Abstract
Between January 1966 and December 1973 approximately 100 water samples wert collected from the Crater Lake of Mt Ruapehu. From analyses of the samples, changes in chloride and magnesium concentrations and pH emerged as the most useful indicators for the occurrence of the two major processes associated with eruptive activity: Chloride concentrations vary in response to changes in fumarolic activity, arising from the degassing of magma; rises in magnesium concentrations are due to interaction of lake water with freshly injected, hot andesitic material. Similarly, variations in temperature, pH and the ratio Mg/Cl enable the effects of dilution and evaporation to be considered. The thermal power required to maintain elevated lake temperatures ∼200 MW during quiet periods, reaching 1000 MW during active periods, is largely transferred by fumarolic steam.
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Giggenbach, W.F., Glover, R.B. The use of chemical indicators in the surveillance of volcanic activity affecting the Crater Lake on Mt Ruapehu, New Zealand. Bull Volcanol 39, 70–81 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02596947
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02596947