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The intrinsic connection between tectonics and volcanism in Sumatra, Indonesia: A preliminary assessment

Andrea Verolino1 , Emily A. Shiver2, Euan J. F. Mutch1,2, Yuyang Sim1, Lujia Feng1,2

  • Affiliations:  1Earth Observatory of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Ave, Singapore, 639798, Singapore 2Asian School of Environment, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Ave, Singapore, 639798, Singapore 

  • Presentation type: Poster

  • Presentation time: Friday 16:30 - 18:00, Room Poster Hall

  • Poster Board Number: 141

  • Programme No: 3.4.23

  • Theme 3 > Session 4

Abstract

A long-standing debate in the geosciences centers on the interplay between volcanism and tectonics. Southeast Asia, one of the most tectonically and volcanically active regions on Earth, hosts numerous active and hazardous volcanoes, with 116 in Indonesia and 33 in the Philippines. These volcanoes account for over 15% of the global eruptions recorded during the Holocene (the last ~12,000 years). Despite the proximity of many of these volcanoes to major tectonic features, the potential links between them remain largely unexplored. This study aims to provide an exploratory assessment of this relationship, by starting to analyse the link between physical and geochemical parameters across varying spatial scales. This includes erupted edifice volumes, magma storage depths, geochemical proxies, vent densities, regional stress orientations and edifice location with respect to regional tectonic faults. We started our assessments by focusing on selected land-based stratovolcanoes from Sumatra because considered representative of the amount of explosive volcanism that occurred in the area, and because Sumatra hosts the Sumatran fault, which runs for about 1600 km from north to south of the island, therefore ideal for this type of investigation. Future research will also include calderas and volcanic fields, extending the study area to Java and the Philippines for  more regional assessment, and comparing to other arc systems such as the Cascades. The analyses are underway and the volume calculations are being conducted through the recently published and revised MATLAB-based version of MORVOLC. We aim to assess our multidimensional geospatial datasets by leveraging machine-learning based statistical techniques.