Towards a comprehensive understanding of Tenerife’s subsurface: review and integration of geophysical studies.

Tenerife, the largest and most populous island of the Canary Archipelago (Spain), is characterized by a prominent central volcanic complex (Teide-Pico Viejo) and two highly active rift zones (the Santiago and La Dorsal rift zones). The interaction between the rift systems, dominated by mafic monogenetic volcanism, and the central complex, which exhibits compositions ranging from basanites to phonolites, results in multifaceted volcanic activity that poses significant risks not only to the population of Tenerife but also to the broader Canary Archipelago and regions affected by potential ash dispersion. Both systems, particularly the central complex, have been the focus of numerous field-based, petrological, geochemical and geophysical studies, providing valuable insights into the island's interior and its magmatic plumbing system.

Despite the extensive geophysical research conducted on Tenerife in recent past decades, a comprehensive integration of these datasets has yet to be undertaken to provide a unified interpretation. Such an integrated approach is crucial, as individual geophysical techniques often have limitations that prevent a full characterization of the subsurface structures. However, by combining multiple techniques, these limitations can be addressed, offering a more comprehensive and holistic understanding.

In this study, we review and integrate available geophysical data to develop a new conceptual model of Tenerife’s interior. We analyzed 52 references encompassing seismic, gravimetric, magnetic, electrical, InSAR, GPS, and numerical modelling studies. Relevant observations (e.g., anomalies, measurements, discontinuities) and their interpretations were compiled into a visual database. This database facilitates a detailed and comparative analysis of existing geophysical findings, allows synthesizing the geological structures identified through one or more techniques, and highlights discrepancies between different methods.

The results were used to construct a series of interpretative cross-sections of Tenerife's interior, including its magmatic plumbing system. This new model serves as a foundation for multidisciplinary interpretations, such as integrating petrological data from recent studies on Tenerife’s magmatic plumbing system. By combining geophysical and petrological perspectives, our work offers a more comprehensive understanding of the island’s subsurface, contributing to improve the volcanic hazard assessment.

This research was partially funded by E.G., grant EVE (DG ECHO H2020 Ref. 826292) and the Intramural CSIC grant MAPCAN (Ref. 202130E083). OD was supported by an FPU grant (FPU18/02572).