The Fekete-hegy (Balaton Highland Hungary) “soft-substrate” and “hard-substrate” maar volcanoes in an aligned volcanic complex – Implications for vent geometry, subsurface stratigraphy and the palaeoenvironmental setting

Abstract

The Fekete-hegy volcanic complex is located in the centre of the Bakony Balaton Highland Volcanic Field, in the Pannonian Basin, which formed from the late Miocene to Pliocene period. The eruption of at least four very closely clustered maar volcanoes into two clearly distinct types of prevolcanic rocks allows the observation and comparison of hard-substrate and soft-substrate maars in one volcanic complex. The analyses of bedding features, determination of the proportion of accidental lithic clasts, granulometry and age determination helped to identify and distinguish the two types of maar volcanoes. Ascending magma interacted with meteoric water in karst aquifers in Mesozoic carbonates, as well as in porous media aquifers in Neogene unconsolidated, wet, siliciclastic sediments. The divided basement setting is reflected by distinct bedding characteristics and morphological features of the individual volcanic edifices as well as a distinct composition of pyroclastic rocks. Country rocks in hard-substrate maars have a steep angle of repose, leading to the formation of steep sided cone-shaped diatremes. Enlargement and filling of these diatreme is mainly a result of shattering material by FCI related shock waves and wall-rock collapse during downward penetration of the explosion locus. Country rocks in soft-substrate maars have much shallower angles of repose, leading to the formation of broad, bowl shaped structures or irregular depressions. Enlargement and filling of these diatremes is mainly the result of substrate collapse, for example due to liquefaction of unconsolidated material by FCI-related shock waves, and its emplacement by gravity flows. The Fekete-hegy is an important example illustrating that the substrate of a volcanic edifice has to be taken into account as an important interface, which can have major control on phreatomagmatic eruptions and the resulting characteristics of the volcanic complex.