Myojin Rift, Izu–Bonin Arc as the Modern Analog of Hokuroku Basin, Northeast Japan: Geotectonic Significance of the New Hydrothermal Deposit in the Back-Arc Rift.

A huge hydrothermal field, named the “Hakurei Sulfide Deposit” (HSD) was discovered in the North Myojin Rift (NMR), Izu–Bonin Back-Arc Rift (BAR) during the 2003 survey cruise of R/V Hakurei-maru No.2. This paper investigates the geotectonic features and the tectonic setting of ore deposits between the NMR and the Hokuroku Basin, which is representative of kuroko fields in Japan. The topographic features of the NMR and the Hokuroku Basin are similar. Both have a clear ring structure surrounded by faults and the east–west width is almost the same. Many kuroko deposits were formed on the extrusion centers of the five pre-mineral acidic volcanic complexes, located in a loop inside the Hokuroku Basin. In the case of the NMR, seven submarine volcanoes are also located in a loop, and the HSD formed inside the summit caldera of Bayonnaise Knoll, which is one of the seven volcanoes. These topographic similarities highlight that the NMR is a modern analog of the Hokuroku Basin. Identifying such similarities is extremely useful when prospecting kuroko deposits on land equivalents as well as on the other segments of the Izu–Bonin BAR. The probability of finding kuroko deposits on land is expected to increase when the following are identified: (i) location of back-arc rift and the volcanic front; (ii) direction of the arc–trench system and intra-rift faults (and/or fracture zone); (iii) position of submarine volcanoes surrounding a back-arc rift; and (iv) intersections of a caldera fault and intra-rift fault (and/or fracture zone) inside the summit caldera of submarine volcanoes. Within these aforementioned points a ring structure, acidic volcanic complexes that circle the circuit and submarine calderas along the volcanic front, are an important indication of submarine hydrothermal deposits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]