Seismic evidence of the active regional tectonic faults and the Copahue volcano, at Caviahue Caldera, Argentina

Understanding interactions between tectonic faults and a nearby active volcano is often realized by combining seismic and field observations. A good example of such an interaction is the Caviahue caldera. It is located in an intra-arc extensional pull-apart basin, within a transition zone joining the northern part of the right-lateral strike-slip Liquine-Ofqui Fault System and the thrust-fault Antinir-Copahue fault zone. Most of the active volcanoes in South Chile are related to the Liquine-Ofqui Fault System. Some faults located inside the Caviahue caldera were described with reverse mechanisms by some studies whereas they were found to be normal by others. In order to discriminate the actual focal mechanisms, two seismic clusters that occurred in 2017 and 2018 inside the Caviahue rectangular caldera, close to the active Copahue volcano, were studied. Earthquakes (520) were located; focal mechanisms (56) were determined from which an average seismic moment tensor was calculated. The locations and focal mechanisms of the earthquakes allow splitting the seismicity into two main regions, one of tectonic origin (with strike-slip faults) and another one of volcanic origin (with normal faults). The first seismic cluster is located close to Caviahue village, with strike-slip focal mechanisms, in an NNE direction as the nearby Liquine-Ofqui Fault strikes. The other part of the seismicity is located close to the northeastern structures of Copahue volcano, in the hydrothermal zone of Anfiteatro, Termas de Copahue, and Maquinitas. It is oriented in an NE direction and is composed of earthquakes with normal focal mechanisms, not reverse as postulated in past studies. The active Copahue volcano lies in the SW prolongation of these normal faults, in agreement with the tectonics of the Caviahue caldera. Then, the two nearby seismic clusters reveal both a tectonic origin, with strike-slip focal mechanisms compatible with the Liquine-Ofqui Fault System, and a hydrothermal origin with normal focal mechanisms, compatible with the hydrothermal system of the Copahue active volcano.

Automated summary

The Caviahue caldera in South Chile is associated with both tectonic activity from the Liquine-Ofqui Fault System and volcanic activity. Studies have shown seismic clusters in the region with strike-slip faults from tectonic origin and normal faults from volcanic origin, particularly in the area near the active Copahue volcano.