Trans-crustal structural control of CO2-rich extensional magmatic systems revealed at Mount Erebus Antarctica

Abstract

Erebus volcano, Antarctica, with its persistent phonolite lava lake, is a classic example of an evolved, CO₂-rich rift volcano. Seismic studies provide limited images of the magmatic system. Here we show using magnetotelluric data that a steep, melt-related conduit of low electrical resistivity originating in the upper mantle undergoes pronounced lateral re-orientation in the deep crust before reaching shallower magmatic storage and the summit lava lake. The lateral turn represents a structural fault-valve controlling episodic flow of magma and CO₂ vapour, which replenish and heat the high level phonolite differentiation zone. This magmatic valve lies within an inferred, east-west structural trend forming part of an accommodation zone across the southern termination of the Terror Rift, providing a dilatant magma pathway. Unlike H₂O-rich subduction arc volcanoes, CO₂-dominated Erebus geophysically shows continuous magmatic structure to shallow crustal depths of < 1 km, as the melt does not experience decompression-related volatile supersaturation and viscous stalling.

Episodic magma eruption and CO₂ release to the atmosphere are controlled where two structural trends meet to cause dilatancy.