Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 388 (2019) 106686

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Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research

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Caldera or flank collapse in the Fogo volcano? What age?

Consequences for risk assessment in volcanic islands
F.O. Marques a,∗ , A. Hildenbrand b , S.S. Victória c , C. Cunha d , P. Dias a
a
Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
b
GEOPS, Univ. Paris-Sud, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, 91405, Orsay, France
c
Universidade de Cabo Verde, Cape Verde
d
Instituto Politécnico de Coimbra, Escola Superior Agrária, Coimbra, Portugal

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The target of this study is the Fogo Island in Cape Verde, where the hazards (caldera and/or flank collapse)
Received 26 March 2019 and the timing (120 ka or younger?) are still controversial. Using high-resolution DEM, field geological and
Received in revised form 8 October 2019 structural analysis, and high-precision K-Ar dating, we produced an age-calibrated volcanic stratigraphy
Accepted 8 October 2019
of Fogo’s summit (Chã das Caldeiras, for the last ca. 220 ka). From this, we infer the following evolution
Available online 2 November 2019
and associated processes: (1) the Fogo Volcano formed during seven stages of construction and partial
destruction; (2) three flank collapses can be recognised, the biggest of which occurred between 60 and
Keywords:
43 ka; (3) this collapse occurred retrogressively, producing at least two distinct collapse blocks; (4) the
Fogo Island
Cape Verde
innermost collapse was only partial, forming a flat step where a new volcano (Pico do Fogo) grew and
Geological hazard and risk formed the Chã das Caldeiras (literally Flat of the Calderas); (5) the removal of the buttressing eastern
Caldera collapse flank by the outermost collapse can be responsible for the seemingly “caldera” structure; (6) the growing
Flank collapse load of the young volcano can produce a new flank failure following the innermost fault; (7) the young
Large-scale mass wasting and closely spaced collapse ages here reported indicate a significant risk for the inhabitants of Fogo, in
Tsunami particular, and for the whole Cape Verde archipelago (and Atlantic seaboard) if a tsunami is produced by
a future catastrophic flank collapse.
© 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
A geological hazard carries minimal risk for human society if the
recurrence time is much longer than human life expectancy. Given
that risk increases greatly as the recurrence time approaches the
lifetime of individuals, and also that it depends on the correct defi-
nition of the associated hazard, we must correctly define the hazard
and accurately estimate recurrence. Before the first recognition of
giant landslides in the Hawaiian Islands (Moore, 1964; Lipman et al.,
1988; Moore et al., 1989, 1994), there was no perception of this
risk because the hazard was unknown. After the first discoveries,
large-scale landslides have been found in oceanic islands world-
wide, namely in the Canaries (Holcomb and Searle, 1991; Krastel
et al., 2001; Masson, 1996; Urgeles et al., 1997, 1999; Watts and
Masson, 1995), Reunion (Duffield et al., 1982; Labazuy, 1996), in
French Polynesia (Clouard et al., 2001; Clouard and Bonneville,
2004; Hildenbrand et al., 2004, 2006), and the Caribbean (Deplus
∗ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: fomarques@fc.ul.pt (F.O. Marques).
et al., 2001; Le Friant et al., 2003; Brunet et al., 2015). There was also
the idea that large-scale landslides were not expected to occur from
relatively small volcanic islands, but recent studies in the Azores
have shown otherwise (Hildenbrand et al., 2012a, 2018; Costa et al.,
2014, 2015; Sibrant et al., 2014, 2015a, 2015b). This means that
every time a new landslide is discovered (see updated database for
the Atlantic in Blahut et al., 2018), the risk increases, especially if
the age of the landslide is estimated accurately and the recurrence
time decreases.
The Cape Verde archipelago ten inhabited intermediate-sized
islands (Fig. 1A) where many landslides have been recognized (Day
et al., 1999 for Fogo Island; Ancochea et al., 2010 for S. Vicente
Island), mostly from offshore data (Le Bas et al., 2007; Masson et al.,
2008). Therefore, there is a great need for the characterization of
the onshore structure of the landslides in Cape Verde and their age.
The islands rise 5–8 km above the basement made up of Jurassic-
Cretaceous aged seafloor. Fogo Island, located in SW Cape Verde,
records evidence of collapses, but the causes are not agreed upon:
caldera collapse, large-scale mass wasting, or both (Machado, 1965;
Brum da Silveira et al., 1997; Day et al., 1999; Madeira et al., 2008;
Masson et al., 2008; Paris et al., 2011).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2019.106686
0377-0273/© 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
2 F.O. Marques, A. Hildenbrand, S.S. Victória et al. / Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 388 (2019) 106686

Fig. 1. A – sketched Google Earth image to show geographic and tectonic settings of the Cape Verde archipelago. B – slope map to illustrate the morphology of Fogo Island.
Red, cyan and blue curves represent possible landslide faults discussed in this work, and the numbers the sequence of failure, all based on the interpretation of the current
structure and topography, and on field evidence collected in this study. Red and magenta straight lines represent dykes associated with Fogo and Monte Amarelo volcanic
centres. Note that the red straights converge to a point, which we infer to be the eruptive centre of the ancestral Fogo Volcano. C – topographic profiles with position of
collapse faults inferred in this study. D – 3-D Google image with location (red stars) of dated samples and respective approximate age (see Table 1 for details). Red circles –
main localities (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.).

Machado and Torre de Assunção (1965) published the first geo-
logical map of Fogo, and divided the outcropping rocks into pre- and
post-collapse, which comprise three units: two pre-collapse (Old
Complex and Nephelinite Complex), and one post-collapse (Pico
do Fogo Complex). Pre-collapse Fogo includes a basement complex
(the Old Complex), unconformably overlain by a nephelinite com-
plex of lava flows and dykes that makes up most of the island. This
complex is cut by a composite listric fault forming a caldera, whose
scarp is a prominent topographic relief that is locally called the Bor-
deira (see Fig. 1D). Post-collapse lavas are (mostly) basanites that
 F.O. Marques, A. Hildenbrand, S.S. Victória et al. / Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 388 (2019) 106686
erupted from the young Pico do Fogo and associated vents, and from
Strombolian cones scattered on the slopes of Fogo Island.
Day et al. (1999) followed the previously established volcanic
stratigraphy, but gave the units local names and interpreted the col-
lapse mechanism differently. Instead of caldera collapse, Day et al.
(1999) recognized an eastward major flank collapse, which they
called the Monte Amarelo collapse. Martínez-Moreno et al. (2018)
also followed the stratigraphy defined by Machado and Torre de
Assunção (1965), but called Lower, Middle and Upper Volcanic units
the Old, the Nephelinite and the Pico do Fogo complexes, respec-
tively.
The topography of the Bordeira scarp in the central-eastern part
of Fogo Island has been diversely interpreted: scarp of a caldera col-
lapse (Machado, 1965), the eastern half of which was subsequently
removed by a normal fault or by erosion; scarp of two calderas sepa-
rated by the Monte Amarelo spur, the missing eastern half of which
was subsequently removed by a flank collapse (Brum da Silveira
et al., 1997); headwall scarp of a giant flank collapse (Day et al.,
1999; Masson et al., 2008; Paris et al., 2011).
Analysis of the literature and the slope map shown in Fig. 1B
leads to the recognition of one main (composite) problem: is the
current structure and topography of eastern Fogo Island the prod-
uct of caldera collapse, flank failure, or both? At what age? What
are the consequences for risk assessment in volcanic islands? Were
there more collapses in Fogo? This main question encompasses the
following problems/questions: (1) Where is/are the faults/scarps
produced by the large-scale landslide inferred for Fogo? Lines 1
(red), 2 (cyan) and 3 (blue) are three possibilities put forward in
this work; (2) was it a composite slide made of faults whose traces
are represented by the red, cyan and blue curves? Or a slide along a
single fault?; (3) if composite, was failure along all faults complete
or only partial?; (4) What is the volume of the flank collapse?
We analysed aerial imagery and DEMs for geomorphological and
geological interpretation, and we carried out fieldwork in target
areas to recognize the major unconformities and volcanic units, to
unravel the geometry and position of main volcanoes, and to find
the critical collapse markers. Based on this information, we col-
lected critical samples for high-precision K-Ar dating to calibrate
the volcanic stratigraphy, and to constrain the age of the major
collapse episodes. Given that the volcanic and collapse structures
extend to the sea, we include high-resolution bathymetric data
(collected on the UK vessel RRS Charles Darwin during cruise CD168
in February 2005) to discuss the link between the various structures
and associated offshore deposits.
2. Sampling strategy and K-Ar dating
Deposits of the pre-collapse unit(s) and the lava flows that
unconformably overlie (cascading, meaning downward flow as
deduced in the field) the inferred collapse scarps were sampled
(Fig. 1D). The main caldera wall (Bordeira) provided access to the
base of the older volcanic succession (sample FO17A), which con-
strains the earlier exposed stages of Fogo’s volcanic evolution. The
topmost part of the volcanic succession, cut by the Bordeira, is com-
posed generally of lava flows with pronounced external dips (up to
30◦ ). To constrain the maximum age of the collapse, three samples
(FO17 G, FO18C and FO18D) were collected along the Bordeira’s rim
(topmost lava flows), one of which is associated with a sectioned
volcanic cone. A lava flow from the (seemingly) same succession
was collected further east, at the Espigão scarp (sample FO17 L). To
constrain the minimum age of the collapse, a sample was collected
at the base of a lava pile that cascaded over the base of the Bordeira
(FO18B). Two lava flows (FO17 J and FO17 K) that cascaded over the
southern portion of the Espigão scarp (between Cova Figueira and
Tinteira were sampled to constrain the minimum age of the (outer)
3
collapse. Finally, we collected a sample (FO17 N) from outside of the
collapse structure, at the base of a small paleocliff in northern Fogo,
close to Fajãzinha, to constrain the oldest age of the Intermediate
Volcanic Complex.
Microscopic examination of thin sections was carried out on all
samples to identify their textural and petrographic characteristics,
and ensure that they had not suffered significant alteration. From
the general abundance of olivine and/or pyroxenes and/or plagio-
clase phenocrysts in thin section, all our new samples from Fogo are
basic to slightly evolved lavas; therefore, groundmass was selected
for dating. The samples were crushed and sieved to the chosen size
fraction (typically 63–125 ␮m or 125–250 ␮m). After ultrasonic
cleaning in de-ionized water and drying at moderate temperature
(< 65 ◦ C), heavy liquids were used to separate groundmass from
phenocrysts (e.g. plagioclase, pyroxene and olivine), which are K-
poor and may carry potentially unsuitable inherited excess 40 Ar.
The samples were then dated with the K-Ar Cassignol-Gillot tech-
nique (Cassignol and Gillot, 1982; Gillot and Cornette, 1986; Gillot
et al., 2006), which has been shown to be well-suited to date Qua-
ternary volcanic products with high precision, even low-K basalts
and andesites (e.g. Germa et al., 2010, 2011; Boulesteix et al., 2012,
2013; Ricci et al., 2015, 2017; Marques et al., 2018). This technique
has been used extensively to constrain ages of flank instabilities
on volcanic islands distributed worldwide (e.g., Gillot et al., 1994;
Hildenbrand et al., 2003, 2004, 2008; 2012a, 2012b, 2014, 2018;
Quidelleur et al., 2008; Samper et al., 2008; Boulesteix et al., 2012,
2013; Costa et al., 2014, 2015; Sibrant et al., 2014, 2015a, 2015b,
2016).
Potassium was measured by flame absorption spectrometry and
compared with standards MDO-G (Gillot et al., 1992) and BCR-2
(Rackzek et al., 2001), which were both prepared and analyzed
following the same protocol as the samples. At least two rounds
of independent acid attacks (i.e. the dissolution and leaching of
acid-susceptible constituents) and K measurements were achieved
for each sample (see Gillot et al., 2006 for more information); the
K-value (Table 1) is considered final when the relative deviation
to the average is better than 1%. Argon was measured by a 180◦
multi-collector sector mass spectrometer with the unspiked K-Ar
Cassignol-Gillot technique (Cassignol and Gillot, 1982; Gillot and
Cornette, 1986). Decay constants and isotopic ratios of Steiger and
Jäger (1977) were used. At least two independent age determina-
tions were realized for each sample (Table 1). The uncertainty on
each determination is obtained as the quadratic sum of all inde-
pendent sources of uncertainty, i.e. uncertainty on the K content
(1%), uncertainty on the calibration of the mass spectrometer (1%),
and the uncertainty on the amount of radiogenic argon (see details
in previous works developing and applying the method, e.g., Gillot
et al., 2006; Germa et al., 2010; Boulesteix et al., 2013; Hildenbrand
et al., 2018). The final age (Table 1, bold font) is obtained as the
mean of individual age determinations (Table 1, normal font) when
the latter are mutually consistent at the 1␴ level. Additional argon
analyses have been realized on samples FO17 J and FO18B, in order
to obtain a more robust age determination for these young lavas
despite their relatively low radiogenic yield (Table 1).
The new K-Ar ages obtained in this study range between
212 ± 20 ka and 20 ± 4 ka (cf. Table 1 and Figs. 1D and 2), and are
fully consistent with the ages reported in Cornu (2017). These new
ages allow better calibration of the volcanic stratigraphy, and better
age constraints of the inferred collapses and their mechanisms.
3. Field data
We concentrated field work on Chã das Caldeiras and the
eastern flank of Pico do Fogo. The Bordeira (local name of the
caldera/landslide scarp) exposes up to 1000 m of steeply dipping
4 F.O. Marques, A. Hildenbrand, S.S. Victória et al. / Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 388 (2019) 106686

Fig. 2. Panorama photograph of Chã das Caldeiras (ca. 1700 m altitude) and Bordeira (scarp on the background – peak at 2700 m) as seen from the top of Pico do Fogo (peak
at ca. 2829 m). The blue dashed line marks the unconformity separating two main events of the evolution of Fogo (see Fig. 3 for volcanic stratigraphy, and Fig. 4 for details
of this unconformity). The green dashed line at the base of the Bordeira marks the youngest unconformity. Red stars – location of samples dated by K-Ar in this work. Red
circles – main localities (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.).

Fig. 3. Photographs with drawn volcanic stratigraphy based on major unconformities and calibrated by K-Ar geochronology. A – main stratigraphy of Chã das Caldeiras,
mostly made of two thick volcanic complexes on the Bordeira. B – detail of the lowermost units observed at Boca Fonte. BC – Basement Complex (Old Complex of Machado
and Torre de Assunção, 1965); LSU – Lower Sedimentary Unit; LVC – Lower Volcanic Complex; IVC – Intermediate Volcanic Complex (these three units correspond to the
Nephelinite Complex of Machado and Torre de Assunção, 1965); UVSC – Upper Volcano-sedimentary Complex (Pico do Fogo Complex of Machado and Torre de Assunção,
1965).
 F.O. Marques, A. Hildenbrand, S.S. Victória et al. / Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 388 (2019) 106686 5

Table 1
Summary of the new K-Ar ages on separated fresh groundmass. The mean age is obtained by weighing by the amount of radiogenic argon (40 Ar*), except in the case of
samples FO18B and FO17 J, for which more than 2 independent argon analyses have been achieved; for the latter, the mean age (*) is calculated by weighing by the inverse
of variance. Measured ages in normal font, and mean ages in bold font. Uncertainties quoted at the 1␴ level.

Sample Latitude (N) Longitude (W) Altitude (m) K% 40Ar* (%) 40Ar* (1011 at./g) Age (ka) Uncertainty (ka)

FO17B 14.96884 24.37923 1792 1.856 1.1 4.3103 222 20

1.0 3.8766 200 19
mean 212 20
FO17N 15.04199 24.34609 58 2.347 2.1 2.5455 104 5
2.6 2.5107 102 4
mean 103 5
FO17L 14.91457 24.29687 426 2.975 3.3 2.4792 80 3
3.9 2.4503 79 2
mean 79 2
FO17G 14.91895 24.35125 2119 2.335 1.5 1.5132 62 4
1.6 1.4193 58 4
mean 60 4
FO18C 14.96019 24.39255 2666 2.626 2.4 1.5843 58 3
2.6 1.6312 59 2
mean 59 2
FO18D 14.93763 24.39353 2396 3.823 3.7 2.3124 58 2
3.3 2.3699 59 2
mean 59 2
FO18B 14.95965 24.38538 1770 2.312 0.2 1.0242 42 17
0.2 0.96058 40 16
0.3 1.0401 43 14
0.3 1.3268 55 17
0.3 0.91213 38 13
mean* 43 7
FO17J 14.90942 24.29416 544 2.274 0.4 0.49267 21 6
0.3 0.37005 16 5
0.5 0.58425 25 5
mean* 20 3
FO17K 14.91123 24.29390 524 2.312 0.6 0.49188 20 4
0.6 0.48917 20 4
mean 20 4

(up to ca. 30◦ outwards) volcanic (mostly) and sedimentary (minor)
rock (see Figs. 2 and 3), which represents a great fraction of the
volcanic sequence of the pre-collapse Fogo Volcano. Therefore,
the volcanic stratigraphy based on observations realized on the
Bordeira and proposed here represents an important part of the
evolution of the Fogo volcano.
3.1. Volcanic stratigraphy of Chã das Caldeiras
3.1.1. Lower sedimentary unit
The oldest rocks we recognised at Chã das Caldeiras occur in
one of the few canyons that cut the base of the Bordeira, locally
known as Boca Fonte (Fig. 3B), just south of Monte Amarelo. Here,
the lowermost deposits make up the Lower Sedimentary Unit, in
which three conglomerates could be distinguished by clast size and
composition, separated by sharp contacts (Fig. 3B). The base of the
lowermost conglomerate is not exposed. The lower conglomerate
is polygenetic and consists mostly of large blocks (meters in size),
including greenish yellow blocks of volcanic breccia that were not
observed in the overlying conglomerates. The intermediate con-
glomerate consists of (mostly) monogenetic boulders (< 50 cm). The
uppermost one is made of metre-sized blocks. These conglomerates
are cut by dykes feeding the younger units. The Lower Sedimen-
tary Unit seems to have filled a major unconformity between an
underlying volcanic complex (Old Complex of Machado and Torre
de Assunção, 1965) and the overlying Lower Volcanic Complex. The
age of the Lower Sedimentary Unit is constrained here at > 212 ka
(cf. Fig. 1D and Table 1), because this is the oldest age we measured
in the overlying Lower Volcanic Complex.
3.1.2. Lower volcanic complex
The Lower Volcanic Complex unconformably overlies the con-
glomerates, and is composed of intercalated lava flows and
pyroclasts cut and fed by a dyke swarm. This complex is deeply
metasomatized by the numerous dykes intruding it, giving the rock
a green colour typical of minerals like chlorite (see Supp. Fig. 1). The
rocks of the overlying Intermediate Volcanic Complex do not show
this kind of alteration. The number of dykes cutting and feeding
the Lower Volcanic Complex increases towards the Monte Amarelo
spur (Fig. 2), where a large number of dykes with different ori-
entations cross-cut, and number of dykes decreases towards the
north. The Lower Volcanic Complex corresponds to the lower part
of what was called the pre-collapse complex by Machado and Torre
de Assunção (1965), and Monte Amarelo Group or Volcano by Day
et al. (1999). The oldest age reported by Cornu et al. (2017) on lavas
sampled at the base of the Bordeira is ca. 158 ka. From this age
and the oldest age measured in the present work (ca. 212 ka), we
infer that the ca. 158 ka corresponds probably to the oldest age of
the overlying Intermediate Volcanic Complex. Therefore, the age of
this unit is here constrained between ca. 160 and 212 ka.
3.1.3. Intermediate volcanic complex
The Intermediate Volcanic Complex lies unconformably on the
Lower Volcanic Complex, and is comprised of thick (up to 20 m)
lava flows intercalated with thick (up to 20 m) pyroclastic strom-
bolian deposits. Most importantly, this unit includes volcanic cones
at the Bordeira’s rim and sectioned by the scarp (see Fig. 3A). The
unconformity, here called the Monte Amarelo Unconformity, can
be recognised by the different colours of rock below (light green)
and above (dark brown and red) (see Figs. 2 and 4), by the geometry
of flows and dykes, by dykes that only exist in the Lower Volcanic
Complex (NNE-SSW trend), and by a small gap in age.
The Monte Amarelo Unconformity does not appear to be erosive
in origin (no erosion-related sediments found to date). It could rep-
resent a shift in the eruptive centre towards the south, as indicated
by dyke distribution and trend (cf. section 3.2 below), with conse-
6 F.O. Marques, A. Hildenbrand, S.S. Victória et al. / Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 388 (2019) 106686
Fig. 4. Photographs of the unconformity between the Lower and Intermediate Volcanic Complexes, here called the Monte Amarelo unconformity. Successive zooming in
from A to D. C – note the great number of NNE-SSW dykes in the Lower Volcanic Complex (marked with white arrows) that are absent in the Intermediate Volcanic Complex.
D – note the great difference in colour between the two complexes, mostly greenish in the Lower Volcanic Complex due to metasomatization induced by the numerous
dykes.
quent overlap of younger on older lavas. The Intermediate Volcanic
Complex corresponds to the upper part of what was called the pre-
collapse complex by Machado and Torre de Assunção (1965), and
Monte Amarelo Group or Volcano by Day et al. (1999). We keep
the name Monte Amarelo Volcano, but we use the name Fogo Vol-
cano for younger and more voluminous lavas. Previous work has
not recognised the Monte Amarelo unconformity or distinguished
the two volcanic complexes described here. The age of the Inter-
mediate Volcanic Complex is here constrained between ca. 59 and
ca. 158 ka (this work and Cornu et al., 2017).
3.1.4. Upper volcano-sedimentary complex
The structures attributed to the Upper Volcano-sedimentary
Complex lie unconformably on the older volcanic complexes, both
inside and outside Chã das Caldeiras, comprising Pico do Fogo vol-
cano, many Strombolian cones inside and outside Chã das Caldeiras,
and thin lava flows intercalated in recent talus deposits at the base
of the Bordeira (Supp. Fig. 2). Most importantly, this unit includes
lava flows that flowed over the collapse scarps, and thus post-date
collapse. The age of this unit is constrained between ca. 43 and 0
ka.
3.2. Dykes at Chã das Caldeiras
We measured 273 dykes at Chã das Caldeiras (Fig. 5 and Supp.
Fig. 3), and two main groups can be distinguished. The first group
is restricted to the Lower Volcanic Complex (yellow dashed lines in
Fig. 5). The other group consists of dykes that cut all units (orange
dashed lines in Fig. 5). To the north and south of the spur, the mean
trend is NNE-SSW, but within the spur many dykes cross-cut one
another. Dykes between the spur and the southern end of the Bor-
deira show a radial trend that converges towards a point in the
centre of the southern Chã das Caldeiras (dashed green circle in
Fig. 5). From this we infer the position of the main emission cen-
tre and crater of the ancestral Fogo volcano (160-60 ka). We note
that the horizontal distance between the craters of Fogo inferred
here and Pico do Fogo is very similar to that between the Bordeira
rim and the flat bottom of Chã das Caldeiras (considering that the
original flat has been filled by recent volcanism). Coincidently, the
direction of this displacement is approximately the same expected
for the collapse, which can be constrained by the geometry of the
scarp. From the similarity of lengths and directions, we infer that
the feeder centre moved together with the partially collapsed block,
from the edge of which the new volcano Pico do Fogo grew. Dyke
trends represented by the yellow dashed lines in Fig. 5 converge at
Monte Amarelo, which was active between ca. 212 and 160 ka.
Sills are also abundant on the Bordeira, and can be distinguished
from lava flows by their different structure (typical sills do not have
clinker at the contact with the host rock), by the thermal effect on
host rock in both contacts (lava flows only cook the underlying
rocks), and by the absence of weathering at the top.
3.3. Evidence of collapse inside Chã das Caldeiras
The Bordeira scarp, as a whole, appears to be the scarp of a nor-
mal fault: ca. 60 ka rim in the footwall, and younger top in the
hanging wall separated by hundreds of meters. However, normal
faults typically exhibit dip-slip striations, which are not obvious at
Chã das Caldeiras, most likely because what we observe is a scarp,
and not the fault itself, which can be as high as 1000 m. Locally at
the rim of the Bordeira scarp we observe sectioned volcanic cones
with an age of 59 ± 2 ka, (sample FO18C) (Supp. Figs. 4 and 5),
hinting at the maximum age of the collapse. Locally, at the base of
the Bordeira, we can observe lava flows cascading over the scarp,
 F.O. Marques, A. Hildenbrand, S.S. Victória et al. / Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 388 (2019) 106686 7

Fig. 5. Google image centred at Chã das Caldeiras to show the mean trend of the measured 273 dykes (by sectors for clarity, but all dykes plotted as short red lines along the
base of the scarp) and the inferred geological meaning. Orange dashed lines represent mean trend of dykes feeding the Fogo Volcano (numbering as in Supp. Fig. 3); yellow
dashed lines represent the dykes feeding the Monte Amarelo (literally Yellow Hill) volcano; and blue dashed line represents the mean strike of the measured 273 dykes. Note
that this mean strike is, within error, parallel to the elongation of Chã das Caldeiras. Green arrows added to compare displacement due to collapse and displacement of the
volcanic emission centre (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.).

which we dated at ca. 43 ka and indicate a minimum age of the
collapse. We did not find deposits typical of caldera collapse (e.g.
ignimbrites), which characterize most calderas around the world
(e.g. Druitt and Sparks, 1984; Gooday et al., 2018; Jordan et al., 2018;
Rosi et al., 1996). We also found no evidence for caldera resurgence
(e.g. Tibaldi and Vezzoli, 2004, for Ischia, Italy) or for caldera forma-
tion by magma chamber growth (Gudmundsson, 1988, for Iceland).
Therefore, the evidence for a collapse fault seems clear, but not the
nature and age of the collapse itself, which we discuss below.
3.4. Evidence of collapse outside Chã das Caldeiras
Outside of Chã das Caldeiras, but onshore, there is good evi-
dence of collapse on the scarp following the southern Bordeira end
to the east, the so-called Espigão scarp (Figs. 6 and 7). This scarp is
partly buried by post-collapse lava flows (Fig. 7) but is still conspic-
uous. The scarp following the north end of the Bordeira to the east
towards Mosteiros is not evident, because it has been concealed
by post-collapse lavas. We can envisage two ways for linking these
two scarps: (1) the most obvious is through the Bordeira scarp,
as proposed by Day et al. (1999); (2) through the slope break at
the eastern edge of Chã das Caldeiras (blue dashed line in Fig. 6),
which is still well visible despite blanketing by Pico do Fogo and
partial burial by post-collapse volcanism, as proposed here. Given
the existence of well-preserved and vigorous scarps closer to the
coast, and towards the north (Mosteiros) and south (below Cova
Figueira) of the collapse delimited by the blue dashed line, we pro-
pose the existence of another collapse fault, the headwall scarp of
which is represented by the red dashed line in Fig. 6.
4. Discussion
Conglomerates with large blocks occur under specific condi-
tions, and typically in settings of very high potential energy related
to high and steep topography. At Chã das Caldeiras, at ca. 1700 m
altitude, there are not many options to explain the existence of
the Lower Sedimentary Unit conglomerates. Our interpretation is
that a proto-Bordeira scarp existed prior to ca. 212 ka and would
have been the source of the conglomerates, which could be a proto-
caldera or simply a deep crater.
Our data indicate that the volcanic feeding centre shifted from
the earlier Monte Amarelo Volcano in the north to the younger
Fogo Volcano in the south. This can explain why the Bordeira is
much taller south of the Monte Amarelo spur than to the north. We
suggest, therefore, that the pre-collapse Fogo edifice did not have
a single main eruptive centre, but two – Monte Amarelo and Fogo.
The stresses that produce shallow tabular intrusions are reason-
ably well understood: the least compressive stress (␴3 ) is typically
perpendicular to the tabular body, and ␴1 is parallel to the tabular
intrusion (e.g., Daniels and Menand, 2015, and references therein).
Both dykes and sills occur pervasively on the Bordeira, and most
cut one another with no specific chronological order. This indicates
that the stress field was sometimes dominated by horizontal ␴3 to
form vertical dykes, and sometimes by steeply dipping ␴3 to form
the sills sub-parallel to lava flows dipping ca. 30◦ outwards from
the volcanic centre. We infer from the overall radial geometry of
dykes and the pervasive intrusion of sills that the stress field was
produced by a shallow magma reservoir inside the volcanic edi-
fice. Inflation can be responsible for radial dyke intrusion, whereas
deflation can cause sill emplacement (e.g. Polteau et al., 2008).
4.1. Collapse structure and nature
There are two contrasting views on the nature of the Chã das
Caldeiras (caldera or flank collapse) and on the position of the
main fault along which the flank collapse occurred: on the Bor-
deira scarp (Day et al., 1999, and followers), or at the eastern edge
of the Chã das Caldeiras flat (Brum da Silveira et al., 1997, and fol-
lowers). Regarding the nature of the Chã das Caldeiras, we found
no evidence for extensive ignimbrite deposits that are common to
most calderas. We also found no evidence of caldera formed by the
growth of a shallow magma chamber (Gudmundsson, 1988) We
also do not favour the existence of two calderas (Brum da Silveira
et al., 1997), one to the north and the other to the south of the Monte
8 F.O. Marques, A. Hildenbrand, S.S. Victória et al. / Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 388 (2019) 106686

Fig. 6. 3D Google image of Fogo viewed from the east to show the surface trace of the collapse faults proposed in this study. The white dashed line highlights the slope breaks
that help us constrain the position of the scarps produced by the flank collapse. Surface traces of the scarps are represented by the red, cyan and blue dashed lines. Red stars
– ages reported here. Red circles – main localities (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.).

Fig. 7. 3-D Google image with geometry of lava flows and unconformities, and ages of critical samples dated by K-Ar in this study (red stars). From flows cascading on a
previous steep topography, and from the ages above and below the unconformable contact, we infer the position of the fault trace, which should be responsible for the flank
collapse and submarine deposit reported in Day et al. (1999). Red circles – localities (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred
to the web version of this article.).

Amarelo spur, because the Monte Amarelo spur is a volcanic feeding
centre strengthened by a great amount of dykes, which therefore
could have resisted collapse. In summary, we found no evidence
for caldera collapse, and thus we do not favour the caldera collapse
hypothesis. Regarding the position of the collapse fault, the hypoth-
esis that the flank collapse occurred on the Bordeira has a problem,
as illustrated in Supp. Fig. 6: in this case (Supp. Fig. 6A), all surfaces
are non-cylindrical (collapse fault is listric and concave to the east,
and the new volcano Pico do Fogo is a cone), which makes it vir-
tually impossible to produce a horizontal surface like the Chã das
Caldeiras. This situation is similar to parasitic cones on the flanks
of major conical volcanic edifices, in which there is no record of a
significant flat made by the parasitic cone. The volcanic products
either cover the flank as a small cone of pozzolan (volcanic ash) or
flow downhill (lava flows). Therefore, we discard this hypothesis.
Here, we propose a different scenario, which is partial failure
of the flank collapse fault most upstream (west) in a composite
collapse structure (e.g. Hildenbrand et al., 2012a, 2012b; Hunt et al.,
2013; Costa et al., 2015) with one (or two) partial failure(s) and one
complete failure (Figs. 6 and 7, and Supp. Fig. 6). When the eastern
flank failed along the outermost fault (red dashed line in Figs. 1B
and 6), the edifice was no longer buttressed on the east, and so the
summit collapsed in that direction. This summit collapse was not
total, resulting in the Chã das Caldeiras as discussed above (Supp.
 F.O. Marques, A. Hildenbrand, S.S. Victória et al. / Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 388 (2019) 106686
Fig. 6). It also seems to have been formed by one (or two) partial
collapses as inferred from slope breaks east of Chã das Caldeiras
(Fig. 6). The Pico do Fogo therefore sits on the eastern edge of the
Chã das Caldeiras, and is apparently fed by the same conduit as the
ancestral Fogo (see Fig. 5).
The young Pico do Fogo volcano has been growing very fast at the
edge of Chã das Caldeiras (eruptions every 20 years on average since
island discovery, and currently ca. 1000 m in height), thus loading
the block (Chã das Caldeiras) underlain by the partially failed col-
lapse fault (Bordeira fault). The load of the new volcano and of the
lavas filling the Chã das Caldeiras can therefore reactivate the weak-
ened Bordeira fault and produce a (near?) future massive landslide
of the whole Chã das Caldeiras block.
4.2. Volume of the eastern Fogo flank collapse
Here we estimate the volume of the flank collapse for two end-
member cases. (1) Listric collapse flattening out at sea bottom
(Fig. 8B), and (2) listric collapse above ca. −500 m, as proposed by
Martínez-Moreno et al. (2018; their Fig. 8) (Fig. 8C). If the vertex of
the conical island were coincident with the Bordeira (Fig. 8A), there
would be no collapse. A shallow collapse above −500 m (Fig. 8C)
cannot explain the missing flank at -1000 m. Therefore, the solution
that best fits the current data is the one represented in Fig. 8B.
To calculate volumes for the two cases, we approximate the
shape of the collapse fault to a spherical cap, because the collapse
fault is curved both along dip and along strike; i.e., it is a combina-
tion of half an ellipse in vertical cross-section (cf. Fig. 8) with a circle
in plan view (cf. circumference drawn in Fig. 9A). Then we calculate
the volume of a partial sphere assuming values of the radius of the
approximated circumference (6 and 10 km for shallow and deep
collapses, respectively, measured horizontally as shown with the
circle in Fig. 9) and the height of the spherical cap (1 and 2 km for
shallow and deep collapses, respectively, with greatest thickness
measured perpendicular to the collapse fault in Fig. 8). We obtain
ca. 20 and 120 km3 for the shallow and deep collapses, respec-
tively. A volume of 20 km3 is significantly less than the ca. 110 km3
estimated by Martínez-Moreno et al. (2018), and ca. 120 km3 is
comparable with the estimates in Masson et al. (2008 – 130 to
160 km3 ), Martínez-Moreno et al. (2018), and Paris et al. (2011 –
115 km3 ), but significantly less than estimated by Day et al. (1999
– 150 to 300 km3 ). Note that our estimates do not consider mate-
rial eventually incorporated from submarine failure of the slopes,
nor entrainment of material and subsequent failures of the seafloor
from loading of the landslide debris. Such incorporation may result
in significant difference between volume removed by the collapse
and the volume of the deposits (e.g., Hildenbrand et al., 2006).
4.3. Age of the eastern Fogo flank collapse
There is no consensus regarding the age of the flank collapse,
which has been proposed to be between ca. 59 and ca. 124 ka
(Foeken et al., 2009; Paris et al., 2011); Ramalho et al., 2015;
Cornu, 2017). Using cosmogenic 3 He, Foeken et al. (2009) dated
the collapse at 62–123 ka. Paris et al. (2011) bracketed the age
of the eastern Fogo collapse at 86–124 ka, based on a U–Th age
(123.6 ± 3.9 ka) of a coral branch in a tsunami deposit found on
Santiago Island, and a K-Ar age (86 ± 3 ka) of a “post-collapse” lava
along the Bordeira in Fogo. Assuming that large blocks in north San-
tiago Island represent a tsunami deposit produced by the eastern
Fogo collapse, Ramalho et al. (2015) used exposure ages to propose
an age between 65 and 97 ka for the collapse. Cornu (2017) con-
strained the age of the collapse between ca. 68 (youngest lava flow
cut by the collapse scar) and ca. 59 ka (oldest lava flow interpreted
to have cascaded over the scarp).
9
At Chã das Caldeiras and eastern flank of Fogo, there is good
evidence for a younger age of the flank collapse. Lava flows cascade
over the base of the Bordeira scarp, one of which we dated at ca. 43
ka (Supp. Fig. 7). We could find no evidence for the source of these
flows at the top of the Bordeira scarp, and therefore we infer that the
source of lava is somewhere on the scarp, i.e. a vent from which lava
fountained (Supp. Fig. 7). Also at Chã das Caldeiras, at the Bordeira’s
top rim, we dated lava flows at ca. 59 ka that are unambiguously
cut by the scarp (samples FO17 G and FO18D), and could observe a
sectioned volcanic cone that is also ca. 59 ka old. This cone either
predates flank collapse, and the section is a product of the collapse,
or it post-dates collapse, and its destruction is simply a result of
subsequent erosion. The problem with the latter solution is that
the dyke that fed eruption of the cone outcrops and is ca. 3 m thick
as far as the westernmost extension of the historical lava flows (cf.
Supp. Fig. 4), where the trace of the collapse fault should be. Given
that dykes cannot flow through air, and that the sectioned cone
is well preserved, we infer that the scarp is very young, and that
the missing portion of the original volcano (towards the observer
in Supp. Fig. 4) was continuous at the time of the collapse with
the structures observed currently (dykes flowing across the earlier
main volcano and feeding the original unsectioned cone). From our
new age data of the topmost lava flows and cones, and the age
of lava flows cascading on the partial collapse scarp, we therefore
propose that the age of the collapse lies between ca. 59 ± 2 ka and
43 ± 7 ka.
On the eastern flank of Fogo, one collapse scar is prominent
(the southern Espigão scarp – Fig. 7) and another (north, towards
Mosteiros) has been mostly concealed by young and historic vol-
canic products. The ages obtained here on the lavas from the
Espigão scarp (ca. 79 ka) and on cascading lava flows (ca. 20 ka)
also point to a young age (< ca. 60 ka) for the flank collapse. As both
scarps formed within the last 60 ka, they may be contemporaneous
and result from one single main phase of instability. In this case,
we propose that flank collapse along the Espigão-Mosteiros fault
removed part of the eastern flank of Fogo, eliminating the buttress
of the summit from the east and triggering partial collapse along the
Bordeira fault. We note that the post-collapse lavas dated between
ca. 20 and 43 ka represent a significant phase of volcanism drap-
ing/concealing the collapse structures. By analogy to what has been
proposed for many other volcanic islands where flank collapses are
soon followed by vigorous volcanism (e.g. Hildenbrand et al., 2003,
2004; Quidelleur et al., 2008; Boulesteix et al., 2012, 2013; Hunt
et al., 2018), we infer that the composite collapse occurred between
60 and 43 ka ago.
4.4. Flank collapses of Fogo from topographic data
Analysis of the topography of Fogo Island and the adjacent sea
bottom (Fig. 9A and Supp. Fig. 8) hints at the existence of more than
one collapse of the volcanic edifice. If we draw three circles enclos-
ing and tangent to the 0, -1000 and -2,000 m isobaths (cyan, orange
and green dashed circles, respectively, in Fig. 9), it becomes appar-
ent that most of the edifice at those depths is coincident with the
circles, which means that it was originally conical and centred at
Chã das Caldeiras. However, three sectors of the edifice are straight
(east) or concave towards the sea (northwest and southwest), from
which we can infer that, similarly to the east Fogo collapse, parts
of Fogo’s edifice are missing (magenta shaded areas in Fig. 9A).
The eastern Fogo collapse is associated with a prominent debris
deposit (outlined by solid red line in Fig. 9A), but the inferred col-
lapse to the NW also shows a debris deposit offshore, although not
as prominent as in the east. In Fig. 9A, we can also distinguish three
kinds of deposits: (1) proximal collapse-related debris deposit with
mixed large blocks and finer matrix (delimited by the red line); (2)
distal fine-grained, collapse-related debris deposit, in clear conti-
10 F.O. Marques, A. Hildenbrand, S.S. Victória et al. / Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 388 (2019) 106686
Fig. 8. A – topographic profile along the white dashed line in Fig. 9A. Red line reproduces the topography of the current Fogo’s western slope. B and C – two possible
configurations of the East Fogo Flank Collapse: B – listric collapse flattening out at sea bottom; B – listric collapse above ca. −500 m, as proposed by Martínez-Moreno et al.
(2018; their Fig. 8). Bo – Bordeira; CC – Chã das Caldeiras; PF – Pico do Fogo (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the
web version of this article.).
nuity with the coarser deposit upstream (less energy away from the
source = smaller grain size); (3) recent Pico do Fogo/erosion-related
volcanic/sedimentary deposits. In Fig. 9B we draw the displaced
Fogo’s crater at 1000 m altitude based on two arguments: (1) Pico
do Fogo could not have made the flat of Chã das Caldeiras, as dis-
cussed above (cf. section 4.1); (2) Fig. 9B in Martínez-Moreno et al.
(2018) shows a flat low-resistivity layer at ca. 1000 m depth below
Chã das Caldeiras, inconsistent with the curved shape of the col-
lapse fault, but consistent with the hypothesis of partial collapse of
a flat original crater floor of Fogo Volcano.
4.5. Hazard and risk
The hazard discussed here, large-scale flank collapse(s), com-
prises two kinds of risk: one inherent to the collapse itself (for
example villages can suddenly be carried into the sea in the case of a
catastrophic collapse), and the other is related to the tsunamigenic
potential of the collapse, i.e., depending on the collapse velocity and
internal structure, a tsunami can be generated by the collapse and
have devastating consequences on the island itself and surround-
ing coast lines. In both cases, the hazard is not easy to translate into
risk, because there are many unknowns to consider. How many col-
lapses occurred on Fogo and what is the recurrence time? Before
identifying all individual flank collapses on Fogo, and date them, we
cannot estimate recurrence time, and therefore we cannot evaluate
the risk. Did the eastern Fogo flank collapse occur catastrophically,
or slowly as a slump? Did it occur as one main solid block, or as
shattered mass? Without this knowledge, we cannot evaluate the
tsunamigenic potential of the collapse. We can have an idea of the
tsunamigenic potential if we find a coeval tsunami-related deposit
onshore, because we can estimate the amplitude of the wave from
the altitude at which we find the highest tsunami deposit. How-
ever, such a deposit has not been identified onshore Fogo. Blocky
deposits interpreted as tsunami deposits generated by the Fogo
eastern flank collapse have been described on the neighbouring
island of Santiago (Paris et al., 2011; Ramalho et al., 2015), but our
new age data for the collapse is significantly younger than the mean
age estimated for those deposits, rendering the link between the
two processes unlikely. Yet, no unambiguous tsunami deposits less
than ca 59 ka in age has been reported elsewhere in the archipelago.
In this study, we not only show that Fogo’s eastern flank collapse is
younger than previously inferred, but also found strong evidence
for two new and recent collapses in northwest and southwest of the
island, which, if confirmed, would mean that the risk is significantly
higher than previously thought.
A similar situation happened in the Azores; before 2012 the risk
related to potential large-scale island flank collapse was underesti-
mated, as very few old events of catastrophic lateral destabilization
had been reported (Woodhall, 1974; Mitchell, 2003). Currently the
risk is much higher, because many flank collapses have been recog-
nised in the course of two research projects, MEGAHazards 1 and
2 (Hildenbrand et al., 2012a, 2018; Costa et al., 2014, 2015; Sibrant
et al., 2014, 2015a, 2015b). The same may be true for many other
oceanic volcanic islands, where landslides have continuously been
recognised, so increasing the number of collapses and therefore the
risk.
4.6. Evolution of Fogo
Having discussed all available and new data, we now propose
the following Fogo’s evolution (see Fig. 10, and also Fig. 3 for the
stratigraphy defined and calibrated in this study). The evolution
of the island began with a seamount stage according to Day et al.
(1999) and Foeken et al. (2009) (Fig. 10), possibly older than 4.5
Ma (Foeken et al., 2009). The seamount emerged from the sea,
thus giving birth to a new island during the first subaerial build-
ing stage (Figs. 2–10). The early seamount stage must have been
followed by an island stage, because all rocks observed on Fogo
are sub-aerial; no submarine lavas (e.g. pillow lavas) have been
reported on Fogo. This volcanic complex forms the unreachable
core of Fogo, which must be older than ca. 212 ka, the oldest lavas
we found so far on Fogo. The growing island had steep topography
or became gravitationally unstable, thus producing the first sub-
aerial erosional stage (Figs. 3–10). This stage is deduced from the
major unconformity with conglomerates of the Lower Sedimentary
Unit. Given the large dimensions and diversity of the blocks, we
infer that the conglomerates formed due to high topographic relief
(simply a relatively deep crater? Caldera collapse? Flank collapse?).
This erosional stage must be older than ca. 212 ka, because this is
the oldest age we found in the unconformably overlying unit (LVC).
 F.O. Marques, A. Hildenbrand, S.S. Victória et al. / Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 388 (2019) 106686 11

Fig. 9. A – image with slope map onshore and bathymetry offshore Fogo Island with interpretation of different flank collapses and associated debris deposits. The red line
delimits the coarse debris deposit of the Eastern Fogo collapse, as defined by Masson et al. (2008). B – Profile showing the position of possible partial (blue) and full (cyan)
collapse faults. White dashed line – position of the topographic profile shown in Fig. 8. Black circumference – represents the geometry used to calculate the collapse volume.
Bo – Bordeira; CC – Chã das Caldeiras; PF – Pico do Fogo (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this
article.).

The rocks composing this conglomerate should give us a rough idea
of what the ancestral Fogo looked like, both in terms of composi-
tion and age (work in progress). The erosional stage was followed
by a second subaerial building stage, the Monte Amarelo Volcano
stage (Figs. 4–10). This stage comprises the rocks here attributed
to the Lower Volcanic Complex, which from our study is younger
than ca. 212 ka. Volcanic construction continued, but growth of
the Monte Amarelo Volcano ceased and a third subaerial construc-
tion stage took place in the new Fogo Volcano (Figs. 5–10). We
attribute this stage to a shift of the eruptive centre from the Monte
Amarelo Volcano to the south, the Fogo Volcano, thus producing the
Monte Amarelo unconformity. This stage corresponds to the Inter-
mediate Volcanic Complex, which we dated younger than ca. 60
ka. The growing island became gravitationally unstable, thus pro-
ducing the second subaerial erosional stage (Figs. 6–10). This stage
corresponds to the eastern Fogo flank collapse, which we dated here
12 F.O. Marques, A. Hildenbrand, S.S. Victória et al. / Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 388 (2019) 106686
Fig. 10. Cartoon with Fogo’s evolution inferred from field data and calibrated vol-
canic stratigraphy. Red dashed lines in 3 are hypothetical flank collapses that can
justify the observed erosion (but are by no means mandatory). The red dashed lines
in 5 mark the location of the faults that led to the later flank collapse illustrated
in stage 6 (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the
reader is referred to the web version of this article.).
between ca. 59 and 43 ka, i.e. around 50 ka. The flank collapse left a
block only partially collapsed, the Chã das Caldeiras block, which is
underlain by the Bordeira Fault. The collapse was soon followed by
a fourth subaerial building stage (Figs. 7–10), which comprises the
Upper Volcano-sedimentary Complex and a new impressive vol-
cano, the Pico do Fogo Volcano. Pico do Fogo grew on the eastern
edge of the partially collapsed Chã das Caldeiras and is still very
active (eruptions every 20 years on average since island discov-
ery), thus loading the unstable Chã das Caldeiras block and being
capable of producing a (near?) future flank collapse. The oldest age
of this stage is here constrained around 43 ka.
5. Conclusions
Based on new and available data, we draw the following con-
clusions: (1) there was no caldera collapse; (2) one major event of
composite (two or three faults) flank collapse occurred between
ca. 60 and 40 ka; (3) the fault most upstream (west) produced only
partial collapse, leaving a flat platform where renewed volcanism
(including Pico do Fogo) occurred since at least ca. 20 ka; (4) the load
of the new volcano and of the lavas filling the flat platforms (Chã
das Caldeiras) can reactivate the two previous upstream faults and
produce a future massive landslide; (5) the on and offshore topog-
raphy hints at the existence of other collapses besides the eastern
Fogo collapse; (6) the increased number of collapses, the possibil-
ity of a (near?) future collapse of Chã das Caldeiras, and the young
and closely spaced ages here reported indicate a significant haz-
ard/risk for the inhabitants of Cape Verde and neighbouring coastal
areas; (7) Fogo’s flank collapse (ca. 59 to 43 ka old) is unlikely to
be responsible for the tsunami deposits described in Santiago and
dated between ca. 124 and 86 ka by Paris et al. (2011), and between
ca. 65 and 97 ka by Ramalho et al. (2015). Given the stratigraphy
presented here, and possible multiple collapses around Fogo, we do
not favour the name Monte Amarelo Collapse proposed by Day et al.
(1999) for the main flank collapse in Fogo Island, and we propose
that it be called East Fogo Flank Collapse.
Declaration of Competing Interest
We do not have any conflicts of interest.
Acknowledgment
This is a contribution to Project MEGAHazards2 (PTDC/GEO-
GEO/0946/2014), funded by FCT, Portugal. We are very grateful to
Tim Le Bas for having made available to us the bathymetric data col-
lected on the UK vessel RRS Charles Darwin during cruise CD168 in
February 2005. Thanks are also due to Léa Ostorero her help in the
laboratory. Thorough and constructive reviews by James Hunt and
James Gardner helped to improve the quality of this manuscript.
We also thank the careful editorial work by Editor James Gardner.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary material related to this article can be found,
in the online version, at doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.
2019.106686.
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