Abstract
Calderas are collapse structures related to the emptying of magmatic reservoirs, often associated with large eruptions from long-lived magmatic systems. Understanding how magma is transferred from a magma reservoir to the surface before eruptions is a major challenge. Here we exploit the historical, archaeological and geological record of Campi Flegrei caldera to estimate the surface deformation preceding the Monte Nuovo eruption and investigate the shallow magma transfer. Our data suggest a progressive magma accumulation from ~1251 to 1536 in a 4.6 ± 0.9 km deep source below the caldera centre, and its transfer, between 1536 and 1538, to a 3.8 ± 0.6 km deep magmatic source ~4 km NW of the caldera centre, below Monte Nuovo; this peripheral source fed the eruption through a shallower source, 0.4 ± 0.3 km deep. This is the first reconstruction of pre-eruptive magma transfer at Campi Flegrei and corroborates the existence of a stationary oblate source, below the caldera centre, that has been feeding lateral eruptions for the last ~5 ka. Our results suggest: 1) repeated emplacement of magma through intrusions below the caldera centre; 2) occasional lateral transfer of magma feeding non-central eruptions within the caldera. Comparison with historical unrest at calderas worldwide suggests that this behavior is common.
Highlights
Calderas are collapse structures related to the emptying of magmatic reservoirs, often associated with large eruptions from long-lived magmatic systems
A representative example of the multidisciplinary procedure adopted for such a detailed description of the historical elevation changes for the Capo Miseno area is included in the supplementary material
The lower time limit for the caldera uplift is given by historical documents describing the Pozzuoli promontory as an island in 125115,16, whereas at the end of the 13th and beginning of the 14th century the previously submerged area around the promontory is reported as the location of three new churches
Summary
Calderas are collapse structures related to the emptying of magmatic reservoirs, often associated with large eruptions from long-lived magmatic systems. We exploit the historical, archaeological and geological record of Campi Flegrei caldera to estimate the surface deformation preceding the Monte Nuovo eruption and investigate the shallow magma transfer. Defining and understanding the shallow transfer of magma at volcanoes is crucial to forecast eruptions, possibly the ultimate goal of volcanology This is challenging at felsic calderas experiencing unrest, which typically includes significant changes in seismicity, deformation and degassing rates. Despite the restless activity of Campi Flegrei, the recent unrest episodes did not culminate in eruption, so that any possibility to define the pre-eruptive shallow transfer of magma The details of this complex and multidisciplinary approach are provided in the Methods and in Supplementary Information sections
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