Volcanotectonic interactions between inclined sheets, dykes, and faults at the Santorini Volcano, Greece

Dykes and inclined sheets are known occasionally to exploit faults as parts of their paths, but the conditions that allow this to happen are still not fully understood. In this paper, we report field observations from a swarm composed of 91 segments of dykes and inclined sheets, the swarm being particularly well-exposed in the mechanically layered caldera walls of the Santorini volcano, Greece. Here the focus is on dykes and sheets in the swarm that are seen deflected into faults and the mechanical conditions that encourage such deflections. In particular, we present new analytical and numerical models to explain the mechanical principles of dyke/sheet deflections into faults. The numerical models are applied to a normal-fault dipping 65° with a damage zone composed of parallel layers or zones of progressively stiffer rocks with increasing distance from the fault rupture plane. We model a sheet-intrusion, dipping from 0° to 90° and with an overpressure of alternatively 1 MPa and 5 MPa, approaching the fault. We further tested the effects of changing (1) the thickness of the sheet-intrusion, (2) the fault-zone thickness, (3) the fault-zone dip-dimension (height), and (4) the loading by, alternatively, regional tension and compression. We find that the stiffness of the fault core, where a compliant core characterises recently active fault zones, has pronounced effects on the orientation and magnitudes of the local stresses and, thereby, on the likelihood of dyke/sheet deflection into the fault zone. Similarly, the analytical models, focusing on the fault-zone tensile strength and energy conditions for dyke/sheet deflection, indicate that dykes/sheets are most likely to be deflected into and use steeply dipping recently active (zero tensile-strength) normal faults as parts of their paths

Forecasting magma-chamber rupture at Santorini volcano, Greece

How much magma needs to be added to a shallow magma chamber to cause rupture, dyke injection, and a potential eruption? Models that yield reliable answers to this question are needed in order to facilitate eruption forecasting. Development of a long-lived shallow magma chamber requires periodic influx of magmas from a parental body at depth. This redistribution process does not necessarily cause an eruption but produces a net volume change that can be measured geodetically by inversion techniques. Using continuum-mechanics and fracture-mechanics principles, we calculate the amount of magma contained at shallow depth beneath Santorini volcano, Greece. We demonstrate through structural analysis of dykes exposed within the Santorini caldera, previously published data on the volume of recent eruptions, and geodetic measurements of the 2011-2012 unrest period, that the measured 0.02% increase in volume of Santorini's shallow magma chamber was associated with magmatic excess pressure increase of around 1.1 MPa. This excess pressure was high enough to bring the chamber roof close to rupture and dyke injection. For volcanoes with known typical extrusion and intrusion (dyke) volumes, the new methodology presented here makes it possible to forecast the conditions for magma-chamber failure and dyke injection at any geodetically well-monitored volcano

Inclination and heterogeneity of layered geological sequences influence dike-induced ground deformation

Constraints on the amount and pattern of ground deformation induced by dike emplacement are important for assessing potential eruptions. The vast majority of ground deformation inversions made for volcano monitoring during volcanic unrest assume that dikes are emplaced in either an elastic half-space (a homogeneous crust) or a crust made of horizontal layers with different mechanical properties. We extend these models by designing a novel set of two-dimensional finite-element method numerical simulations that consider dike-induced surface deformation related to a mechanically heterogeneous crust with inclined layers, thus modeling a common geometry in stratovolcanoes and crustal segments that have been folded by tectonic forces. Our results confirm that layer inclination can produce localized ground deformation that may be as much as 40× higher in terms of deformation magnitude than would be expected in a non-layered model, depending on the angle of inclination and the stiffness of the rock units that host and are adjacent to the dike. Generated asymmetrical deformation patterns produce deformation peaks located as much as 1.4 km away from those expected in non-layered models. These results highlight the necessity of accurately quantifying both the mechanical properties and attitude of the geology underlying active volcanoes.</jats:p

The temporal and spatial relationship between strike-slip and reverse faulting in subduction-related orogenic system: Insights from the Western slope of the Puna Plateau

The relationship between parallel and oblique to the orogen faults and the magmatic evolution is key to understanding the evolution of a hot orogen, such as the Central Andes. The Andean orogenesis along the southern Central Andes, during the Neogene is characterized by regional compression and magmatic processes associated with subduction. The outcome of this dynamic interaction between plate tectonics and magmatism has generated reverse, normal and strike-slip faults, both parallel and oblique to the trench. Despite the progress made on studying these fault systems, both their relationship with the stress field and their role in magma propagation into the shallow crust are still enigmatic. In this work, geomorphological observations are coupled with kinematic and dynamic analyses, as well as with kinematic forward modeling, to reconstruct the evolution of two main faults affecting the western slope of the Puna plateau, the Barrancas Blancas fault and the Tocomar fault, during the Neogene. The obtained data reveal that, between 17 and 10 Ma, the Barrancas Blancas fault had reverse activity, while the Tocomar fault had left-lateral strike-slip movement. At 10 Ma, the area was affected by the coeval reactivation of the Volcan de Punta Negra fault and the right-lateral activity of the Tocomar fault. During the last stage, strike-slip movement along the Tocomar fault favored the rise of magma, while the hydrothermal activity evolved along the Barrancas Blancas fault. The study results reveal that the oblique-to-the-orogen faults play a role in the segmentation of the reverse parallel-to-the-trench deformation and control the position of the volcanic centers, while the parallel-to-the-orogen faults control the relief development and the evolution of hydrothermal systems. The proposed model helps in understanding how magma rises to the surface associated with movement along reverse and strike-slip faults during the thickening of the crust

Dyke-arrest scenarios in extensional regimes:Insights from field observations and numerical models, Santorini, Greece

During a volcanic unrest period with magma-chamber rupture, fluid-driven fractures (dykes) are injected either from deep reservoirs or shallow magma chambers. Subsequently, the dykes follow propagation paths towards the surface, some eventually reaching the surface to erupt while others become arrested. Here we study dyke paths resulting in eruption or arrest in an excellent 5-km wide exposure of the northern caldera wall of the Santorini volcano in Greece. Mapping of >90 dyke segments shows that they were emplaced in a host rock consisting of layers (of breccia, tuff, scoria, and lava) with a wide variety of mechanical properties. At the contacts, some dykes are arrested or deflected and hence change their propagation paths. Here we combine the field data with numerical models to explore dyke paths resulting in (1) arrest and (2) eruption. We investigate the effect of different host-rock mechanical properties, magmatic overpressures, and tectonic loading on dyke paths. We find that layers with unfavorable local stresses for dyke propagation, namely stress barriers, result from layer stiffness (Young's modulus) contrast and thickness variations and are a common cause of dyke arrest. The study also shows how the details of the dyke path, and eventually dyke-fed eruptions, depend on the mechanical layering and local stresses in volcanoes. The results are of great importance for understanding dyke-propagation paths, and the likelihood of eruption, during unrest periods, particularly in stratovolcanoes fed by shallow chambers, such as Santorini

Advanced Technologies for Geosite Visualization and Valorization: A Review

This review attempts to summarize contributions by authors who, in the last decade, have dedicated their efforts to making geoheritage accessible to the public. Geoheritage is composed of geosites, which are, nowadays, real milestones on which field-based geological education can be conducted. However, the COVID-19 pandemic in particular has made it clear that a new paradigm is needed; a series of tools must be introduced and increasingly used to make it possible for potential users, be they academics, students, or the lay public, to experience geosites from locations that can be thousands of kilometers away. All these have been achieved over time by a wide range of evolving techniques and advanced technologies such as GIS tools, virtual reality applications and further innovative technologies such as WebGIS platforms accompanied by appropriate navigation tools (VR headsets and thumbsticks). The viewers, in this way, are provided with a complete view of a virtual geosite, which enables visualizing its characteristics at different scales. VR technologies, especially, have revealed a high degree of satisfaction, based on feedback collected from VR geosite visualization events, both by scientists, students and the general public, and could be the forefront of geosite visualization and valorization in the near future