Research drilling into the volcanic hydrothermal system on White Island, New Zealand

Abstract

We have been investigating the possibility of drilling a 600‐m deep hole into the volcanic hydrothermal system on White Island, an active andesitic volcano located in the Bay of Plenty, 50 km off the coast of New Zealand (Figure 1). A number of important hydrothermal and volcanic problems of worldwide occurrence can be addressed by drilling into this volcano. The principal goals are to characterize the chemistry and distribution of the fluids within the volcanic hydrothermal system and the related alteration mineralogy, to investigate fluid migration during magma:water interaction, and to investigate the extent to which physical rock properties influence the hydrology of such a system. This study will improve our understanding of magma:magmatic fluid:groundwater interactions at high levels in an andesitic volcano; the fluids and flow processes in an active volcanic hydrothermal system; the processes of metal transport and deposition in this acidic, ore‐forming environment; and the geophysical signatures that remain as the system cools.