Physical volcanology of the mafic segment of the subaqueous New Senator caldera, Abitibi greenstone belt, Quebec, Canada

Archean calderas provide valuable insight into internal geometries of subaqueous calderas. The New Senator caldera, Abitibi greenstone belt, Canada, is an Archean example of a subaqueous nested caldera with a basal stratigraphy dominated by gabbro-diorite dykes and sills, ponded magmas and basalt and andesite lava flows. The aim of our study is to focus on the use of physical volcanology to differentiate between the various mafic units found at the base of the New Senator caldera. Differentiation between these various mafic units is important from an exploration point of view because in modern subaqueous summit calders (e.g. Axial Seamount) margins of ponded magmas are often sites of VMS formation.