Abstract
The Cerro Galan caldera, north-west Argentina, is one of the world's largest resurgent calderas but was not recognized as such until the advent of spacecraft imagery1,2. Here we present some initial results of the first scientific expedition to the caldera that was formed during a major eruption 2.5 Myr ago during which 1,000 km3 of ignimbrite was erupted. The pre-welding thickness of ignimbrite within the resurgent part of the caldera was ∼2km. The ignimbrite is fine grained and lacks large pumice and lithic clasts. An underlying plinian air fall pumice deposit is absent. The wide dispersal of the ignimbrite suggests an unusually violent eruption, perhaps initiated by subsidence of the caldera floor into the magma chamber.
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Francis, P., O'Callaghan, L., Kretzschmar, G. et al. The Cerro Galan ignimbrite. Nature 301, 51–53 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1038/301051a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/301051a0
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