Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Subsidence at southern Andes volcanoes induced by the 2010 Maule, Chile earthquake

Nature Geoscience volume 6, pages 632–636 (2013)Cite this article

Subjects

This article has been updated

Abstract

Large earthquakes provoke unrest in volcanic areas hundreds of kilometres away from their epicentre. For example, earthquakes can induce ground deformation1, thermal anomalies2, additional earthquakes1, hydrological changes3 or eruptions4,5,6,7,8 in volcanic regions. Two earthquakes in the Chilean subduction zone, in 1906 and 1960, triggered eruptions in the Andean southern volcanic zone within one year9, yet no significant eruptions in the past three years are clearly associated with the 2010 Mw 8.8 Maule, Chile earthquake. We use satellite Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) and night-time thermal infrared data to analyse subtle changes in ground deformation and thermal activity at volcanoes in the southern volcanic zone since 2010. We document unprecedented subsidence of up to 15 cm in five volcanic areas within weeks of the earthquake, but no detectable thermal changes. We suggest that the deformation is related to coseismic release of fluids from hydrothermal systems documented at three of the five subsiding regions10,11. The depth and shape of these hydrothermal reservoirs can also be constrained by our deformation data, implying that coseismic volcano subsidence could be used to prospect for geothermal resources. Similar subsidence observed at Japanese volcanoes following the 2011 Tohoku earthquake12 suggests this phenomenon is widespread.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Slip from the Maule earthquake23 and several interferogram stacks showing ground subsidence in volcanic areas.
Figure 2: Volcanic ground subsidence observed in interferogram stacks spanning the earthquake (with earthquake effects removed).
Figure 3: Interferogram and elevation profiles from the five subsiding volcanic areas.
Figure 4: Static normal stress change (Δσn) from the modelled coseismic slip23 calculated on optimally oriented extensional structures at 2.5 km depth.
Figure 5: Conceptual diagram of the favoured mechanism of the observed volcanic deformation triggered by the Maule earthquake.

Similar content being viewed by others

Change history

  • 16 July 2013

    In the version of this Letter originally published online, the published online date was incorrect; it should have read 1 July 2013. This has been corrected in all versions of the Letter.

References

  1. Hill, D. & Prejean, S. in Treatise on Geophysics Vol. 4 (ed. Kanamori, H.) 257–291 (Elsevier, 2007).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  2. Donne, D. D., Harrris, A. J. L., Ripepe, M. & Wright, R. Earthquake-induced thermal anomalies at active volcanoes. Geology 38, 771–774 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Manga, M. & Wang, C-Y. in Treatise on Geophysics Vol. 4 (ed. Kanamori, H.) 293–320 (Elsevier, 2007).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  4. Darwin, C. R. On the connexion of certain volcanic phenomena in South America: And on the formation of mountain chains and volcanos, as the effect of the same power by which continents are elevated. Trans. J. Geol. Soc. Lond. 5, 601–631 (1840).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Linde, A. T. & Sacks, I. S. Triggering of volcanic eruptions. Nature 395, 888–890 (1998).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Manga, M. & Brodsky, E. Seismic triggering of eruptions in the far field: Volcanoes and geysers. Ann. Rev. Earth Planet Sci. 34, 263–291 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Walter, T. R. & Amelung, F. Volcanic eruptions following M≥9 megathrust earthquakes: Implications for the Sumatra–Andaman volcanoes. Geology 35, 539–542 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Eggert, S. & Walter, T. R. Volcanic activity before and after large tectonic earthquakes: Observations and statistical significance. Tectonophysics 471, 14–26 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Watt, S. F. L., Pyle, D. M. & Mather, T. A. The influence of great earthquakes on volcanic eruption rate along the Chilean subduction zone. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 277, 399–407 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Grunder, A. L., Thompson, J. M. & Hildreth, W. The hydrothermal system of the Calabozos caldera, central Chilean Andes. J. Volc. Geotherm. Res. 32, 287–298 (1987).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Siebert, L. & Simkin, T. Volcanoes of the world: An illustrated catalog of Holocene volcanoes and their eruptions, www.volcano.si.edu (accessed 29 April 2013).

  12. Takada, Y. & Fukushima, Y. Volcanic subsidence triggered by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake in Japan. Nature Geosci. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1857 (2013).

  13. González-Ferrán, O. Volcanes de Chile (Instituto Geografico Militar, 1995) (in Spanish).

    Google Scholar 

  14. Lara, L. E., Orozco, G., Amigo, A. & Silva, C. Peligros Volcánicos de Chile (Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería, Carta Geológica de Chile, Serie Geología Ambiental, No. 13, p. 1 mapa escala 1:2.000.000, Santiago, 2011).

  15. Jay, J. A. et al. in Remote Sensing of Volcanoes and Volcanic Processes: Integrating Observation and Modelling (eds Pyle, D., Mather, T. A. & Biggs, J.) (Geological Society of London, 2013) (in the press).

    Google Scholar 

  16. Lara, L. E., Moreno, H. & Naranjo, J. Rhyodacitic fissure eruption in southern Andes, Chile (40.5° S) after the 1960 (Mw 9.5) Chilean earthquake: A structural interpretation. J. Volcan. Geotherm. Res. 138, 127–138 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Lupi, M. et al. Response of the Nevados de Chillan and Peteroa volcanoes, Chile, to the 2010 M8.8 Maule earthquake (abstract). EGU Gen. Assem. 14, EGU20121 (2012).

    Google Scholar 

  18. Mora-Stock, C. et al. Comparison of seismic activity for Llaima and Villarrica volcanoes prior to and after the Maule 2010 earthquake. Int. J. Earth Sci. (in the press, 2013).

  19. Jay, J. A. et al. Shallow seismicity, triggered seismicity, and ambient noise tomography at the long-dormant Uturuncu volcano, Bolivia. Bull. Volcanol. 74, 817–837 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Pritchard, M. E. & Simons, M. An InSAR-based survey of volcanic deformation in the southern Andes. Geophys. Res. Lett. 31, L15610 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Fournier, T., Pritchard, M. E. & Riddick, S. N. The frequency, duration, and magnitude of subaerial volcano deformation events: New results from Latin America and a global synthesis. Geochem. Geophys. Geosys. 11, Q01003 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Hildreth, W., Godoy, E., Fierstein, J. & Singer, B. Laguna del Maule Volcanic Field: Eruptive History of a Quaternary Baslat to Rhyolite Distributed Volcanic Field on the Rangecrest in Central Chile (Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería Chile, 2010).

    Google Scholar 

  23. Lorito, S. et al. Limited overlap between the seismic gap and coseismic slip of the great 2010 Chile earthquake. Nature Geosci. 4, 173–177 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Vigny, C. et al. The 2010 Mw 8.8 Maule megathrust earthquake of central Chile, monitored by GPS. Science 332, 1417–1421 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Mohr, C. H., Montgomery, D. R., Huber, A., Bronstert, A. & Iroumé, A. Streamflow response in small upland catchments in the Chilean coastal range to the Mw 8.8 Maule earthquake on 27 February 2010. J. Geophys. Res. 117, F02032 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Peltzer, G., Rosen, P. A., Rogez, F. & Hudnut, K. Poroelastic rebound along the Landers 1992 earthquake surface rupture. J. Geophys. Res. 103, 30131–30145 (1998).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Hearn, E. H. & Fialko, Y. Can compliant fault zones be used to measure absolute stresses in the upper crust? J. Geophys. Res. 114, B04403 (2009).

    Google Scholar 

  28. Cembrano, J. & Lara, L. The link between volcanism and tectonics in the southern volcanic zone of the Chilean Andes: A review. Tectonophysics 471, 96–113 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Jellinek, A. M., Manga, M. & Saar, M. O. Did melting glaciers cause volcanic eruptions in eastern California? Probing the mechanics of dike formation. J. Geophys. Res. 109, B09206 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

ALOS data were provided by JAXA, with access provided from the Alaska Satellite Facility and NASA. ERS and ENVISAT SAR imagery was acquired as a Category 1 research project from the European Space Agency. This work was partly supported by NASA grant NNX08AT02G, issued through the Science Mission Directorate’s Earth Science Division. J.A.J. and S.T.H. are supported by NASA graduate fellowships and F.A. is supported by CONICYT ‘Beca Chile.’ We thank M. Welch, A. K. Melkonian and N. Button for help with data analysis and Y. Fukushima, P. Sruoga, J. A. Naranjo, J. Clavero, C. Mohr, C-Y. Wang, E. Brodsky, M. Manga, B. Barnhart and F. Delgado for comments.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA

    M. E. Pritchard, J. A. Jay, F. Aron & S. T. Henderson

  2. Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería, Volcano Hazards Program, Santiago 8320119, Chile

    L. E. Lara

Authors
  1. M. E. Pritchard
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. J. A. Jay
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. F. Aron
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. S. T. Henderson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. L. E. Lara
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

M.E.P. oversaw the InSAR data analysis and wrote the paper with input from all authors. J.A.J. analysed the thermal and streamflow data and modelled the InSAR data, F.A. did the coseismic stress change modelling, S.T.H. did finite element modelling, and L.E.L. contributed field observations.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. E. Pritchard.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary Information (PDF 8484 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Pritchard, M., Jay, J., Aron, F. et al. Subsidence at southern Andes volcanoes induced by the 2010 Maule, Chile earthquake. Nature Geosci 6, 632–636 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1855

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1855

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing