Southern Andes Volcano Observatory (OVDAS)

Modeling the source of seismicity at the eastern caldera rim of Villarica volcano.

Villarrica volcano, located on the border of the regions of La Araucanía and Los Ríos, is ranked number 1 in the Specific Risk Ranking because of its high eruptive rate and proximity to highly populated areas. Since Sernageomin began real-time monitoring in 2010 until mid-2015, volcano-tectonic (VT) seismicity was of low recurrence. However, following the March 3, 2015 eruption, an increase in this activity was observed and became significant during the latest unrest period, beginning in August 2022. During the development process of this last unrest, we recorded a high recurrence of VT swarms, with very energetic events, which have evidenced the existence of a seismic source on the eastern rim of the caldera, hypothesizing this activity as a response to stress transfer produced by deeper magmatic feeding. Due to the limitations of our seismic monitoring network, we were only able to characterize the most energetic events, showing significant uncertainty in both epicentral and hypocentral locations. To support our observations, this project attempts to constrain the understanding of the source of this seismic activity by developing models that inform the possible origin of seismic activity. The candidate will work with the seismology team of the Southern Andes Volcanological Observatory (OVDAS), belonging to Sernageomin, where he/she is expected to contribute with his/her knowledge in modeling to integrate and interpret the observations of seismic activity and other disciplines, as well as participate in discussions and team activities. Thus, it is believed that the ideal candidate should have advanced knowledge in numerical modeling, ideally of the intrusions commonly expected in caldera environments.