The Effect of Ocean Loading on the Growth of Basaltic Ocean Island Volcanoes and Their Magmatic Plumbing System

Abstract

Basaltic shield volcanoes most commonly form as intraplate volcanic ocean islands that arise from the ocean floor and continue to grow above the sea water level to form gigantic volcanic edifices. The volcanic edifice evolution and the internal stress distribution may be influenced by the water load of the surrounding ocean. We therefore investigate how the presence of an ocean affects the internal stress of a volcanic edifice and thus magma propagation by means of axisymmetric elastic models of a volcanic edifice overlying an elastic lithosphere.