Offshore evidence for volcanic landslide post Last Glacial Maximum at sub-Antarctic Heard Island, southern Indian Ocean

Jodi M. Fox; Sally J. Watson; Trevor J. Falloon; Rebecca J. Carey; Joanne M. Whittaker; Erica A. Spain; Robert A. Duncan; Richard J. Arculus; Millard F. Coffin

doi:10.30909/vol.08.01.3150

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Published: Jan 27, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.30909/vol.08.01.3150

Keywords:

Flank Collapse Kerguelen Volcanic debris avalanche 40Ar/39Ar Intraplate Glacier

Jodi M. Fox

Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia.

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2493-6623

Sally J. Watson

National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Wellington, New Zealand.

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3666-5034

Trevor J. Falloon

Centre for Ore Deposits and Earth Science, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia.

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6528-9739

Rebecca J. Carey

Centre for Ore Deposits and Earth Science, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia.

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2015-6419

Joanne M. Whittaker

Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia.

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3170-3935

Erica A. Spain

National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Wellington, New Zealand.

Robert A. Duncan

College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA.

https://orcid.org/0009-0005-9851-9998

Richard J. Arculus

Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.

Millard F. Coffin

Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia.

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9960-0038

Abstract

Heard Island, an active sub-Antarctic intraplate volcanic island on the Kerguelen Plateau, is mostly covered by glaciers. The amphitheatre shaped summit of the active volcanic centre, Big Ben (2813 m), has been interpreted to be the product of a significant volcanic landslide. Here we present the first offshore geomorphological and geological evidence supporting a volcanic landslide on Big Ben, including: (1) the seafloor to the southwest of Heard resembling a landslide deposit, covering at least 467 km², (2) the spatial correlation between the onshore landslide scar and the offshore deposit and (3) the consistency in lithologies and compositions of rocks sampled from the deposit with the onshore in situ lithologies. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology constrains the maximum age of the volcanic landslide to 18.0 ± 1.4 ka, post the Last Glacial Maximum. Finally, we assess the risk of volcanic landslide at Heard Island in the future.

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Fox, J. M., Watson, S. J., Falloon, T. J., Carey, R. J., Whittaker, J. M., Spain, E. A., Duncan, R. A., Arculus, R. J. and Coffin, M. F. (2025) “Offshore evidence for volcanic landslide post Last Glacial Maximum at sub-Antarctic Heard Island, southern Indian Ocean”, Volcanica, 8(1), pp. 31–50. doi: 10.30909/vol.08.01.3150.

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 1 (2025)

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Articles

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