Deception Island

Deception Island (South Shetland Islands) is one of the most active volcanoes in Antarctica, with more than 15 explosive eruptive events registered over the past two centuries. Recent eruptions (1967, 1969 and 1970) and the volcanic unrest episodes that happened in 1992, 1999 and 2014–15 demonstrate that the occurrence of future volcanic activity is a valid and pressing concern for scientists, logistical personnel and tourists, who are visiting or working on or near the island. During the last decades, intense research activity has been carried out on Deception Island, focused on deciphering the origin and evolution of this very complex volcano. To that end, a solid integration of related scientific disciplines, such as tectonics, petrology, geochemistry, geophysics, geomorphology, remote sensing and glaciology, is strongly required. A proper understanding of the island’s evolution in the past, and its present state, is essential for increasing the efficiency of interpreting monitoring data recorded during periods of volcanic unrest and, hence, for forecasting future eruptions. In this chapter, we briefly present Deception Island’s most relevant tectonic, geomorphological, volcanological and magmatic features, as well as the results obtained from decades of monitoring the island’s seismic activity and ground deformation.