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Widespread uplift and ‘trapdoor’ faulting on Galápagos volcanoes observed with radar interferometry

Nature volume 407, pages 993–996 (2000)Cite this article

Abstract

Volcanic uplift, caused by the accumulation of magma in subsurface reservoirs, is a common precursor to eruptions1,2. But, for some volcanoes, uplift of metres or more has not yet led to an eruption3. Here we present displacement maps of volcanoes in the Galápagos Islands, constructed using satellite radar interferometry, that might help explain this dichotomy. We show that all but one of the seven volcanoes on the islands of Isabela and Fernandina deformed during 1992–99. Cerro Azul and Fernandina erupted4,5,6 during the observation period and show evidence of inflation, co-eruptive deflation and shallow dyke intrusion. In contrast, the largest volcano, Sierra Negra, has not erupted, yet exhibits spatially and temporally variable deformation, with a maximum uplift of 2.7 m between 1992 and 1999, which can be modelled by a shallow inflating sill. Inflation during 1997–98, however, was accompanied by ‘trapdoor’ faulting on a steeply dipping fracture system within the caldera. Repeated trapdoor faulting over geological time has formed an arcuate intra-caldera ridge within Sierra Negra and may have acted to relax stresses above the magma chamber, inhibiting summit eruptions. Similar processes may help explain large uplift unaccompanied by eruptive activity at other volcanoes.

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Figure 1: Observed deformation at Isabela and Fernandina (main image), the westernmost islands in the Galápagos archipelago (inset).
Figure 2: Radar interferograms of Sierra Negra volcano showing uplift during three time periods.
Figure 3: Deformation at Darwin volcano during 1992–98.
Figure 4: Two models for the Sierra Negra deformation during 1998–99.
Figure 5: Model for the observed deformation on Sierra Negra during 1997–98.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the European Space Agency for providing the SAR data and for supporting F.A. with a post-doctoral fellowship. This study was also supported by NASA. We thank D. Geist and P. Lundgren for comments.

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Author notes

  1. Falk Amelung

    Present address: Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, SOEST, University of Hawaii, 2525 Correa Road, Honolulu, Hawaii, 96822, USA

  2. Falk Amelung and Sigurjón Jónsson: These authors contributed equally to this work.

  3. Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to S.J. or F.A. .

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    1. Falk Amelung
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    2. Sigurjón Jónsson
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    3. Howard Zebker
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    4. Paul Segall
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    Stanford University, Department of Geophysics, Mitchell Building, Stanford, California94305-2215, USA

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    Amelung, F., Jónsson, S., Zebker, H. et al. Widespread uplift and ‘trapdoor’ faulting on Galápagos volcanoes observed with radar interferometry. Nature 407, 993–996 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35039604

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