Stratigraphy and structure of Deception Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica

Deception Island is an active volcano with a large structural collapse caldera that has been interpreted by several investigators as having been generated by different processes. The general stratigraphy and structural study of the volcano is presented, with special emphasis on the distribution and structural disposition of the different stratigraphic units. The rocks of Deception Island have traditionally been divided into pre- and post-caldera products. A subdivision of the pre-caldera deposits, called ‘pre- and syn-caldera deposits,’ has been observed in two main units. Bulk magnetic susceptibility analyses are used to support the field stratigraphy presented. The localization and distribution of dikes is used to assign the central collapse of the volcano to rifting induced by tensional tectonics occurring in the Bransfield Strait and the presence of transcurrent faults around the island.