Although the Planchón-Peteroa Volcanic Complex (PPVC) has undergone many hazardous eruptions, only a small number of geological, geochemical, and geophysical studies have been performed to describe this active volcanic system. In order to characterize the subsurface structures present at the PPVC, we applied seismic interferometry to fracture seismicity originating in this volcanic complex and along active geologic faults located nearby. We utilized seismic data recorded by two arrays of stations deployed in Argentina and Chile. Nine of these stations (three in Chile and six in Argentina) recorded data simultaneously and were used for this application. Only seismic events with energy arriving (sub) vertically to the stations were chosen for processing. According to the magnitude and the location of the selected seismic events, relocated seismic sources were used for the Chilean stations while, for the Argentine stations, only seismic sources located near that array were used. We obtained seismic evidence of the location of the subsurface reflectors underneath each station using zero-offset reflection responses retrieved from seismic interferometry by autocorrelation of (time windows extracted from) the selected seismic events. Then, applying a comparative analysis between the seismic results and the available geological information, we imaged the shallow subsurface of the area enclosed by the Chilean stations, and also by the Argentine stations. The results are consistent with the available geological information, provide accurate depth values for several subsurface discontinuities, indicate areas of higher heterogeneity, and support the emplacement of a magma body at ∼4 km depth from the surface. This work shows the first application of a novel variation of seismic interferometry based on autocorrelations to local-earthquake data recorded in a volcanic area.@en

Seismic interferometry (SI) retrieves virtual seismic signals from measurements at two receivers from surrounding sources. Studies have demonstrated that SI can image subsurface reflectivity. Claerbout (1968) showed that the reflection response can be obtained by autocorrelating the transmission response assuming a 1-D acoustic medium. Migration techniques using primary and multiple reflections in the autocorrelogram effectively imaged the subsurface structure (Schuster et al., 2003; Yu et al., 2003). This research aims to contribute to the knowledge of the subsurface structure at Planchón-Peteroa Volcano Complex (PPVC) by using SI. Inspired by the theory and applications in Wapenaar (2003) and Ruigrok and Wapenaar (2012), this work applies SI to fracture seismicity originated at PPVC or in active geologic faults located nearby this volcanic complex. Autocorrelating an extracted time window for selected events, zero-offset reflection responses were retrieved for each station. This response is further used to image shallow subsurface reflectors underneath each station. This application uses seismic data recorded by stations deployed in Argentina and Chile. The Argentine data was recorded by a temporary array of six 2-Hz 3-component stations deployed in 2012 on the eastern flank of the volcano. The Chilean data is provided by OVDAS-SERNAGEOMIN (South Andes Volcanic Observatory, Chile). OVDAS has a permanent array of six 30-seconds 3-component stations. Three of these stations recorded data simultaneously with the Argentine stations and were used for this research. Very local seismicity is required for this study, therefore event selection procedure is of great importance. The two arrays were initially used independently to locate fracture events (Casas, 2014; RAV-SERNAGEOMIN, 2012). In order to obtain accurate locations, the two datasets were used together to relocate the detected events (Casas et al., 2016; Olivera Craig et al., 2016). This preprocessing step enhances the resolution of the subsurface images obtained by application of SI at PPVC since appropriate wave paths are selected for processing @en

Seismic interferometry (SI) studies the interference phenomenon between pairs of signals in order to obtain information from the differences between them. SI is now regularly used in exploration and global seismology with active and/or passive sources, i.e., artificial sources (dynamite, vibroseis, sledge hammer, etc.) or natural sources (earthquakes, anthropogenic noise, ocean microseisms, etc.). SI allows one to extract subsurface information from complicated or random wavefields.This research aims to contribute to the knowledge of the subsurface structure at Planchón-Peteroa Volcano Complex (PPVC) by using SI technique. Inspired by the theory and applications in Wapenaar (2003) and Ruigrok and Wapenaar (2012), this work applies SI to fracture seismicity originated at PPVC or in active geologic faults located nearby this volcanic complex. Applying autocorrelation to a selected time window at each event, zero-offset reflection responses were obtained for each station. This response can be used to determine the location of shallow subsurface reflectors underneath each station.This application uses seismic data recorded by stations deployed in Argentina and Chile. The Argentine data was recorded by an array of six 2-Hz 3-component stations on the eastern flank of the volcano, deployed during the MalARRgue project in 2012. The Chile data is provided by OVDAS-SERNAGEOMIN (South Andes Volcanic Observatory, Chile). OVDAS has six 3-component 30-seconds stations located on the western flank of the volcano; these stations overlap in the same time period as the Argentine data.Events had been identified and located independently by the arrays deployed in each of the flanks (Casas, 2014; RAV SERNAGEOMIN, 2012). In order to obtain accurate locations of the detected events, the two datasets were used together to relocate them. This result constitutes a necessity for enhancing the resolution of subsurface images obtained by application of SI at PPVC.Preliminary results of this research will be presented.@en