by Torsten Dahm, Axel K. Schmitt, Shanaka L. de Silva, Yan Lavallée, Yan Lavallée

The Eifel region, Germany, hosts hundreds of distributed volcanoes of Quaternary age in an intracontinental setting and is renowned as the type locality of maar volcanism. Laacher See volcano in the eastern part of the region stands out as a sizable, dormant, but actively deforming and degassing system that represents the second youngest silicic-carbonatitic magmatic complex worldwide currently not erupting. Moreover, the Eifel boasts an extensive record of past research, easy access, and excellent infrastructure that uniquely permits implementation of cutting-edge scientific methods to study this type of distributed volcanism. Drilling in the Laacher See region has potential to enhance our knowledge on distributed volcanic fields, which are characterized by irregular eruptive recurrence over protracted durations of activity, and specific hazards resulting from high CO2 fluxes from the mantle to the surface Laacher See would be an ideal testbed to evaluate the physical and chemical properties of a shallow (~5?6 km depth at its top) intrusive silicic-carbonatitic complex formed by volatile-rich magmas and an associated hydrothermal system, both accessible to drilling. Only drilling can provide answers as to why the shallow hydrothermal system above a residual magma system after an eruption only 13,000 years ago is seemingly cold, although it is highly dynamic based on ongoing CO2 degassing, seismic activity, and exceptionally high rates of uplift on spatial scales of hundreds of kilometers. Moreover, silicic-carbonatitic magma systems are globally recognized as major hosts for critical metal deposits, which in case of Laacher See could be investigated in the making. With this proposal, we aim to harness enthusiasm for collaborative research to further develop and refine ideas on continental distributed volcanism, its geodynamic relevance, as well as hazard and resource potential in line with ICDP themes. We see high potential for a successful workshop that will gather further ideas on how to maximize the scientific gains from drilling into a magmatic-hydrothermal system of a dynamic yet dormant volcano. By reaching out to a broad and diverse international community, the workshop will sharpen scientific questions of global scope and relevance, and address opportunities and risks of drilling at particular sites and with potentially novel techniques.

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Critical Metals, Distributed Volcanic Fields, Silicic-Carbonatitic Magma System, Volcanic Hazards

Latitude: 50.41279, Longitude: 7.27139