No abstract

Cryptodome and dome collapse is associated with volcanic hazards, such as explosive eruptions, pyroclastic density currents, and volcanic edifice collapse. The study of the growth and evolution of volcanic domes provides vital information on the link between dome growth and the development of weakness zones that may cause collapse. The Cerro Bayo cryptodome is superbly exposed in the eroded Miocene Chachahuén volcano in the Neuquén basin, Argentina. Cerro Bayo is a >0.3‐km3 trachyandesitic cryptodome that intruded within the uppermost kilometer of the Chachahuén volcano. Here we investigate the emplacement of the Cerro Bayo cryptodome using structural mapping, photogrammetry and measurement of magma flow indicators, brittle deformation features, and magnetic fabrics with anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility. Magma flow fabrics near the margin are concentric and indicate contact‐parallel flow and internal inflation of the body. Magmatic and magnetic fabrics and fracture patterns in the interior of the cryptodome are more complex and outline several structural domains. These domains are separated by magmatic shear zones that accommodated intrusion growth. The shear zones locally overprint the earlier formed concentric fabric. The nature of the structural domains shows that the emplacement of Cerro Bayo occurred in three stages that resemble the endogenous to exogenous growth of volcanic domes. The formation of magmatic shear zones during cryptodome formation may have a profound effect on cryptodome stability by creating weakness zones that increase the risk of collapse.

The analysis of magnetic fabrics by means of anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) and anisotropy of anhysteretic and isothermal remanence magnetization (AARM and AIRM) are routinely employed for rock fabric (or petrofabric) determination. Their use is highly versatile, from the analysis of igneous flow fabrics in intrusive and extrusive environments (

Understanding magma transport in sheet intrusions is crucial to interpreting volcanic unrest. Studies of dyke emplacement and geometry focus predominantly on low-viscosity, mafic dykes. Here, we present an in-depth study of two high-viscosity dykes (106 Pa·s) in the Chachahuén volcano, Argentina, the Great Dyke and the Sosa Dyke. To quantify dyke geometries, magma flow indicators, and magma viscosity, we combine photogrammetry, microstructural analysis, igneous petrology, Fourier-Transform-Infrared-Spectroscopy, and Anisotropy of Magnetic Susceptibility (AMS). Our results show that the dykes consist of 3 to 8 mappable segments up to 2 km long. Segments often end in a bifurcation, and segment tips are predominantly oval, but elliptical tips occur in the outermost segments of the Great Dyke. Furthermore, variations in host rocks have no observable impact on dyke geometry. AMS fabrics and other flow indicators in the Sosa Dyke show lateral magma flow in contrast to the vertical flow suggested by the segment geometries. A comparison with segment geometries of low-viscosity dykes shows that our high-viscosity dykes follow the same geometrical trend. In fact, the data compilation supports that dyke segment and tip geometries reflect different stages in dyke emplacement, questioning the current usage for final sheet geometries as proxies for emplacement mechanism.