Assessing the potential of a new widespread ignimbrite-forming eruption in Cappadocia, Central Anatolia

The Cappadocian plateau is a tectonic horst within the Central Anatolian Volcanic Province (CAVP), characterised by multiple thick and widespread ignimbrites accumulated since the late Miocene (e.g. Aydar et al., 2012). These Cappadocian ignimbrites blanketed an extensive area of at least 40,000 km²  with an estimate volume of pyroclastic material exceeding 1000 km³ (Temel et al., 1998). The source of the oldest Neogene ignimbrites still remains a subject of intense debate, as the area is primarily covered by younger volcanic products. However, it is well-known that the two youngest ignimbrites were produced by the Acigöl caldera (Druitt et al., 1995). These are the Lower Acigöl Tuff  (LAT) and the Upper Acigöl Tuff (UAT), erupted at 190 ± 11 ka and 164 ± 4 ka respectively (Schmitt et al., 2011). Post-caldera explosive volcanism continued in Acigöl until more recent times, especially in the last 25ka with the eruption of several rhyolitic tephra cones, maars and related tephra rings (Uslular et al., 2022).

Here, we propose that these monogenetic eruptions within the caldera basin may serve as precursory signals for larger caldera-forming events. Findings from a recent tephrostratigraphic investigation suggest that this series of volcanic eruptions has already occurred in Acigöl caldera as cascading events. This series includes the simultaneous emplacement of the Taskesik tephra ring and the UAT caldera-forming ignimbrite. Therefore, considering: 1) the high monogenetic volcanic activity in the last thousands of years within and outside the caldera, 2) the potential presence of eruptible magma beneath the caldera (Abgarmi et al., 2017), and 3) the increase in seismicity within the Central Anatolian Volcanic Province, the hypothetical scenario of a future caldera collapse eruption in Acigöl should not be dismissed.

This study was founded by the PÜSKÜRÜM project, a Marie Curie Action (Grant No. 101024337) funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020.

 

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