Extreme alteration by hyperacidic brines at Kawah Ijen volcano, East Java, Indonesia: II: Metasomatic imprint and element fluxes

The hyperacidic brines of the Kawah Ijen crater lake and Banyu Pahit river, East Java, Indonesia, induce an intense alteration on their magmatic host rock. This alteration is a proxy for water–rock interaction in magmatic–hydrothermal systems and associated high-sulphidation mineralizing environments, as well as for how these systems translate changes in the magmatic system to surface emissions, which are used in volcanic hazard monitoring. Detailed bulk chemical study of altered and unaltered samples shows that alteration is characterised by near-complete leaching of all major and trace elements, except for Pb, Sn and Sb, which are progressively enriched (Pb up to 15-fold absolute enrichment). The resulting element release is complementary to the observed changes in composition of the Banyu Pahit water downstream, when corrected for dilution, indicating that alteration progressively increases the element load. The signature of the change in water chemistry is best explained by complete alteration of fresh rock, rather than mature alteration, which might be expected given the advanced altered state of the riverbed. Together with mass balance considerations, this indicates that the dominant element source is material falling into the river from the valley flanks. The chemical signature of the crater lake is inconsistent with the observed alteration in samples from the hydrothermal system, and likewise is best explained by surface input of cations from rocks falling in from the crater walls. This indicates that the lake water cation chemistry is not a direct reflection of the underlying magmatic–hydrothermal system and that its cation content is therefore not an appropriate monitor of changes in volcanic activity.

Research Highlights
► Hyperacidic fluids emitted by Kawah Ijen volcano impose extreme chemical leaching.
► All elements are highly mobile, except Sb, Sn and Pb which are selectively enriched.
► Alteration is dominated by interaction with fresh rocks that are derived from rock falls.
► Cations are sourced from water–rock interaction, anions from magmatic volatiles.
► Crater lake cation chemistry does not provide a monitor of volcanic activity at Ijen.