Magma transport along structural boundaries in the upper crust: insights from broad-band magnetotelluric constraints on the structure beneath Unzen volcano, Japan

Abstract

SUMMARY Unzen volcano, located on Shimabara Peninsula, Nagasaki, Japan, is an active volcano that has been intensively monitored since 1989, one year before the most recent eruption in 1990–1995. Previous earthquake and surface deformation studies have revealed that magma is transported obliquely from a magma reservoir beneath Tachibana Bay, to the west of Shimabara Peninsula. Here, we conduct broad-band magnetotelluric (MT) surveys at 99 sites around Shimabara Peninsula to investigate the crustal structure beneath Unzen volcano that is related to magma migration. A 3-D resistivity model that is constructed from 25 broad-band MT sites and 45 telluric sites shows a broad high-resistivity zone beneath Shimabara Peninsula and low-resistivity zones to the west and east of the peninsula. An unexpected observation is the spatial alignment of the high-resistivity zone with a seismic low-velocity zone (LVZ) at 3–15 km depth. Quantitative analysis indicates this high-resistivity zone contains < 0.7 per cent melt under the assumption that the melt is stored in a good porosity network, while < 11 per cent melt in relatively poor pore network. We infer this high-resistivity, LVZ to be a highly crystallized mush zone (HCMZ) with low permeability. The hypocentres and pressure sources of the 1990–1995 eruption are distributed along the boundary between the high- and low-resistivity zones beneath the western part of the peninsula. We therefore conclude that the magma migrated along a structural boundary that possessed a relatively high permeability. Previous studies have suggested that eruptible magma is usually transported vertically upward through the centre of the mush zone, whereas the present results reveal that magma can be transported along the upper boundary of an HCMZ.