Tectonic and magmatic evolution of the active volcanic front in El Salvador: insight into the Berlín and Ahuachapán geothermal areas

Abstract

In El Salvador, Central America, active deformation takes the form of a major dextral strike-slip fault system, the El Salvador Fault Zone, resulting from the oblique subduction of the Cocos Plate. The fault system is laterally discontinuous, being subdivided into different major en-echelon segments that partially overlap to form pull-apart structures. Volcanic activity is spatially confined to the fault segments and absent in the intervening pull-apart basins; no significant temporal gap exists in the erupted products, at least during the Plio-Quaternary. Detailed analyses within the geothermal fields of Berlín and Ahuachapán have revealed important volcano-structural and petrologic differences between the two areas. In the Berlín area active deformation is controlled by the regional transcurrent stress field, resulting in the development of systems of right-lateral E–W-trending strike-slip faults. Conversely, the structural setting of the Ahuachapán area is more complex, reflecting an interaction among different stress fields. Berlín products exhibit a marked geochemical and isotopic homogeneity indicating the presence of a single magmatic system. At Ahuachapán, on the other hand, the rocks display significant variations in both Sr isotopes and the LILE/HFSE ratios: this area is characterized by multiple volcanic centres, fed by different magma batches that reach the surface without reciprocal interactions in shallow reservoirs. Thus, the characteristics of the volcanic products at Berlín and Ahuachapán reflect their different tectonic settings, with important implications for geothermal investigations.