Relationship Between Active Faulting/Fracturing and Magmatism Around Santorini: Seismic Anisotropy From an Active Source Tomography Experiment

In extending volcanic arcs such as the Aegean, tectonic processes exert a significant control on magmatism. Spanning scales from 1 to 10s of km, volcanic vents, edifices, and eruptive centers follow the orientation of, and are located near, fault zones. Whether this tectonic control on magmatism results from individual faults/fractures weakening the crust or because regional stresses control magma input into the crust is debated. Here we investigate the scales of tectonic and magmatic interactions, specifically focusing on the role of local-scale (<10 km) faults/fractures in controlling magmatism. We infer local-scale fault/fracture orientations from anisotropic active-source P-wave travel-time tomography to investigate tectonic and magmatic interactions in the upper crust of Santorini Volcano, Greece, and the actively deforming region to the east. We use the anisotropy magnitude and seismic velocity reduction to model the relative distribution of both consistently oriented and randomly oriented faults/fractures. Our results show that oriented faulting/fracturing resulting from regional-scale (>10 km) tectonic stresses is distributed broadly across the region at 2-3 km depth, approximately paralleling volcanic/magmatic features. On a local-scale, magmatism is neither localized in areas of higher oriented fault/fracture density, nor is it accommodating enough extensional strain to inhibit oriented faulting/fracturing of host rock. The alignment of magmatic features shows strong tectonic control despite the lack of correlation with local oriented fault/fracture density. These results suggest that magmatic processes are strongly influenced by regional-scale, not local-scale, tectonic processes. We infer regional processes have a greater impact on magmatism than local features due to their greater effect at depth.

Automated summary

In volcanic arcs like the Aegean, tectonic processes have a significant control on magmatism, with regional-scale tectonic stresses leading to oriented faulting across the region. Local-scale faults/fractures do not necessarily correlate with magmatic features, indicating that regional processes have a greater impact on magmatism than local features. The alignment of magmatic features shows strong tectonic control, suggesting that magmatic processes are strongly influenced by regional-scale tectonic processes.