Volcanism in Antarctica: 200 Million Years of Subduction, Rifting and Continental Break-up
CONTAINS OPEN ACCESS

This memoir is the first to review all of Antarctica's volcanism between 200 million years ago and the Present. The region is still volcanically active. The volume is an amalgamation of in-depth syntheses, which are presented within distinctly different tectonic settings. Each is described in terms of (1) the volcanology and eruptive palaeoenvironments; (2) petrology and origin of magma; and (3) active volcanism, including tephrochronology. Important volcanic episodes include: astonishingly voluminous mafic and felsic volcanic deposits associated with the Jurassic break-up of Gondwana; the construction and progressive demise of a major Jurassic to Present continental arc, including back-arc alkaline basalts and volcanism in a young ensialic marginal basin; Miocene to Pleistocene mafic volcanism associated with post-subduction slab-window formation; numerous Neogene alkaline volcanoes, including the massive Erebus volcano and its persistent phonolitic lava lake, that are widely distributed within and adjacent to one of the world's major zones of lithospheric extension (the West Antarctic Rift System); and very young ultrapotassic volcanism erupted subglacially and forming a world-wide type example (Gaussberg).
Chapter 7.1 Deception Island
Correspondence: [email protected]
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Published:May 27, 2021
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CiteCitation
A. Geyer, D. Pedrazzi, J. Almendros, M. Berrocoso, J. López-Martínez, A. Maestro, E. Carmona, A. M. Álvarez-Valero, A. de Gil, 2021. "Chapter 7.1 Deception Island", Volcanism in Antarctica: 200 Million Years of Subduction, Rifting and Continental Break-up, J. L. Smellie, K. S. Panter, A. Geyer
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Abstract
Deception Island (South Shetland Islands) is one of the most active volcanoes in Antarctica, with more than 15 explosive eruptive events registered over the past two centuries. Recent eruptions (1967, 1969 and 1970) and volcanic unrest episodes in 1992, 1999 and 2014–15 demonstrate that the occurrence of future volcanic activity is a valid and pressing concern for scientists, logistic personnel and tourists that are visiting or are working on or near the island. Over the last few decades, intense research activity has been carried out on Deception Island to decipher the origin and evolution of this very complex volcano. To that end, a solid integration of related scientific disciplines, such as tectonics, petrology, geochemistry, geophysics, geomorphology, remote sensing, glaciology, is required. A proper understanding of the island's evolution in the past, and its present state, is essential for improving the efficiency in interpreting monitoring data recorded during volcanic unrest periods and, hence, for future eruption forecasting. In this chapter, we briefly present Deception Island's most relevant tectonic, geomorphological, volcanological and magmatic features, as well as the results obtained from decades of monitoring the island's seismic activity and ground deformation.
- Antarctica
- areal geology
- Bransfield Basin
- Bransfield Strait
- calderas
- Cenozoic
- crater lakes
- craters
- Deception Island
- deformation
- domes
- eruptions
- explosive eruptions
- geochemistry
- glacial geology
- glaciers
- lakes
- landform evolution
- lava flows
- lineaments
- monitoring
- ocean floors
- periglacial features
- permafrost
- petrology
- prediction
- Quaternary
- remote sensing
- Scotia Sea Islands
- seamounts
- seismicity
- South Shetland Islands
- Southern Ocean
- tectonics
- volcanic features
- volcanism
- volcanoes
- Penguin Island
- Bridgeman Island