Future Laguna del Maule Argentine Volcano Monitoring Network

Abstract:

During the past 25 years the recurrence of emergencies caused by volcanic eruptions (Hudson 1991, Chaiten 2008, Planchon-Peteroa 2011, Cordon Caulle 2011, Copahue 2012, Calbuco 2015) which have emerged along the Andean Cordillera in Argentine or Chilean territory but with influence eastward (this is due to the predominance of winds), have generated multiple problems and material losses, causing great concerns in the populations affected by these events and on national and provincial authorities in Argentina.

Given this and considering that along the Andes on the border between Argentina and Chile there are approximately 120 volcanoes considered active, with historic and prehistoric eruptive record (from 10,000 years ago), 38 of them in Argentina and the international boundary (Elissondo et al. 2016.), is that is necessary to develop and implement in Argentina, the different methodologies used globally for early detection of changes in levels of volcanic activity in order to generate early warnings that allow mitigation of volcanic risk, to which the country, its population and infrastructure is exposed.

The Argentine Observatory of Volcanic Surveillance (OAVV) is a national initiative carried out by the Argentina Geological and Mining Survey (SEGEMAR) through its volcanic hazard assessment program, for the creation of a specialized area within the organization whose main function is the control and study of the volcanic threats. Through the development of instrumental monitoring networks for the volcanoes of the Argentine Republic, it will be able to predict with a certain period of anticipation volcanic eruptions and their associated activity (Lava, landslides, lahars, ash plumes, etc.), generating this way early warnings in order to protect the national territory, its population and the infrastructure that could be affected by this type of phenomena.

A first stage has been designed, which will start with the instrumental monitoring of the 8 most hazardous volcanoes (Elissondo, M. and Farías, C., 2016.) selected following the NVEWS system parameters (Ewert et al. 2005). The Laguna del Maule Volcanic Field (LMVF) is one of those 8 volcanoes to be instrumented, being third in the threat assessment, with recent sings of unrest such as deformation (Le Mével et al. 2015) and shallow seismicity (Cardona et al.2015).