Gravity anomalies, caldera structure, and subsurface geology in the Rotorua area, New Zealand

Abstract

A re-examination of gravity data indicates that Rotorua Caldera does not have the circular, negative gravity anomaly typical of other rhyolitic calderas. New gravity measurements and residual gravity anomalies in Rotorua City are consistent with numerous rhyolite domes and ignimbrite sheets, interbedded with a thick sequence of poorly-compacted sediments. Within the city a gravity high extends from the shore of Lake Rotorua south to Whakarewarewa and is associated with a buried ridge, formed by the coalescing of two rhyolite domes. A gravity low centred near Linton Park suggests that rhyolites are thin or absent in this area and sediments extend to a depth of about 1 km. A quantitative analysis of the residual gravity anomalies was limited by insufficient information about the density, extent, and thickness of the material underlying the rhyolites, and the uncertainty in the distribution and density of silicification within the sediments.