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Morphology, structure and hydrothermal alteration of piggybacking crater structures at Pico del Teide (Tenerife, Canary Islands) as analysed by high-resolution photogrammetry, image analysis, and rock sample analysis

Davitia James1, 2, Thomas R. Walter1, 2, Valentin R. Troll3, Michael J. Heap4, Claire E. Harnett5, Benjamin De Jarnatt1,2, Guosheng Gao1, 2, Pablo J. González6, Thomas Boulesteix6, Juan Carlos Carracedo6

  • Affiliations: 1GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany; 2University of Potsdam, Institute of Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany; 3Department of Earth Sciences, Natural Resources and Sustainable Development, Uppsala University, 75236 Uppsala, Sweden; 4CNRS, Institut Terre et Environnement de Strasbourg, Université de Strasbourg, UMR 7063, 5 Rue Descartes, Strasbourg F-67084, France; 5UCD School of Earth Sciences, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; 6Instituto de Productos Naturales y Agrobiologia, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas

  • Presentation type: Poster

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

  • Poster Board Number: 175

  • Programme No: 3.5.34

  • Theme 3 > Session 5

Abstract

At Pico del Teide, we investigate the overprinting geometries and vent pathways of two stacked volcanic cone and crater systems. The Las Cañadas volcano underwent repeated growth-collapse cycles, and the latest major event was a north-directed sector collapse that created the Las Cañadas Caldera. Within this collapse amphitheater, phonolitic eruptions from Teide and Pico Viejo built the older, 3500 m stratocone and crater. From here, Teide's youngest summit eruption produced characteristic phonolitic lavas and built the current cone and crater at ~3700 m, infilling the older one. Remnants of the earlier structure are visible, but details of the geometry, morphometry, and structural relationships of the crater and the overprinted cone are absent. Accessing the edifice is challenging, therefore we carried out a close-range optical, thermal, and hyperspectral drone survey in October 2024, reconstructed the morphology from 12 overflights, and identified characteristics of the evolving Teide edifice from over 20,000 images. Using structure-from-motion algorithms, we generated a digital twin of the area, from the Las Cañadas floor to the summit. From this centimeter-resolution dataset we note slope changes at scarps and distinct features within modern Teide's summit region. We perform supervised and unsupervised data classification, and map lithologies and surface structures. We compare hydrothermal deposits, thermal anomalies and structural features at the hidden (3500 m), and open craters (3700 m). Ground truthing with petrological and hyperspectral analysis at accessible sites allows us to resolve distinct lithological and structural zones, and describe the internal architecture of the piggybacking cones and craters.