Volatile Content Implications of Increasing Explosivity of the Strombolian Eruptive Style along the Fracture Opening on the NE Villarrica Flank: Minor Eruptive Centers in the Los Nevados Group 2

Abstract

Potential flank eruptions at the presently active Villarrica, Southern Andes Volcanic Zone (33.3–46 °S) require the drawing of a comprehensive scenario of eruptive style dynamics, which partially depends on the degassing process. The case we consider in this study is from the Los Nevados Subgroup 2 (LNG2) and constitutes post-glacial minor eruptive centers (MECs) of basaltic–andesitic and basaltic composition, associated with the northeastern Villarrica flank. Petrological studies of the melt inclusions volatile content in olivine determined the pre-eruptive conditions of the shallow magma feeding system (<249 Mpa saturation pressure, 927–1201 °C). The volatile saturation model on “pressure-dependent” volatile species, measured by Fourier Transform Infrared Microspectrometry (FTIR) (H2O of 0.4–3.0 wt.% and CO2 of 114–1586 ppm) and electron microprobe (EMP), revealed that fast cooling pyroclasts like vesicular scoria preserve a ~1.5 times larger amount of CO2, S, Cl, and volatile species contained in melt inclusions from primitive olivine (Fo76–86). Evidence from geological mapping and drone surveys demonstrated the eruption chronology and spatial changes in eruption style from all the local vents along a N45° corridor. The mechanism by which LNG2 is degassed plays a critical role in increasing the explosivity uphill on the Villarrica flank from volcanic vents in the NE sector (<9 km minimum saturation depth) to the SW sector (<8.1 km), where many crystalline ballistic bombs were expulsed, rather than vesicular and spatter scoria.