Magnetotelluric Studies of the Laguna del Maule Volcanic Field, Central Chile

Abstract:

Geodetic data has shown that the surface of the Laguna del Maule (LdM) volcanic field in central Chile has been moving upwards at rates >20 cm/yr since 2007 over a 200 km² area. It has been hypothesized that this ground deformation is due to the inflation of a magma body at ~5 km depth beneath the lake (2.8 km b.s.l.). This magma body is a likely source for the large number of rhyolitic eruptions at this location over the last 25 ka. A dense broadband magnetotelluric (MT) array was collected from 2009 to 2015 and included data from a geothermal exploration project. MT phase tensor analysis indicates that the resistivity structure of the region is largely three-dimensional for signals with periods longer than 1 s, which corresponds to depths >5 km. The MT data were inverted using the ModEM inversion algorithm to produce a three-dimensional electrical resistivity model which included topography. Four primary features were identified in the model: 1) A north-south striking, 10 km by 5 km, low-resistivity zone (<5 Ωm) northwest of the inflation centre at a depth of ~5 km (2.8 km b.s.l.) is interpreted as a zone of partial melt which may be supplying material via conduits to account for the observed ground deformation; 2) A shallow low-resistivity feature ~400 m beneath the lake surface (1.8 km a.s.l.) and spatially coincident with the inflation centre is interpreted to be a zone of hydrothermal alteration; 3) A thin, low-resistivity feature to the west of LdM at a depth of ~250 m (2.2 km a.s.l.) is interpreted to be the clay cap of a potential geothermal prospect; 4) A large, low-resistivity zone beneath the San Pedro-Tatara Volcanic Complex to the west of LdM at a depth of ~10 km (8 km b.s.l.) is interpreted to be a zone of partial melt. Further MT data collection is planned for 2016 which will expand the current grid of MT stations to better constrain the lateral extent of the observed features and give greater insight into the dynamics of this restless magma system.