High resolution 3D P wave velocity structure beneath Tenerife Island (Canary Islands, Spain) based on tomographic inversion of active‐source data

Abstract

We present a high resolution 3 dimensional (3D) P wave velocity model for Tenerife Island, Canaries, covering the top of Teide volcano (3,718 m a.s.l.) down to around 8 km below sea level (b.s.l). The tomographic inversion is based on a large data set of travel times obtained from a 3D active seismic experiment using offshore shots (air guns) recorded at more than 100 onshore seismic stations. The obtained seismic velocity structure is strongly heterogeneous with significant (up to 40%) lateral variations. The main volcanic structure of the Las Cañadas‐Teide‐Pico Viejo Complex (CTPVC) is characterized by a high P wave velocity body, similar to many other stratovolcanoes. The presence of different high P wave velocity regions inside the CTPVC may be related to the geological and volcanological evolution of the system. The presence of high P wave velocities at the center of the island is interpreted as evidence for a single central volcanic source for the formation of Tenerife. Furthermore, reduced P wave velocities are found in a small confined region in CTPVC and are more likely related to hydrothermal alteration, as indicated by the existence of fumaroles, than to the presence of a magma chamber beneath the system. In the external regions, surrounding CTPVC a few lower P wave velocity regions can be interpreted as fractured zones, hydrothermal alterations, porous materials and thick volcaniclastic deposits.