The intrusion of new magma triggered the 2011-2012 unrest at Santorini: evidence from noble-gas isotopes

Santorini is one of the most famous active volcanoes of the world for its catastrophic explosive eruption that occurred during the Minoan civilization. Since then the Kameni eruptive centers that formed within the caldera erupted repeatedly until 1950. In 2011-2012 the volcano has been characterized by a seismic unrest, that was unprecedented at Santorini at least since the 1950 eruption, and that led to fear for an imminent eruption. Because more than 100,000 visitors are present on the island during the tourist season, and considering the eruptive potential of Santorini, it is crucial to evaluate the hazard of this volcano, which depends on the type of magma actually present in the volcanic system. With the aim to address this question, this research shows the first comparison between noble-gas isotope composition of the present fumarolic gases with that of fluid inclusions hosted in enclaves contained in the 1570 and 1925 AD dacitic magmas erupted at Nea Kameni. These enclaves are a portion of mafic magma batches that replenished the shallow chamber of the plumbing system hosting cooler and more silicic melts. Their Sr-Nd isotope ratios are quite similar to those measured in the host dacitic rocks, implying a common parental magma. Therefore, the analyzed enclaves may be considered representative of the historic magma erupted at Nea Kameni which could be still present in the volcano plumbing system feeding the crater fumaroles. The 3He/4He ratios of enclaves, once corrected for air contamination (3.1-3.6 Ra), partially overlap those of the gases (3.5-4.0 Ra) collected from Nea and Palea Kameni. The range of 3He/4He ratios (3.1-4.0 Ra) is appreciably lower than typical arc volcanoes (R/Ra ~7-8), implying that a contamination by 4He-rich fluids occurred either directly in the mantle and/or in the plumbing system. Comparison of 3He/4He and 4He/40Ar* ratios measured in enclaves with those of gases, as well as long-term monitoring of R/Ra in the latters, coherently indicate that the unrest in 2011-2012 was due to the injection into the plumbing system of a new batch of magma that is probably more mafic and less degassed than the basaltic-andesitic to dacitic magmas historically residing therein. All of the anomalies ceased in February 2012, suggesting that a new period of quiescence had been reestablished.