In this paper, we present a magnetic model of the subsurface structure of Vulcano island based on highresolution aeromagnetic data. Three profiles across the most intense magnetic anomalies over the Piano and Fossa calderas were selected for the magnetic modelling, which was constrained by structural and volcanological data, previous geophysical models, paleomagnetic data, and borehole stratigraphy obtained from two deep wells. The interpretation of the magnetic sources represents a significant contribution to the understanding of the Piano and Fossa calderas' underlying structure, providing us with evidence of the lateral discontinuity between them at depth. We propose that the positive magnetic anomalies in the Piano caldera area are caused by: (a) the remnants of an early submarine volcano; (b) an outcropping dyke swarm related to the feeding system of the Primordial Vulcano phase (beneath Mt. Saraceno); and (c) the presence of a non-outcropping dyke system intruded along a NE-SWoriented intra-caldera fault (beneath the eastern part of the Piano caldera). Offshore, to the west, the magnetic anomaly map suggests the presence of a submarine volcanic structure, not revealed by bathymetric data, which could represent the eruptive centre, the presence of which has been indirectly deduced from the outcrop of eastern-dipping lavas on the western seashore. Magnetic modelling of the Fossa caldera points to the presence of a highly magnetized cone-like body inside the Fossa cone, centred beneath the oldest crater rims. We interpret this body as a pile of tephritic lavas emplaced in an early phase of activity of the Fossa cone, suggesting that the volume of mafic lavas that erupted at the beginning of the construction of the Fossa edifice was more significant than has previously been deduced. Furthermore, the presence of a magnetized body inside the Fossa cone implies that high temperatures are contained in very limited spaces, do not affect its bulk inner structure, and are restricted to fumarolic conduits and vents. In addition, structures beneath the western and northern part of the Fossa caldera are revealed to have null or low magnetization, which can be ascribed to the presence of pyroclasts and hyaloclastites in this area as well as to a large volume of hydrothermally altered materials. This suggests that the hydrothermal system, with a very limited extension at present, affected a larger area in the past, especially beneath the western part of the caldera.

We present 3‐D magnetic models of Tenerife based on a high‐resolution aeromagnetic survey carried out in 2006. Two different inverse modeling techniques have been applied: (1) a linear method aimed at imaging lateral magnetization contacts and (2) a nonlinear method aimed at obtaining a 3‐D description of deep intrusive bodies, in which a constant magnetization value characterizes the main sources. Magnetic models show that deep intrusive structures are located beneath the northern part of the island and aligned along the E‐W direction. This arrangement of intrusive bodies does not support the hypothesis of a three‐armed rift system that has been present since the early formation of the island. The shallow portion of the intrusive structures shows a round geometry that agrees with the previously proposed location of some of the landslide headwalls, suggesting that collapse scars have acted as preferential sites for magma upwelling. Our magnetic model probably provides the first geophysical evidence of the location of the headwall of the Icod landslide beneath the Teide‐Pico Viejo complex, thus supporting the vertical collapse hypothesis for the origin of the Cañadas caldera. The largest intrusive complex is located to the northwest of Teide and Pico Viejo, revealing the presence of a very high dike density in this area. This complex probably resulted from the intrusion of magma over the span of millions of years, beginning with the early phases of basaltic shield volcanism in central Tenerife and lasting until the building of Teide and Pico Viejo stratovolcanoes.

No abstract

The 3-D inverse modelling of a magnetic anomaly measured over the NW submarine edifice of the volcanic island of Gran Canaria revealed a large, reversely-magnetized, elongated structure following an ENE-WSW direction, which we interpreted as a sill-like magmatic intrusion emplaced during the submarine growth of this volcanic island, with a volume that could represent up to about 20% of the whole island. The elongated shape of this body suggests the existence of a major crustal fracture in the central part of the Canary Archipelago which would have favoured the rapid ascent and emplacement of magmas during a time span from 0.5 to 1.9 My during a reverse polarity chron of the Earth’s magnetic field prior to 16 Ma. The agreement of our results with those of previous gravimetric, seismological and geodynamical studies strongly supports the idea that the genesis of the Canary Islands was conditioned by a strike-slip tectonic framework probably related to Atlas tectonic features in Africa. These results do not contradict the hotspot theory for the origin of the Canary magmatism, but they do introduce the essential role of regional crustal tectonics to explain where and how those magmas both reached the surface and built the volcanic edifices.