Active Submarine Hotspot Volcanism on the Kerguelen Plateau

Heard and McDonald Islands on the Kerguelen Plateau, southern Indian Ocean, are active intraplate hotspot volcanoes. Heard Island is approximately 43 km long, and encompasses an area of approximately 368 square km. It is dominated by Big Ben, a roughly circular volcano with a base diameter of 18-20 km, and a maximum elevation of 2745 m. The McDonald Islands have an area of approximately 2.5 square km. Due to a lack of human habitation and no geoscientific monitoring, and cloud cover precluding satellite remote sensing for geoscientific purposes, the level of volcanic activity of the islands is unknown, but observers on passing ships frequently report eruptions, including molten lava, volcanic plumes, and tephra, and active fumaroles. Bathymetric, seismic reflection, magnetic, and gravity data acquired around Heard and McDonald Islands suggest that submarine magmatism affects a broad region of surrounding Kerguelen Plateau seafloor. In this region, we have identified six distinct fields of sea knolls that we interpret to be volcanic in origin. Individual fields contain from approximately 14 to approximately 140 sea knolls, and are not uniformly distributed around Heard and McDonald Islands. Given that Heard and McDonald Islands are volcanically active, it is likely that at least some of the interpreted submarine volcanoes are active and drive hydrothermal circulation.