Deformation of foamed rhyolites under internal and external stresses: an experimental investigation

The style of magma eruption depends strongly on the character of melt degassing and foaming. Depending on the kinetics of these processes the result can be either explosive or effusive volcanism. In this study the kinetics of foaming due to the internal stresses of gas expansion of two types of obsidian have been investigated in time series experiments (2 min-24 h) followed by quenching the samples. The volumetric gas-melt ratio has been estimated through the density measurements of foamed samples.The variation of gas volume (per unit or rhyolite melt volume) with time may be described by superposition of two exponentials responsible for gas generation and gas release processes respectively. An observed difference in foaming style in this study is interpreted as the result of variations in initial contents of microlites that serve as bubble nucleation centers during devolatilization of the melts. Quantitatively the values of the gas generation rate constants (k _g) are more than an order of magnitude higher in microlite-rich obsidian than in microlite-free obsidian. Possible origins of differences in the degassing style of natural magmas are discussed in the light of bubble nucleation kinetics in melts during foaming. In a complementary set of experiments the mechanical response of vesicular melt to external shear stress has been determined in a concentric cylinder viscometer. The response of vesicular melt to the pulse of shear deformation depends on the volume fraction of bubbles. The obtained response function can be qualitatively described by a Burgers body model. The experimental shear stress response function for bubble-bearing melt has an overshoot due to the strain-dependent rheology of a twophase liquid with viscously deformable inclusions.     

Rhyolite volcanism in the Krafla central volcano,north-east Iceland

At the Krafla central volcano in north-east Iceland, two main phases of rhyolite volcanism are identified. The earlier phase (last interglacial) is related to the formation of a caldera, whereas the second phase (last glacial) is related to the emplacement of a ring dike. Subsequently, only minor amounts of rhyolite have been erupted. The volcanic products of Krafla are volumetrically bimodal. Geochemically, there is a series of basaltic to basalto-andesitic rocks and a cluster of rhyolitic rocks. Rocks of intermediate to silicic composition (icelandites and dacites) show clear signs of mixing. The rhyolites are Fe-rich (tholeiitic), and aphyric to slightly porphyritic (plagioclase, augite, pigeonite, fayalitic olivine and magnetite). They are minimum melts on the quartz-plagioclase cotectic plane in the granite system (Qz-Or-Ab-An). The rhyolites at Krafla were produced by near-solidus, rather than nearliquidus fractionation. They are interpreted as silicic minimum melts of hydrothermally altered crust, mainly of basaltic composition. They were primarily generated on the peripheries of an active basaltic magma chamber or intrusive domain, where sufficient volumes of crust were subjected to temperatures favorable for rhyolite genesis (850–950° C). The silicic melts were extracted crystal-free from their source in response to crustal deformation.     

冀北大滩盆地铀(钼)成矿流纹岩-花岗斑岩SHRIMP锆石U-Pb定年、地球化学及Sr-Nd同位素特征

大滩火山岩盆地位于华北克拉通北缘,燕辽多金属(Mo-U-Ag-Pb-Zn)成矿带西段,沽源-红山子铀成矿亚带西南段。高精度SHRIMP锆石U-Pb定年表明,盆地内张家口组流纹岩和侵入其中的花岗斑岩分别形成于140.2±1.9Ma(2σ,MSWD=1.7)和131.7±1.1Ma(2σ,MSWD=0.8)。全岩主、微量元素特征显示,流纹岩和花岗斑岩均富集Si、Fe、Ga、Rb、Pb、Th、U、Zr、Hf、Nb、Ta和LREE,亏损Al、Mg、Ti、Ba、Sr、Eu、Cr、Ni和HREE,为典型的A型花岗岩特征。全岩Nd同位素研究表明,二者具有相似的ε_(Nd)(t)(分别为-15.9和-16.5)和t_(DM2)值(分别为2267Ma和2220Ma),暗示二者具有相同的岩浆来源。元素相关性分析表明,母岩浆从流纹岩演化至花岗斑岩经历了一定程度的钾长石和黑云母的结晶分异,导致了后者Si、U、HREE的进一步富集,以及Fe、Mg、Ti、Al、Sr、Ba、Eu、Zr、LREE等元素的相对亏损。结合前人工作,我们认为流纹岩和花岗斑岩形成于华北克拉通岩石圈减薄及破坏的板内伸展背景,来源于古元古代(ca.2.2~2.3Ga)火成地壳物质(英云闪长质、花岗闪长质岩石)的部分熔融。结合全岩Rb-Sr等时线年龄及前人获得的矿石U-Pb年龄推断,该区主要铀(钼)矿化时代介于105~110Ma,明显晚于流纹岩和花岗斑岩的成岩时代。通过与区域上的产铀盆地(沽源)对比,以及对流纹岩和花岗斑岩的U含量等特征分析认为,两者(尤其是花岗斑岩)是很好的铀矿成矿物质来源,暗示了大滩盆地具有良好的成矿前景。     

The role of dextral transpressional faulting in the evolution of an early Carboniferous mafic–felsic plutonic and volcanic complex: Cobequid Highlands, Nova Scotia, Canada

The Wentworth plutonic complex, consisting of gabbro and granite, was emplaced in the earliest Carboniferous in the Cobequid shear zone of the northern Appalachians. The plutonic complex is coeval with a 5-km-thick pile of volcanic rocks. Early alkalic A-type granite correlates with thick felsic pyroclastics and minor basalt, which are overlain by 1.5-km-thick basalts that correlate with a large gabbro pluton that is intruded, in turn, by late granites. The basalt and gabbro are Fe-rich tholeiites. The geochemistry of the late granites suggests that they formed by differentiation of a granodioritic magma resulting from assimilation of early granite by the gabbroic magma. The Wentworth plutonic complex lies on the north side of the dextral Rockland Brook fault, near the western tip of wedge-shaped basement block of the Avalon terrane. Field observations of mesoscopic structures and map contacts show that the plutonic bodies at all structural levels are related to transpressive strike–slip faults. Dykes parallel to the mylonitic foliation in the Rockland Brook fault zone and at the contacts between igneous phases suggest that the plutons developed largely through dyke to pluton construction. The plutonism was initiated by dyking related to major faults under transpression that was partitioned into shear zone-bounded blocks, while the sinking of those blocks finally provided the space for mafic magma emplacement. Dyking was active over at least a 10-Ma time period. The overall location of plutonism in the Cobequid shear zone appears related to its position at the intersection of the shear zone bounding the southwestern margin of the Magdalen basin and the E–W transpressional contact of the Avalon and Meguma terranes. Magmatism enabled thermomechanical softening of the crust and the vertical and lateral extrusion of the wedge-shaped basement blocks, whose movement controlled the localisation of the voluminous magmatic activity.     

Degassing during magma ascent in the Mule Creek vent (USA)

 The structures and textures of the rhyolite in the Mule Creek vent (New Mexico, USA) indicate mechanisms by which volatiles escape from silicic magma during eruption. The vent outcrop is a 300-m-high canyon wall comprising a section through the top of a feeder conduit, vent and the base of an extrusive lava dome. Field relations show that eruption began with an explosive phase and ended with lava extrusion. Analyses of glass inclusions in quartz phenocrysts from the lava indicate that the magma had a pre-eruptive dissolved water content of 2.5–3.0 wt% and, during eruption, the magma would have been water-saturated over the vertical extent of the present outcrop. However, the vesicularity of the rhyolite is substantially lower than that predicted from closed-system models of vesiculation under equilibrium conditions. At a given elevation in the vent, the volume fraction of primary vesicles in the rhyolite increases from zero close to the vent margin to values of 20–40 vol.% in the central part. In the centre the vesicularity increases upward from approximately 20 vol.% at 300 m below the canyon rim to approximately 40 vol.% at 200 m, above which it shows little increase. To account for the discrepancy between observed vesicularity and measured water content, we conclude that gas escaped during ascent, probably beginning at depths greater than exposed, by flow through the vesicular magma. Gas escape was most efficient near the vent margin, and we postulate that this is due both to the slow ascent of magma there, giving the most time for gas to escape, and to shear, favouring bubble coalescence. Such shear-related permeability in erupting magma is supported by the preserved distribution of textures and vesicularity in the rhyolite: Vesicles are flattened and overlapping near the dense margins and become progressively more isolated and less deformed toward the porous centre. Local zones have textures which suggest the coalescence of bubbles to form permeable, collapsing foams, implying the former existence of channels for gas migration. Local channelling of gas into the country rocks is suggested by the presence of sub-horizontal syn-eruptive rhyolitic tuffisite veins which depart from the vent margin and invade the adjacent country rock. In the central part of the vent, similar local channelling of gas is indicated by steep syn-eruption tuffisite veins which cut the rhyolite itself. We conclude that the suppression of explosive eruption resulted from gas separation from the ascending magma and vent structure by shear-related porous flow and channelling of gas through tuffisite veins. These mechanisms of gas loss may be responsible for the commonly observed transition from explosive to effusive behaviour during the eruption of silicic magma. Received: 24 May 1995 / Accepted: 13 March 1996     

大兴安岭中生代花岗岩类的地球化学

大兴安岭中生代花岗岩根据微量元素地球化学特征划分为高锶花岗岩类和低锶花岗岩类，前者富集Ba、Sr、Ti，而后者强烈亏损这些元素而富集大离子亲石元素和高场强元素。高锶花岗岩类主要由石英闪长岩、英云闪长岩和花岗闪长岩组成，属于Ⅰ型花岗岩；低锶花岗岩类由二长花岗岩、正长花岗岩、碱长花岗岩和碱性花岗岩组成，二长花岗岩一正长花岗岩一碱长花岗岩也属于Ⅰ型花岗岩，碱性花岗岩为A1型花岗岩。这两类花岗岩均显示εNd(t)正值^87Sr／^86Sr低值以及较低的Nd模式年龄。高锶与低锶花岗岩类地球化学差异性表明，高锶花岗岩起源于相对亏损的幔源岩浆的分异作用，而低锶花岗岩类的源区与显生宙地壳增生时期起源于地幔的年轻地壳物质有关，即起源于富集型幔源基性岩石的部分熔融。大兴安岭中生代花岗岩与流纹岩之间地球化学相似性以及与玄武岩类的相关性表明，它们是统一的构造一岩浆体系的产物，共同制约于古亚洲洋闭合后的大陆伸展的构造环境和闭合期间壳幔相互作用形成的地幔源区。     

An explosive–intrusive subglacial rhyolite eruption at Dalakvísl,Torfajökull,Iceland

This paper describes unusual rhyolitic deposits at Dalakvísl, Torfajökull, Iceland that were emplaced during a Quaternary subglacial eruption. Despite its small volume (<0.2 km³), the eruption mechanisms were highly variable and involved both explosive and intrusive phases. The explosive phase involved vesiculation-driven magma fragmentation at the glacier base and generated a pumiceous pyroclastic deposit containing deformed sheets of dense obsidian. Textures suggest that the obsidian was generated by the collapse of partly fragmented foam that was intruding the deposit and water contents indicate quenching at elevated pressures. In contrast, the intrusive phase of the eruption generated vesicle-poor quench hyaloclastites associated with a variety of peperitic lava bodies. The presence of juvenile-rich fluvio-lacustrine sediments is the first documented evidence that meltwater may pond close to the vent during subglacial rhyolite eruptions if the bedrock topography is favourable. In order to explain the variable eruption mechanisms, a conceptual model is presented in which the transition from an explosive to an intrusive eruption was controlled by the space available for fragmentation within the subglacial cavity melted above the vent. When the cavity became completely filled by volcanic deposits, the vent became blocked and rising magma was forced to intrude through poorly consolidated debris. This led to arrested fragmentation and welding of foam domains to form vesicle-poor obsidian lava; the transition to an intrusive eruption has taken place. Although this vent-blocking mechanism is particularly relevant to subglacial eruptions, it may also apply to subaerial rhyolitic eruptions, where patterns of explosive and effusive activity cannot be explained by shallow degassing processes alone. Meanwhile, the variable style of a small-volume subglacial rhyolite eruption further highlights the complex processes that mediate volcano-ice interactions.     

Experimental constraints on degassing and permeability in volcanic conduit flow

This study assesses the effect of decompression rate on two processes that directly influence the behavior of volcanic eruptions: degassing and permeability in magmas. We studied the degassing of magma with experiments on hydrated natural rhyolitic glass at high pressure and temperature. From the data collected, we defined and characterized one degassing regime in equilibrium and two regimes in disequilibrium. Equilibrium bubble growth occurs when the decompression rate is slower than 0.1 MPa s^–1, while higher rates cause porosity to deviate rapidly from equilibrium, defining the first disequilibrium regime of degassing. If the deviation is large enough, a critical threshold of super-saturation is reached and bubble growth accelerates, defining the second disequilibrium regime. We studied permeability and bubble coalescence in magma with experiments using the same rhyolitic melt in open degassing conditions. Under these open conditions, we observed that bubbles start to coalesce at ~43 vol% porosity, regardless of decompression rate. Coalescence profoundly affects bubble texture and size distributions, and induces the melt to become permeable. We determined coalescence to occur on a time scale (~180 s) independent of decompression rate. We parameterized and incorporated our experimental results into a 1D conduit flow model to explore the implications of our findings on eruptive behavior of rhyolitic melts with low crystal contents stored in the upper crust. Compared to previous models that assume equilibrium degassing of the melt during ascent, the introduction of disequilibrium degassing reduces the deviation from lithostatic pressure by ~25%, the acceleration at high porosities (>50 vol%) by a factor 5, and the associated decompression rate by an order of magnitude. The integration of the time scale of coalescence to the model shows that the transition between explosive and effusive eruptive regimes is sensitive to small variations of the initial magma ascent speed, and that flow conditions near fragmentation may significantly be affected by bubble coalescence and gas escape.Editorial responsibility: D. Dingwell     

The mobility of rare-earth and other elements in the process of alteration of rhyolitic rocks to bentonite (Lebombo Volcanic Mountainous Chain, Mozambique)

Ca-type bentonite deposits of economic interest occur associated with rhyolitic rocks in the Lebombo volcanics. From previous geological studies on the deposits, besides the economic aspects, little is known about the main formation mechanism of beds of bentonite that can be more than 15 m thick, in some places. Chemical analyses of bentonite samples indicate that elements such as Ca, Mg, Sr, Zn, Cu and Sc are markedly enriched in bentonite in comparison to the parent rock. Other elements such as K, Na, Rb and Ba are depleted in bentonite. HREE (Yb, Lu) and Y are depleted in the bentonite samples, as well as Cs, Rb, Ta, U, Ba, Co, Cr and Pb. Concentrations of the LREE (La, Ce, Nd, Sm, Eu), Sc and Ga are slightly higher in the bentonites than in the parent rocks. The chondrite-normalized REE patterns show identical trends both in the rhyolites and bentonites samples. Alteration of the parent rocks to bentonite is associated with leaching and subsequent removal of, principally, K and Na in open-system conditions.     

江西相山铀矿田邹家山矿床中流纹斑岩的锆石U-Pb年代学、岩石地球化学与Sr-Nd-Hf同位素组成

在相山铀矿田邹家山矿床中发现晚期侵入到碎斑熔岩中的流纹斑岩岩脉。本文运用激光等离子质谱(LA-ICP-MS)对该岩脉中锆石进行了U-Pb年龄测定,获得了134.6±1.2Ma(2σ,MSDW=1.2)的形成年龄。该年龄与我们己报导的相山火山侵入杂岩中流纹英安岩、流纹英安斑岩、碎斑熔岩等岩石的年龄一致,进一步表明相山大规模火山活动的时间为早白垩世,并且是一次集中的岩浆活动。相山邹家山流纹斑岩具有高硅,富钾,铝过饱和指数(A/CNK)大于1.1,属于过铝质岩系。该岩石还具有Rb、Th、U、La、Ce、Nd、LREE元素相对富集;Nb、Ta、Sr、P、Ti明显负异常和中等铕负异常(Eu/Eu*=0.32～0.46)的特点。岩石的锶同位素初始比值ISr为0.7097～0.7136,εNd(t)值为-8.49～-9.62,锆石的εHf(t)值为-3.6～-9.4(集中在-7到-9之间),这些特征表明相山流纹斑岩为硅铝层地壳物质重熔演化的产物。流纹斑岩的Sr-Nd同位素,锆石Hf同位素以及稀土元素配分模式与前人报导的相山火山岩、次火山岩及基底变质岩相似,表明相山火山侵入杂岩在成岩物质的来源上与基底变质岩关系密切,可能是由基底变质岩经部分熔融的产物。结合前人的研究资料,认为相山流纹斑岩可能也是形成于与太平洋板块俯冲作用有关的弧后拉张环境。