Magma evolution of Quaternary minor volcanic centres in southern Peru,Central Andes

Minor centres in the Central Volcanic Zone (CVZ) of the Andes occur in different places and are essential indicators of magmatic processes leading to formation of composite volcano. The Andahua–Orcopampa and Huambo monogenetic fields are located in a unique tectonic setting, in and along the margins of a deep valley. This valley, oblique to the NW–SE-trend of the CVZ, is located between two composite volcanoes (Nevado Coropuna to the east and Nevado Sabancaya to the west). Structural analysis of these volcanic fields, based on SPOT satellite images, indicates four main groups of faults. These faults may have controlled magma ascent and the distribution of most centres in this deep valley shaped by en-echelon faulting. Morphometric criteria and ¹⁴C age dating attest to four main periods of activity: Late Pleistocene, Early to Middle Holocene, Late Holocene and Historic. The two most interesting features of the cones are the wide compositional range of their lavas (52.1 to 68.1 wt.% SiO₂) and the unusual occurrence of mafic lavas (olivine-rich basaltic andesites and basaltic andesites). Occurrence of such minor volcanic centres and mafic magmas in the CVZ may provide clues about the magma source in southern Peru. Such information is otherwise difficult to obtain because lavas produced by composite volcanoes are affected by shallow processes that strongly mask source signatures. Major, trace, and rare earth elements, as well as Sr-, Nd-, Pb- and O-isotope data obtained on high-K calc-alkaline lavas of the Andahua–Orcopampa and Huambo volcanic province characterise their source and their evolution. These lavas display a range comparable to those of the CVZ composite volcanoes for radiogenic and stable isotopes (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr: 0.70591–0.70694, ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd: 0.512317–0.512509, ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb: 18.30–18.63, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb: 15.57–15.60, ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb: 38.49–38.64, and δ ¹⁸O: 7.1–10.0‰ SMOW), attesting to involvement of a crustal component. Sediment is absent from the Peru–Chile trench, and hence cannot be the source of such enrichment. Partial melts of the lowermost part of the thick Andean continental crust with a granulitic garnet-bearing residue added to mantle-derived arc magmas in a high-pressure MASH [melting, assimilation, storage and homogenisation] zone may play a major role in magma genesis. This may also explain the chemical characteristics of the Andahua–Orcopampa and Huambo magmas. Fractional crystallisation processes are the main governors of magma evolution for the Andahua–Orcopampa and Huambo volcanic province. An open-system evolution is, however, required to explain some O-isotopes and some major and trace elements values. Modelling of AFC processes suggests the Charcani gneisses and the local Andahua–Orcopampa and Huambo basement may be plausible contaminants.     

The volcanic and magmatic evolution of Volcán Ollagüe, a high-K, late quaternary stratovolcano in the Andean Central Volcanic Zone

Volcán Ollagüe is a high-K, calc-alkaline composite volcano constructed upon extremely thick crust in the Andean Central Volcanic Zone. Volcanic activity commenced with the construction of an andesitic to dacitic composite cone composed of numerous lava flows and pyroclastic deposits of the Vinta Loma series and an overlying coalescing dome and coulée sequence of the Chasca Orkho series. Following cone construction, the upper western flank of Ollagüe collapsed toward the west leaving a collapse-amphitheater about 3.5 km in diameter and a debris avalanche deposit on the lower western flank of the volcano. The deposit is similar to the debris avalanche deposit produced during the May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, U.S.A., and was probably formed in a similar manner. It presently covers an area of 100 km² and extends 16 km from the summit. Subsequent to the collapse event, the upper western flank was reformed via eruption of several small andesitic lava flows from vents located near the western summit and growth of an andesitic dome within the collapse-amphitheater. Additional post-collapse activity included construction of a dacitic dome and coulée of the La Celosa series on the northwest flank. Field relations indicate that vents for the Vinta Loma and post-collapse series were located at or near the summit of the cone. The Vinta Loma series is characterized by an anhydrous, two-pyroxene assemblage. Vents for the La Celosa and Chasca Orkho series are located on the flanks and strike N55 W, radial to the volcano. The pattern of flank eruptions coincides with the distribution in the abundance of amphibole and biotite as the main mafic phenocryst phases in the rocks. A possible explanation for this coincidence is that an unexposed fracture or fault beneath the volcano served as a conduit for both magma ascent and groundwater circulation. In addition to the lava flows at Ollagüe, magmas are also present as blobs of vesiculated basaltic andesite and mafic andesite that occur as inclusions in nearly all of the lavas. All eruptive activity at Ollagüe predates the last glacial episode ( 11.000 a B.P.), because post-collapse lava flows are overlain by moraine and are incised by glacial valleys. Present activity is restricted to emission of a persistent, 100-m-high fumarolic steam plume from a vent located within the summit andesite dome.Sr and Nd isotope ratios for the basaltic andesite and mafic andesite inclusions and lavas suggest that they have assimilated large amounts of crust during crystal fractionation. In contrast, narrow ranges in ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr in the andesitic and dacitic lavas are enigmatic with respect to crustal contamination.     

Geophysical imaging of buried volcanic structures within a continental back-arc basin: The Central Volcanic Region, North Island, New Zealand

Hidden beneath the ~ 2 km thick low-velocity volcaniclastics on the western margin of the Central Volcanic Region, North Island, New Zealand, are two structures that represent the early history of volcanic activity in a continental back-arc. These ~ 20 × 20 km structures, at Tokoroa and Mangakino, form an adjacent gravity high and low, respectively. Interpretations from seismic refraction arrivals and gravity modelling indicate the − 65 mgal Mangakino residual gravity anomaly can be modelled, in part, by two low-density bodies that reach depths of ~ 6.5 km, whereas the Tokoroa gravity anomaly is due to a higher density rock coming, at most, to within ~ 650 m of the surface. The Mangakino anomaly is interpreted to be due to the remnants of magma chambers that fed large ignimbrite eruptions from about 1.2 Ma. An andesite volcano or complex volcanic structure is the preferred interpretation for the Tokoroa gravity high. The size of the putative volcanic structure is comparable to the presently active Tongariro Volcanic Complex in the centre of North Island.     

Twenty-five million years of silicic volcanism in the southern central volcanic zone of the Andes: Geochemistry and magma genesis of ignimbrites from 25 to 27 °S, 67 to 72 °W

Silicic volcanism in the Andean Central Volcanic Zone (CVZ) produced one of the world's largest Neogene ignimbrite provinces. The largest and best-known CVZ ignimbrites are located on the Altiplano-Puna plateau north of 24 °S. Their compositions and huge erupted volumes suggest an origin by large-scale crustal melting, and present-day geophysical anomalies in this region suggest still active zones of partial melting in the middle crust. Farther south in the CVZ, the Cerro Galán complex erupted ignimbrites in the late Miocene and Pliocene that are quite similar in volume and composition to those from north of 24 °S and they have a similar origin. However, there are a great many other, smaller ignimbrites in the southern CVZ whose compositions and geodynamic significance are poorly known. These are the subject of this paper.     

The Whitsunday Volcanic Province, Central Queensland, Australia: lithological and stratigraphic investigations of a silicic-dominated large igneous province

Contrary to general belief, not all large igneous provinces (LIPs) are characterised by rocks of basaltic composition. Silicic-dominated LIPs, such as the Whitsunday Volcanic Province of NE Australia, are being increasingly recognised in the rock record. These silicic LIPs are consistent in being: (1) volumetrically dominated by ignimbrite; (2) active over prolonged periods (40–50 m.y.), based on available age data; and (3) spatially and temporally associated with plate break-up. This silicic-dominated LIP, related to the break-up of eastern continental Gondwana, is also significant for being the source of >1.4×10⁶ km³ of coeval volcanogenic sediment preserved in adjacent sedimentary basins of eastern Australia.The Whitsunday Volcanic Province is volumetrically dominated by medium- to high-grade, dacitic to rhyolitic lithic ignimbrites. Individual ignimbrite units are commonly between 10 and 100 m thick, and the ignimbrite-dominated sequences exceed 1 km in thickness. Coarse lithic lag breccias containing clasts up to 6 m diameter are associated with the ignimbrites in proximal sections. Pyroclastic surge and fallout deposits, subordinate basaltic to rhyolitic lavas, phreatomagmatic deposits, and locally significant thicknesses of coarse-grained volcanogenic conglomerate and sandstone are interbedded with the ignimbrites. The volcanic sequences are intruded by gabbro/dolerite to rhyolite dykes (up to 50 m in width), sills and comagmatic granite. Dyke orientations are primarily from NW to NNE.The volcanic sequences are characterised by the interstratification of proximal/near-vent lithofacies such as rhyolite domes and lavas, and basaltic agglomerate, with medial to distal facies of ignimbrite. The burial of these near-vent lithofacies by ignimbrites, coupled with the paucity of mass wastage products such as debris-flow deposits indicates a low-relief depositional environment. Furthermore, the volcanic succession records a temporal change in: (1) eruptive styles; (2) the nature of source vents; and (3) erupted compositions. An early explosive dacitic pyroclastic phase was succeeded by a later mixed pyroclastic-effusive phase producing an essentially bimodal suite of lavas and rhyolitic ignimbrite. From the nature and distribution of volcanic lithofacies, the volcanic sequences are interpreted to record the evolution of a multiple vent, low-relief volcanic region, dominated by several large caldera centres.     

Integrated Radiolaria,benthic foraminifera and conodont biochronology of the pelagic Permian blocks/tectonic slices and geochemistry of associated volcanic rocks from the Mersin Mélange,southern Turkey: Implications for the Permian evolution of the northern Neotethys

Blocks and tectonic slices within the Mersin Mélange (southern Turkey), which are of Northern Neotethyan origin (Izmir–Ankara–Erzincan Ocean (IAE)), were studied in detail by using radiolarian, conodont, and foraminiferal assemblages on six different stratigraphic sections with well‐preserved Permian succesions. The basal part of the Permian sequence, composed of alternating chert and mudstone with basic volcanics, is assigned to the late Asselian (Early Permian) based on radiolarians. The next basaltic interval in the sequence is dated as Kungurian. The highly alkaline basic volcanics in the sequence are extremely enriched, similar to kimberlitic/lamprophyric magmas generated at continental intraplate settings. Trace element systematics suggest that these lavas were generated in a continental margin involving a metasomatized subcontinental lithospheric mantle source (SCLM). The middle part of the Permian sequences, dated by benthic foraminifera and conodont assemblages, includes detrital limestones with chert interlayers and neptunian dykes of middle Wordian to earliest Wuchiapingian age. Higher in the sequence, detrital limestones are overlain by alternating chert and mudstone with intermittent microbrecciated beds of early Wuchiapingian to middle Changhsingian (Late Permian) age based on the radiolarians. A large negative shift at the base of the Lopingian at the upper part of section is correlated to negative shifts at the Guadalupian/Lopingian boundary associated with the end‐Guadalupian mass extinction event. All these findings indicate that a continental rift system associated with a possible mantle plume existed during the late Early to Late Permian period. This event was responsible for the rupturing of the northern Gondwanan margin related to the opening of the IAE Ocean. When the deep basinal features of the Early Permian volcano‐sedimentary sequence are considered, the proto IAE oceanic crust formed possibly before the end of the Permian. This, in turn, suggests that the opening of the IAE Ocean dates back to as early as the Permian.     

The architecture, eruptive history, and evolution of the Table Rock Complex, Oregon: From a Surtseyan to an energetic maar eruption

The Table Rock Complex (TRC; Pliocene–Pleistocene), first documented and described by Heiken [Heiken, G.H., 1971. Tuff rings; examples from the Fort Rock-Christmas Lake valley basin, south-central Oregon. J. Geophy. Res. 76, 5615-5626.], is a large and well-exposed mafic phreatomagmatic complex in the Fort Rock–Christmas Lake Valley Basin, south-central Oregon. It spans an area of approximately 40 km², and consists of a large tuff cone in the south (TRC1), and a large tuff ring in the northeast (TRC2). At least seven additional, smaller explosion craters were formed along the flanks of the complex in the time between the two main eruptions. The first period of activity, TRC1, initiated with a Surtseyan-style eruption through a 60–70 m deep lake. The TRC1 deposits are dominated by multiple, 1-2 m thick, fining upward sequences of massive to diffusely-stratified lapilli tuff with intermittent zones of reverse grading, followed by a finely-laminated cap of fine-grained sediment. The massive deposits are interpreted as the result of eruption-fed, subaqueous turbidity current deposits; whereas, the finely laminated cap likely resulted from fallout of suspended fine-grained material through a water column. Other common features are erosive channel scour-and-fill deposits, massive tuff breccias, and abundant soft sediment deformation due to rapid sediment loading. Subaerial TRC1 deposits are exposed only proximal to the edifice, and consist of cross-stratified base-surge deposits. The eruption built a large tuff cone above the lake surface ending with an effusive stage, which produced a lava lake in the crater (365 m above the lake floor). A significant repose period occurred between the TRC1 and TRC2 eruptions, evidenced by up to 50 cm of diatomitic lake sediments at the contact between the two tuff sequences. The TRC2 eruption was the last and most energetic in the complex. General edifice morphology and a high percentage of accidental material suggest eruption through saturated TRC1 deposits and/or playa lake sediments. TRC2 deposits are dominated by three-dimensional dune features with wavelengths 200–500 m perpendicular to the flow, and 20–200 m parallel to the direction of flow depending on distance from source. Large U-shaped channels (10–32 m deep), run-up features over obstacles tens of meters high, and a large (13 m) chute-and-pool feature are also identified. The TRC2 deposits are interpreted as the products of multiple, erosive, highly-inflated pyroclastic surges resulting from collapse of an unusually high eruption column relative to previously documented mafic phreatomagmatic eruptions.