Niuatahi

About Niuatahi

Niuatahi is a nearly circular caldera ~15 km in diameter, with a floor at a depth of about 2 km (Arculus, 2012). A young cone (Motu Tahi) in the SE sector rises 730 m above the floor to a summit depth of about 1,270 m. The volcano is in the Northeast Lau Basin, ~40 km W of the edifices along the Tofua Volcanic Arc, and 25 km E of the central ridge of the Northeast Lau Spreading Center. The composition of the cone and surrounding floor is predominantly dacite. Towing with seafloor cameras over the cone and various parts of the caldera in 2012 resulted in the discovery of at least three sources of hydrothermal particle venting on the cone's summit and adjacent to the inner caldera walls. The Tonga Ministry of Lands, Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources named the volcano Niuatahi, which means 'sea' in Tongan, with the small cone of Motutahi meaning 'island in the sea'; it had previously been given an unofficial research cruise designation of "Volcano O."