Magnetic structure of Basse-Terre volcanic island (Guadeloupe, Lesser Antilles) inferred from 3D inversion of aeromagnetic data

We interpret aeromagnetic data to constrain the magnetic structure of the island of Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe, Lesser Antilles. Aeromagnetic data are inverted in the spatial domain with a Bayesian formulation to retrieve the 3D distribution of rock magnetization intensity and polarity. The inversion is regularized using a correlation length and standard deviation for magnetization chosen to be consistent with results from paleomagnetic measurements on lava flow samples from Basse-Terre. The resulting 3D model of magnetization is consistent at the surface with observed polarities and at depth with a 2D model obtained from a Parker and Huestis (1974) inversion in the Fourier domain. The inferred magnetic structure is compared with the available geological information deduced from published geological, geomorphological and geochronological studies. In the southern part of the island, very low magnetization is observed around the Soufrière lava dome, last activity of the Grande-Découverte-Carmichaël-Soufrière composite volcano, in relation with a high level of hydrothermal alteration. High-magnetizations in the South-East might reflect the presence of massive lava flows and lava domes from the Madeleine vents and Monts Caraïbes. Medium magnetizations in the South-West coincide with the location of debris avalanche deposits associated with the collapse of the former Carmichaël volcano and might reflect less massive lava structure at depth. Using the volume of normal polarity in the South part of Basse-Terre recovered in our 3D model of rock magnetization, we estimate an average construction rate of ∼ 9.4 ×10 −4 km3/yr during the Brunhes chron which provides new insights on the volcanic activity of La Soufrière volcano.