Translithospheric magma plumbing system of intraplate volcanoes as revealed by electrical resistivity imaging

Abstract

Abstract The magma plumbing systems of volcanoes in subduction and divergent tectonic settings are relatively well known, whereas those of intraplate volcanoes remain elusive; robust geophysical information on the magma pathways and storage zones is lacking. We inverted magnetotelluric data to image the magma plumbing system of an intraplate monogenetic volcanic field located above the stagnant Pacific slab in northeast China. We identified a complex, vertically aligned, low-resistivity anomaly system extending from the asthenosphere to the surface consisting of reservoirs with finger- to lens-like geometries. We show that magma forms as CO2-rich melts in a 150-km-deep asthenospheric plume crossing the whole lithosphere as hydrated melt, inducing underplating at 50 km depth, evolving in crustal reservoirs, and erupting along dikes. Intraplate volcanoes are characterized by low degrees of melting and low magma supply rates. Their plumbing systems have a geometry not so different from that of volcanoes in subduction settings.