismic arrays. The S-wave velocity structure revealed two prominent low-velocity anomalies in the crust and upper mantle beneath Changbaishan volcanic filed. The low-velocity body beneath the Tianchi volcano extends from the surface to the lower crust, while the low-velocity anomaly beneath the Wangtian'e volcano is situated in the mid-lower crust. The middle-lower crustal low-velocity body is interpreted to be the main magma chamber that may feed the surface volcanism and hydrothermal activities. The upper mantle low-velocity zone is representative of upwelling asthenosphere. We propose that the intraplate volcanism of Changbaishan volcano field is driven by the decompression melting of upwelling asthenosphere, which could originate from the mantle transition zone as suggested by previous large-scale tomographic studies.