Integrated on‐land‐offshore stratigraphy of the Campi Flegrei caldera: new insights into the volcano‐tectonic evolution in the last 15 kyr

Abstract

Silicic calderas are volcanic systems whose unrest evolution is more unpredictable than other volcano types because they often do not culminate in an eruption. Their complex structure strongly influences the post-collapse volcano-tectonic evolution, usually coupling volcanism and ground deformation. Among such volcanoes, the Campi Flegrei caldera (southern Italy) is one of the most studied. Significant long- and short-term ground deformations characterize this restless volcano. Several studies performed on the marinecontinental succession exposed in the central sector of the Campi Flegrei caldera provided a reconstruction of ground deformation during the last 15 kyr. However, considering that over one-third of the caldera is presently submerged beneath the Pozzuoli Gulf, a comprehensive stratigraphic on-land-offshore framework is still lacking. This study aims at reconstructing the offshore succession through analysis of high-resolution single and multichannel reflection seismic profiles and correlates the resulting seismic stratigraphic framework with the stratigraphy reconstructed on-land. Results provide new clues on the causative relations between the intra-caldera marine and volcaniclastic sedimentation and the alternating phases of marine transgressions and regressions originated by the interplay between ground deformation and sea-level rise. The volcano-tectonic reconstruction, provided in this work, connects the major caldera floor movements to the large Plinian eruptions of Pomici Principali (12 ka) and Agnano Monte Spina (4.55 ka), with the onset of the first post-caldera doming at ~10.5 ka. We emphasize that ground deformation is usually coupled with volcanic activity, which shows a self-similar pattern, regardless of its scale. Thus, characterizing the long-term deformation history becomes of particular interest and relevance for hazard assessment and definition of future unrest scenarios.