Local Earthquake Seismic Tomography Reveals the Link Between Crustal Structure and Volcanism in Tenerife (Canary Islands)

Abstract

Volcanic activity on Tenerife Island is extremely diverse. Three radial rift zones are characterized by cinder cones from basaltic fissure eruptions. A triple junction in central Tenerife exhibits a complex of merged, predominantly phonolitic, stratovolcanoes. The Las Cañadas caldera and widespread ignimbrite deposits reveal high explosive potential. We investigated the crustal and upper mantle structure beneath Tenerife using local earthquake data recorded by two dense seismic networks on the island. For our tomographic inversion, we selected >130,000 P- and S-wave arrivals from ∼6,300 events that occurred during seismic unrests in 2004–2005 and 2017–2021. Synthetic tests confirmed that we could robustly resolve seismic velocity structures to ∼20 km depth. In the upper crust (down to ∼7 km) beneath central Tenerife, a prominent high-velocity anomaly represents the rigid core of the volcanic complex; at greater depths, a strong low-velocity anomaly reveals abrupt crustal thickening. Vp and Vs contour lines of 5.2 and 2.85 km/s, respectively, reveal Moho depth variation; crustal thickness beneath Las Cañadas reaches ∼17 km, whereas that beneath other parts of Tenerife is ∼10 km. An anomaly at ∼5 km beneath the caldera with low Vp, low Vs, and high Vp/Vs might be associated with a major phonolitic magma reservoir. Similar anomalies at ∼ sea level may represent shallow magma sources responsible for recent eruptions. Seismicity occurs in a columnar area of high Vp, high Vs, and low Vp/Vs, and may represent hydrothermal fluid migration through brittle media. Based on our results, we constructed a conceptual model of volcanic activity on Tenerife.