Explosive eruptive activity and temporal magmatic changes at Yotei Volcano during the last 50,000Â years, southwest Hokkaido, Japan

To understand the eruptive history, structure, and magmatic evolution of Yotei Volcano, southwest Hokkaido, Japan, we investigated the geology and petrology of tephras located around the base of the volcano. We identified 43 tephra units interbedded with soils (in descending stratigraphic order, tephras Y1-Y43), and four widespread regional tephras. Ten radiocarbon ages were obtained from soils beneath the Yotei tephras. On the basis of petrologic differences and, the stratigraphic positions of thick layers of volcanic ash soil, indicative of volcanic stratigraphic gaps, the Yotei tephras are divided into four groups (in ascending stratigraphic order): Yotei tephra groups I, II-1, II-2, and II-3. We calculated the age of each eruptive deposit based on the soil accumulation rate, and estimated the volume of each eruption using isopach maps or the correlation between eruption volume and the maximum thickness at ~ 10 km from the summit crater. The results regarding eruptive activity and the rate of explosive eruptions indicate four eruptive stages at Yotei Volcano over the last 50,000 years. Stage I eruptions produced Yotei tephra group I between ca. 54 cal. ka BP and up to at least ca. 46 cal. ka BP, at relatively high average eruption rates of 0.07 km3 dense-rock equivalent (DRE)/ky. After a pause in activity of ca. 8000 years, Stage II-1 to II-2 eruptions produced Yotei tephra groups II-1 and II-2 from ca. 38 to ca. 21 cal. ka BP at high average eruption rates (0.10 km3 DRE/ky), after a pause in activity of 2000-3000 years. Finally, after another pause in activity of 4000-5000 years, Stage II-3 eruptions produced Yotei tephra group II-3 from ca. 16.5 cal. ka BP until the present day, at low average eruption rates (0.009 km3 DRE/ky). Whole-rock geochemical compositions vary within each tephra group over the entire eruption history. For example, group I and II-3 tephras contain the lowest and highest abundances, respectively, of K2O, P2O5, and Zr. Group II-1 has the highest abundances of Zr and Y. These trends indicate that the explosive activity was controlled by an evolving magma system. An understanding of these temporal changes in the chemical composition of the magma will enable future correlations of tephras with volcanic edifices, thereby revealing the full eruptive history and structure of Yotei Volcano, and constraining the timing of geological events in the region.