Unraveling the Complex Interplay: Exploring the Relationships between Seismic and Volcanic Activities in the Colca River Area Using the Coulomb Stress Transfer

Abstract

Abstract The Colca River area is affected by shallow small-to-moderate earthquakes due to the activity of normal and strike-slip crustal faults on the overriding South American plate. In addition, volcanic activity from the Sabancaya volcano has been recorded. However, the complex relationship between seismic and volcanic activities and the factors that trigger them are poorly understood. To better understand the factors that influence seismic and volcanic activity and their potential connection, it is crucial to characterize the interactions between subsequent earthquakes and assess the impact of magmatic inflation on seismic events. In this study, we analyzed the static Coulomb stress transfer caused by the selected largest earthquakes from 1991 to 2022. We focused on both the assumed source faults and the receiver faults. Furthermore, we examined the Coulomb stress change due to magmatic inflation in 2013–2022 on nodal planes of the selected earthquakes. The results confirm the tectonic source for most earthquakes in the Colca region. Commonly, the magmatic source enhanced the stress change induced by the tectonic source. Although the Coulomb stress change caused by the significant earthquakes had a greater impact than the one resulting from the magmatic inflation, the Coulomb stress transfer seems not to be a dominant factor determining the occurrence and location of earthquakes in this area. The results indicate that most source faults of the analyzed earthquakes were not brought closer to failure due to a positive Coulomb stress transfer caused by seismic activity or magmatic inflation.