InSAR observations of the 1995 Fogo, Cape Verde, eruption: Implications for the effects of collapse events upon island volcanoes

[1] Fogo volcano, Cape Verde Islands, erupted in April 1995 after 43 years of dormancy. About 46 10 m of lava erupted during 7.5 weeks from vents on the SW flank of Pico do Fogo into Cha das Caldeiras. Interferograms obtained from 1993–1998 ERS SAR data show ground deformation due to the feeder dike but lack evidence for any volcano-wide deformation related to volume changes of a shallow magma reservoir. This suggests that Fogo is fed from a relatively deep, mantle-lithospheric source (>16.5 km depth), consistent with petrological data. This supports the concept that Cha das Caldeiras is the fill of a collapse scar created by a giant landslide, and not a collapse caldera overlying a central, shallow magma chamber. The disturbance of the magmatic system by giant landslides may explain why some oceanic island volcanoes with high magma supply rates currently lack well-developed shallow reservoirs.