Exposing electrical conductivity anomalies beneath Mount Erciyes, Cappadocia, Türkiye

Abstract

Three-dimensional electrical conductivity models for Mount Erciyes, the most prominent stratovolcano at the Cappadocia Volcanic Province in Central Anatolia, Türkiye, were developed from magnetotellurics (MT) data collected at thirty-eight sounding locations. Analyses including electromagnetic impedance tensor and phase tensor calculations were employed to portray the conductivity variations, to reveal the dimensionality of the dataset and to detect the principal geo-electric strike direction in the area. Next, several trial models were developed including and excluding topography information as well as different starting models and other modeling parameters. Results achieved from all of the inverse calculations and particularly the final model suggested that (i) high electrical conductivity (<10 Ωm) values are obtained for multiple anomalies distributed beneath the complex reaching to depths of around 4–6 km from the summit, (ii) these anomalies coincide with the parasitic cones and the vents associated with the Mount Erciyes, (iii) the northeast-southwest trending faults that bound the Erciyes Basin and the wrench zone that cut across the main volcano complex act as barriers for the fluid flow.