Magma intrusion and accumulation in the southern Altiplano: Structural observations from the PLUTONS project

The PLUTONS project is attempting to capture the process of magma intrusion and pluton formation, in situ, through multi-disciplinary study of known magmatic inflation centers. With support from the NSF Continental Dynamics program, and a sister project in the UK funded by NERC, two such centers are receiving focused study. Uturuncu volcano in the Altiplano of southern Bolivia is being investigated with combined seismics, magnetotellurics, geodesy, microgravity, geomorphology, petrology, geochemistry, historical studies and modeling. 350 km to the south, comparable investigations are targeting the Lastarria-Cordon del Azufre complex. Field studies are ongoing into 2013. In this presentation we highlight results from Uturuncu that bear on the crustal magmatic process. Seismic tomography, gravity and magnetotellurics indicate a complex structure in the upper 20 km with some evidence for partial melt. Seismic receiver functions indicate a layer of very low velocities across the region at 15-25 km depth that is almost certainly melt-rich. High conductivities corroborate the interpretation of a partial melt component to this layer. In addition to the throughgoing melt layer, seismic velocities and attenuation indicate shallow features above the melt body extending upward toward the surface. It is not clear whether these features are associated with recent uplift or are remnants from a previous period of activity. Uturuncu is seismically active with hundreds of locatable earthquakes each year. Seismic lineations and swarm behavior suggest that the seismicity reflects regional stress patterns. While there is little evidence that these earthquakes are the direct result of magmatic intrusion, the resulting high heat flow may be hastening existing strains.