Multiple sources of elevation change during and after the 2011–2012 Cordón Caulle, Chile eruption measured by satellite topographic time series

Abstract

The 2011–2012 eruption at Cordón Caulle, Chile offers an exceptional opportunity to investigate topographic evolution of a laccolith, lava flows, and tephra during and after rhyolitic eruptions using satellite TanDEM-X and Plèiades data. We find distinct phases: rapid surface uplift from the laccolith and tephra (June–August 2011) and lava (June 2011–March 2012), followed by a reduction in the elevation of the laccolith and tephra (up to 19 m yr⁻¹) until February 2013, and slower subsidence of all deposits until 2019 (the most recent data). The spatial distribution of subsidence-to-uplift ratios shows different volcanic and geomorphological processes occurring (degassing, cooling, crystallization, lateral movement, compaction, erosion). Pre-eruptive river channels showed elevation increases of up to 10–50 m due to tephra deposition, but this tephra was largely removed within three to four years. This research shows the potential of repeating high-resolution remote sensing elevation data to elucidate volcanic landscape evolution and yields insights into the co- and post-eruptive evolution of deposits.