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Dynamism of Glaciotectonic Deformation

2007; Elsevier BV; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/s1571-0866(07)80080-7

2212-1161

Environmental and Cultural Studies in Latin America and Beyond

The Andean Southern Volcanic Zone comprises > 30 active arc front volcanoes that grew over periods of hundreds of thousands of years. Quantifying the rates at which these volcanoes grow is key to appreciating geological hazards, clarifying petrologic evolution, and exploring possible relationships between volcanism, ice loading, and climate. The integration of precise geochronology and geologic mapping, together with new lava compositions and volume estimates, reveal the evolution of the Antuco-Sierra Velluda volcanic complex at 37.2°S. Thirty-one new 40Ar/39Ar age determinations illuminate a punctuated eruptive history that spans at least 430 kyr. Sierra Velluda comprises ~ 130 km3 and began to grow prior to 426.8 ka. A lacuna in the volcanic record between 343.5 and 150.4 ka coincides with glaciations associated with marine isotope stages (MIS) 10 and 8, although shallow intrusions were emplaced at 207.0 and 190.0 ka. Antuco began to grow rapidly on the northeast flank of Sierra Velluda, erupting > 60 km3 of lava during three phases: (1) an early phase that began at 150.4 ka, (2) a post-MIS 2 phase between 16.3 and 6.2 ka, and (3) a post-sector collapse phase after 6.2 ka. Volcanism has been continuous during the last 100 kyr, with an average rate of cone growth during this period of ~ 0.46 km3/kyr that has accelerated by about 50% during the past 6 kyr.Whereas Sierra Velluda erupted basaltic andesitic to andesitic (53.5 to 58.7 wt% SiO2) lavas, during the last expansion of glaciers between ~ 130 and 17 ka, Early Antuco erupted a wider spectrum of lavas, ranging from basaltic andesite to dacite (52.0 to 64.5 wt% SiO2). Notably, eruptions following the last glacial termination at 17 ka produced basalts and basaltic andesites (50.9–53.7% SiO2), and following the 6.2 ka cone collapse they have been exclusively olivine basalt (50.9–53.0% SiO2) with > 5 wt% MgO. Thermodynamic and trace element modeling suggests that lavas from Sierra Velluda and Early Antuco reflect extensive fractional crystallization of parental basaltic magmas with low water content (~ 1 wt%) at pressures between 0.9 and 1.5 kbar. In contrast, eruptions following rapid deglaciation tapped asthenospheric mantle-derived basalt that has been extensively modified by assimilation of partial melts of lower crustal rocks.