Long-term volcano evolution controlled by lateral collapse at Antuco volcano, southern Andes, Chile

Abstract

Sector collapse at Antuco volcano, Chile about 7,000 years ago likely initiated a compositional change in eruptive products due to unloading and activation of a shallow magma chamber, according to petrological and geochemical analyses and numerical modelling. Beyond the catastrophic environmental effects of large (>1 km(3)) volcanic landslides, their impact on underlying magmatic systems remains unclear. Chemical variations in post-collapse volcanic products, alongside dramatic eruptive behaviour transitions reported from several volcanoes, imply that surface unloading directly influences subsurface magmatic processes. By combining petrologic data with magma ascent models, we track the post-collapse (<7 ka) magmatic system evolution of Antuco volcano (Chile). During the pre-collapse period, low-explosivity eruptions were sourced from a hotter and deeper storage region. However, the landslide-induced unloading and decompression reactivated a pre-existing, shallower, silicic magma reservoir, favouring more explosive activity. The pre-collapse conditions were restored after edifice regeneration over a few thousand years. Since shallow magma reservoirs are common beneath volcanoes (e.g. in Etna, Villarrica, or Fuji), similar responses could follow future lateral collapses. These findings are relevant when assessing volcanic hazards at gravitationally unstable or collapsed volcanoes on a hundred- to thousand-year timescale.