Segmented crustal magma reservoirs beneath the Kula Volcanic Province (Western Anatolia) revealed by 3D MT imaging

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Karaoğlu Ö., Candansayar M. E., Özyıldırım Ö., Yıldız A., Başaran C., Demirci İ., ...Daha Fazla

TECTONOPHYSICS INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GEOTECTONICS AND THE GEOLOGY AND PHYSICS OF THE INTERIOR OF THE EARTH, cilt.920, sa.231040, ss.1-14, 2025 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)

• Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
• Cilt numarası: 920 Sayı: 231040
• Basım Tarihi: 2025
• Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.tecto.2025.231040
• Dergi Adı: TECTONOPHYSICS INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GEOTECTONICS AND THE GEOLOGY AND PHYSICS OF THE INTERIOR OF THE EARTH
• Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Scopus, Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Artic & Antarctic Regions, Compendex, Geobase, INSPEC
• Sayfa Sayıları: ss.1-14
• Eskişehir Osmangazi Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

The Kula Volcanic Province (KVP) in western Anatolia represents the youngest expression of intraplate volcanism

within the Aegean extensional province. Yet, the geometry and depth of its magma storage system have remained

poorly constrained. Here we present the first three-dimensional magnetotelluric (MT) inversion of the region,

based on a dense dataset of 105 stations across ~60 × 60 km2. The results reveal a major mid-crustal reservoir,

~75 × 20 km in extent and emplaced between 5 and 25 km depth, accompanied by several smaller chambers up

to 12 km across. Diapir-like protrusions extend from these bodies to depths of ~5 km, their NNW–SSE orientation

closely aligned with the fault architecture of the Gediz Graben.

Resistivity values below 5 Ω.m correspond to melt fractions exceeding 6–8 %, providing robust geophysical

evidence for significant partial melts in the mid-crust. Petrological constraints indicate primary melts originated

from the asthenospheric mantle at 65–90 km depth, while the anomalies resolved here represent secondary

crustal reservoirs where ascending basaltic magmas became trapped and stabilised. This dual structure—deep

mantle melting coupled with mid-crustal storage—reconciles geochemical constraints with geophysical imaging

and highlights the segmented nature of the system, in which one dominant reservoir is compartmentalised by

regional fault networks into smaller magma bodies.

These findings provide the first direct evidence for fault-controlled magma storage beneath the KVP. The

identification of shallow intrusions reaching ~5 km depth explains the localisation of Holocene volcanism,

including the ~4.7 ka Çakallar eruption, and points to a latent volcanic hazard. Placed in a global context, the

KVP demonstrates how asthenospheric upwelling, lithospheric thinning, and tectonic segmentation combine to

generate compartmentalised magma systems in highly extended continental crust.