The Pacific Island Volcanology and Its Relation to the Groundwater Features Through Magmatic Signatures

Document Type : Original Research Article

Authors

1 School of Science and Technology (SoST), The University of Fiji, Fiji

2 National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Christchurch, New Zealand

3 Department of Civil Engineering, Government Polytechnic Mankeda, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India

Abstract

The Pacific Plate is one of the heaviest tectonic plates, hosting multiple Pacific Island countries. Geological research has long provided evidence of volcanic magmatic events, which have frequently caused subsurface activities. The formation of an active ring of fires across the Pacific Ocean is a geological signature of the intense volcanic events occurring over time.  The study aims to verify the close correlation between groundwater features and volcanic magmatic events, which is evident in near-surface ground signatures and geothermal systems. Hot water springs and geysers emerge as manifestations of the active molten volcanic processes, releasing intense heat flux, gases, and pressure. Pacific Island countries exhibit common geological features, particularly in terms of parent rock materials, resulting in a unique combination of aquifer characteristics essential for long-term hydrological sustainability. The sustainability of groundwater resources is intricately linked with volcanic events and their associated signatures, which emerge abruptly over time.  Furthermore, the study is to access the correlation of the pacific geological features within Fiji and various regions and its usages in terms of implementing water resources upon the identification of the active aquifers in the terrestrial and coastal plains. Fieldwork using various tomography methods from various regional countries executed by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community through the implementation of various programs has provided various supporting evidence that the magmatic activities featured by dikes, basins, and aquifers have water holding capacity which is hydrogeological connected to the main water aquifer.  

Keywords

Main Subjects


Adachi, M., Yamamoto, K. & Sugisaki, R., 1986. Hydrothermal chert and associated siliceous rocks from the northern Pacific their geological significance as indication of ocean ridge activity. Sedimentary Geology, 47(1–2), 125–148.
Bailey, I., G. M. Hole, G.L. Foster, P.A. Wilson, C.D. Storey, C.N. Trueman, & M.E. Raymo., 2013. An alternative suggestion for the Pliocene onset of major northern hemisphere glaciation based on the geochemical provenance of North Atlantic Ocean ice-rafted debris, Quaternary Science Reviews, 75, 181-194.
Burgmann, R., 2018. The geophysics, geology and mechanics of slow fault slip. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 495, 112-134.
Company, F.W., 2017. Bottled water quality report.
Coscia, I., S.A. Greenhalgh, N. Linde, J. Doetsch, L. Marescot, T. Gunther, T. & Vogt, A.G. Green., 2011. 3D crosshole ERT for aquifer characterization and monitoring of infiltrating river water, Geophysics, 76(2), G49-G59.
Crain, C.M., Halpern, B.S., Beck, M.W. & Kappel, C.V., 2009. Understanding and managing human threats to the coastal marine environment. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1162(1), 39-62.
Dahm, C.N., Grimm, N.B., Marmonier, P., Valett, H.M. & Vervier, P., 1998. Nutrient dynamics at the interface between surface waters and groundwaters. Freshwater Biology, 40(3), 427-451.
Dickson, J.A.D., 2002. Fossil echinoderms as monitor of the Mg/Ca ratio of Phanerozoic oceans. Science, 298(5596), 1222-1224.
Ghosh, S., D’Souza, J., Goud, B.R. & Prabhakar, N., 2022. A review of the Precambrian tectonic evolution of the Aravalli Craton, northwestern India: Structural, metamorphic and geochronological perspectives from the basement complexes and supracrustal sequences. Earth-Science Reviews, 232, 104098.
Hamilton, C.W., Fagents, S.A. & Thordarson, T., 2010. Explosive lava–water interactions II: self-organization processes among volcanic rootless eruption sites in the 1783–1784 Laki lava flow, Iceland. Bulletin of Volcanology, 72, 469–485.
Hamlin, S.N. & Anthony, S.S., 1987. Ground-water resources of the Laura area, Majuro Atoll, Marshall Islands (Vol. 87, No. 4047). US Department of the Interior, Geological Survey.
Haase, K.M., Stroncik, N., Garbe-Schonberg, D. & Stoffers, P. 2006. Formation of island arc dacite magmas by extreme crystal fractionation: An example from Brothers Seamount, Kermadec island arc (SW Pacific). Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 152, 316–330.
Hunt, S.D., 1997. Competing through relationships: Grounding relationship marketing in resource‐advantage theory. Journal of Marketing Management, 13(5), 431-445.
Huang, S., Hall, P.S. and Jackson, M.G., 2011. Geochemical zoning of volcanic chains associated with Pacific hotspots. Nature Geoscience, 4(12), 874–878.
Haneberg, W.C., 1995. Steady state groundwater flow across idealized faults, Water Resources Research, 31(7), 1815-1820.
Hassan Baioumy, M.N., Karl Wegner, Mohd Hariri., 2015. Geochemistry and Geothermometry   of non-volcanic hot springs in west Malaysia, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 290, 12-22.
Johnson, T.C., Slater, L.D., Ntarlagiannis, D., Day‐Lewis, F.D. & Elwaseif, M., 2012. Monitoring groundwater‐surface water interaction using time‐series and time‐frequency analysis of transient three‐dimensional electrical resistivity changes. Water Resources Research, 48(7).
Jarrard, R.D. & Clague, D.A., 1977. Implications of Pacific island and seamount ages for the origin of volcanic chains. Reviews of Geophysics, 15, 57–76.
Kachadourian-Marras, A., Alconada-Magliano, M.M., Carrillo-Rivera, J.J., Mendoza, E., Herrerias-Azcue, F. & Silva, R., 2020. Characterization of surface evidence of groundwater flow systems in continental Mexico. Water, 12(9), 2459.
Lal, A.A., 2019. Development of sustainable groundwater management methodologies to control saltwater intrusion into coastal aquifers with application to a tropical Pacific island country, James Cook University.
Masum, M., 2015. Low-temperature geothermal systems in sedimentary basin and their prospect in Bangladesh, paper presented at Proceedings World Geothermal Congress.
Mathon, B.R., Schoonen, M.A., Riccardi, A.L. & Borda, M.J., 2015. Measuring flow rates and characterizing flow regimes in hot springs. Applied Geochemistry, 62, 234-246.
Maharaj, R., Kumar, S., Rollings, N. & Antoniou, A., 2023. Groundwater detection using resistivity at Nubutautau village in Viti Levu in Fiji. Water, 15(23), 4156.
Malin, M.C. & Edgett K.S., 2000. Evidence for recent groundwater seepage and surface runoff on Mars, Science, 288(5475), 2330-2335.
Mitchell, N., Nyquist, J.E., Toran, L., Rosenberry, D.O. & Mikochik, J.S., 2008. April). Electrical resistivity as a tool for identifying geologic heterogeneities which control seepage at Mirror Lake, NH. In 21st EEGS Symposium on the Application of Geophysics to Engineering and Environmental Problems (pp. cp-177). European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers.
Neall, V.E. & Trewick, S.A., 2008. The age and origin of the Pacific islands: a geological overview. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 363(1508), 3293-3308.
Nunn, P.D. & Pastorizo, R., 2007. Geological histories and geohazard potential of Pacific Islands illuminated by myths. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 273(1), 143–163.
Nemeth, K., Cronin, S.J., 2009. Volcanic structures and oral traditions of volcanism of Western Samoa (SW Pacific) and their implications for hazard education. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 186, 223–237.
Nunn, P.D. & Pastorizo, R., 2007. Geological histories and geohazard potential of Pacific Islands illuminated by myths. Geological Society, London, Special Publications 273, 143–163.
Ogden, D., 2011. Fluid Dynamics in ExplosiveVolcanic Vents and Craters, E arthand the Planetary science letters, 312, 401-410.
Pasquale, V., Verdoya, M. & Chiozzi, P., 2015. Measurements of rock thermal conductivity with a Transient Divided Bar. Geothermics, 53, 183-189.
Reid, M.E., 1997. Slope instability caused by small variations in hydraulic conductivity, Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 123(8), 717-725.
Rowland, J.V. & Sibson, R.H., 2004. Structural controls on hydrothermal flow in a segmented rift system, Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand. Geofluids, 4(4), 259-283.
Rahiman, T.I. & Pettinga, J.R., 2008. Analysis of lineaments and their relationship to Neogene fracturing, SE Viti Levu, Fiji. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 120(11-12), 1544-1555.
Schlanger, S.O., Garcia, M.O., Keating, B.H., Naughton, J.J., Sager, W.W., Haggerty, J.A. ... & Duncan, R.A., 1984. Geology and geochronology of the Line Islands. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 89(B13), 11261-11272.
Setterfield, T.N., Eaton, P.C., Rose, W.J. & Sparks, R.S.J., 1991. The Tavua caldera, Fiji: a complex shoshonitic caldera formed by concurrent faulting and downsagging. Journal of the Geological Society, 148(1), 115-127.
Sinclair, P., Loco, A., Chand, A., Boseerelle, A. & Pattersen, M., 2017. Groundwater Assessment of the Nubutautau Village, Rep., 1-11 pp, Secretariat of the Pacific Community.
Saemundsson, K., Axelsson, G. & Steingrímsson, B., 2009. Geothermal systems in global perspective. Short course on exploration for geothermal resources, UNU GTP, 11.
Singh, U., Sharma, P.K. & Ojha, C.S.P., 2021. Groundwater investigation using ground magnetic resonance and resistivity meter. ISH Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 27(sup1), 401-410.
Sprenger, C., Lorenzen, G., Hulshoff, I., Grutzmacher, G., Ronghang, M. & Pekdeger, A., 2011. Vulnerability of bank filtration systems to climate change. Science of the Total Environment, 409(4), 655-663.
Toth, J., 1971. Groundwater discharge: a common generator of diverse geologic and morphologic phenomena, Hydrological Sciences Journal, 16(1), 7-24.
Toth, J., 2000. Las aguas subterráneas como agente geológico: causas, procesos y manifestaciones, Boletín Geológico y Minero, 111(4), 9-26.
Walker, G.P., 1993. Basaltic-volcano systems. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 76(1), 3–38.
Wilson, S.T., Hawco, N.J., Armbrust, E. V., Barone, B., Bjorkman, K.M., Boysen, A. K. ... & Karl, D.M., 2019. Kīlauea lava fuels phytoplankton bloom in the North Pacific Ocean. Science, 365(6457), 1040-1044.