Relative roles of rifting tectonics and magma ascent processes: Inferences from geophysical, structural, volcanological, and geochemical data for the Neapolitan volcanic region (southern Italy)

Abstract

The Neapolitan volcanic region is located within the graben structure of the Campanian Plain (CP), which developed between the western sector of the Appenine Chain and the eastern margin of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Two volcanic areas, spaced less than 10 km apart, are situated within the CP: the Somma‐Vesuvius Volcano (SVV) and the Phlegraean Volcanic District (PVD). SVV is a typical stratovolcano, whereas PVD, including Campi Flegrei, Procida, and Ischia, is composed mostly of monogenetic centers. This contrast is due to different magma supply systems: a widespread fissure‐type system beneath the PVD and a central‐type magma supply system for the SVV. Volcanological, geophysical, and geochemical data show that magma viscosity, magma supply rate, and depth of magma storage are comparable at PVD and SVV, whereas different structural arrangements characterize the two areas. On the basis of geophysical data and magma geochemistry, an oblique‐extensional tectonic regime is proposed within the PVD, whereas in the SVV area a compressive stress regime dominates over extension. Geophysical data suggest that the area with the maximum deformation rate extends between the EW‐running 41st parallel and the NE‐running Magnaghi‐Sebeto fault systems. The PVD extensional area is a consequence of the Tyrrhenian Sea opening and is decoupled from the surrounding areas (Roccamonfina and Somma‐Vesuvius) which are still dominated by Adriatic slab dynamics. Spatially, we argue that the contribution of the asthenospheric wedge become much less important from W‐NW to E‐SE in the CP. The development of the two styles of volcanism in the CP reflects the different tectonic regimes acting in the area.