Evidence of Magma Mixing in the 'Daly Gap' of Alkaline Suites: a Case Study from the Enclaves of Pantelleria (Italy)

The island of Pantelleria consists of trachytes, pantelleritesand minor mildly alkaline basalts. Rocks of intermediate composition(falling in the so-called ‘Daly Gap’) such as mugearites,benmoreites and mafic trachytes occur only in the form of enclavesin trachytes and pantellerites inside the main caldera of theisland (Caldera ‘Cinque Denti’), which collapsedduring the ‘Green Tuff’ ignimbrite eruption at 50ka. The enclaves include volcanic, subvolcanic and intrusiverock types. The enclaves in host trachyte contain traces ofglass; devitrified glass occurs within enclaves in host pantellerites.Minerals in the enclaves show regular compositional variationswith whole-rock silica content. Glass present in the medium-grainedsamples is interpreted to be the result of incipient melting.The major and trace element compositions of the enclaves showregular and linear variations between an evolved mafic magma(hawaiite) and a felsic end-member similar to the ‘GreenTuff’ trachyte. Fractional crystallization modelling ofcompatible and incompatible trace elements (V, Ni, Zr, La, Sm,Lu, Nb, Y, Th) does not reproduce the observed trends. Rocksof intermediate composition within the ‘Daly Gap’can be explained only by magma mixing between an already differentiatedmafic magma (hawaiite) and an anorthoclase-rich trachytic meltin the lower and higher parts, respectively, of a stratifiedmagmatic chamber. Medium-grained enclaves are interpreted asthe result of fragmentation of solidified mixing layers in theroof of the magma chamber during the eruption of the ‘GreenTuff’, when the collapse of the caldera took place. Diffusioncalculations suggest a residence time of <5 days for theenclaves in their host magmas. KEY WORDS: Daly Gap; enclaves; magma mixing; Pantelleria