Intermittent generation of mafic enclaves in the 1991–1995 dacite of Unzen Volcano recorded in mineral chemistry

Mafic enclaves in the 1991–1995 dacite of Unzen volcano show chemical and textural variability, such as bulk SiO₂ contents ranging from 52 to 62 wt% and fine- to coarse-grained microlite textures. In this paper, we investigated the mineral chemistry of plagioclase and hornblende microlites and distinguished three enclave types. Type-I mafic enclaves contain high-Mg plagioclase and low-Cl hornblende as microlites, whereas type-III enclaves include low-Mg plagioclase and high-Cl hornblende. Type-II enclaves have an intermediate mineral chemistry. Type-I mafic enclaves tend to show a finer-grained matrix, have slightly higher bulk rock SiO₂ contents (56–60 wt%) when compared with the type-III mafic enclaves (SiO₂?=?53–59 wt%), but the overall bulk enclave compositions are within the trend of the basalt–dacite eruptive products of Quaternary monogenetic volcanoes around Unzen volcano. The origin of the variation of mineral chemistry in mafic enclaves is interpreted to reflect different degree of diffusion-controlled re-equilibration of minerals in a low-temperature mushy dacitic magma reservoir. Mafic enclaves with a long residence time in the dacitic magma reservoir, whose constituent minerals were annealed at low-temperature to be in equililbrium with the rhyolitic melt, represent type-III enclaves. In contrast, type-I mafic enclaves result from recent mafic injections with a mineral assemblage that still retains the high-temperature mineral chemistry. Taking temperature, Ca/(Ca?+?Na) ratio of plagioclase, and water activity of the hydrous Unzen magma into account, the Mg contents of plagioclase indicate that plagioclase microlites in type-III enclaves initially crystallized at high temperature and were subsequently re-equilibrated at low-temperature conditions. Compositional profiles of Mg in plagioclase suggest that older mafic enclaves (Type-III) had a residence time of ~100 years at 800 °C in a stagnant magma reservoir before their incorporation into the mixed dacite of the 1991–1995 Unzen eruption. Presence of different types of mafic enclaves suggests that the 1991–1995 dacite of Unzen volcano tapped mushy magma reservoir intermittently replenished by high-temperature mafic magmas.     

Unraveling the hidden origin and migration of plagioclase phenocrysts by in situ Sr isotopes: the case of final dome activity at Nisyros volcano,Greece

This contribution reports a detailed study on in situ Sr isotope analyses, along with textural and compositional characteristics, of plagioclase phenocrysts occurring in the rhyodacitic dome-lavas and associated mafic enclaves, erupted during the last magmatic activity at Nisyros volcano (Greece). Dome-lavas and enclaves have a paragenesis dominated by plagioclase. We recognize five different types of plagioclase based on their specific textures and composition. Dome-lava plagioclases (Type-1) are mainly large (1–5 mm), subhedral, clear, and poorly zoned crystals with low An content (An_25–35). The plagioclase phenocrysts (Type-4 and Type-5) and groundmass microlites crystallizing in the enclaves, and found in dome-lavas as xenocrysts, have high An content (An_75–95). In both dome-lavas and enclaves, two other types of plagioclase do also occur: (1) plagioclase phenocrysts with size and core composition similar to those of Type-1 having a dusty sieve zone (DSZ) at the rims (Type-2); (2) plagioclases with a DSZ affecting the entire crystal but a thin rim (Type-3). The drilled plagioclases have ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr negatively correlated with their An content. Low An cores of Type-1 and Type-2 have quite homogeneous ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (0.7044–0.7046), whose values are more radiogenic than their host magmas (0.70403–0.70408) and similar to those of the previous Upper Pumice (UP) rhyolite magma (0.70438–0.70456). The DSZs of Type-2 and Type-3 show lower and scattered ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (0.70397–0.70426) with intermediate and variable An content. High An cores of Type-4 and Type-5 have the least radiogenic Sr isotope composition (0.70379) in equilibrium with that measured in the enclaves (0.70384–0.70389). We demonstrate that Type-1 plagioclase crystallizes in the previous UP rhyolitic magmas representing the silica-rich magma from which the dome-lava melts derived by open system evolutionary processes (e.g., mixing, mingling, and crystal migration), caused by successive refilling of mafic enclave-forming magma. The Type-2 plagioclase derives from entrainment of Type-1 into the still molten enclave magma. The DSZs originated in response to the interaction between the low An plagioclase and the enclave mafic melt in which dissolution and re-crystallization acted together as function of the interaction time. Type-1 and Type-2 plagioclases record, therefore, a long-lived timescale of events starting from their crystallization in the UP rhyolite. Instead, the different width of DSZs (Type-2 and Type-3) seems to indicate short different interaction timescales between the single crystals and the enclave melt (from few hours to some 40 days). These microanalytical data contribute to the understanding of the origin of the rhyodacitic dome-lavas at Nisyros volcano and to set robust constraints on the dynamics of mingling/mixing processes in terms of crystal exchange pathways and enclave disaggregation.     

Magmatic process recorded in plagioclase at the Baogutu reduced porphyry Cu deposit,western Junggar,NW-China

Despite the fact that porphyry Cu deposits contain large amounts of Cu in one or more small stocks, few studies have discussed evidence for significant magma recharge in porphyry Cu deposits. A systematic elemental and Sr isotopic study of plagioclase crystals from mineralized diorite and granodiorite porphyry constrains the processes of crystallization and magma recharge at the Baogutu reduced porphyry copper deposit, western Junggar, NW-China. Large compositional changes in An (12–24 mol%) are observed along with strong positive correlations between An and FeO. Significant resorption textures are also preserved in plagioclase crystals as well as repeated oscillatory zoning in An and FeO, and complex Sr isotope variations. Three types of crystals with different core-to-rim Sr isotope variations are recognized. Type I crystals have core-to-rim increases in (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr)_i that could be explained by diffusion. For example, Sr isotope variations recorded in BCK2-1-2 crystal could be generated by diffusion with simulated maximum crystal residence times of 100–500 years with the proximate value of ∼300 years. Type II crystals with different variation trends in (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr)_i on opposite sides of the core could be produced either by multi-stage crystallization or by analytical uncertainty. Whereas, type III crystals with complex core-to-rim variations in (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr)_i, may record repeated magma recharge events. All these results suggest repeated recharging of the magma chamber by hotter, more mafic and less radiogenic Sr isotope melts. Therefore, more mafic melt injection recorded in plagioclase profiles may provide significant metal contributions to the magma chamber, which ultimately results in Cu mineralization at the Baogutu reduced porphyry copper deposit.     

A cascade of magmatic events during the assembly and eruption of a super-sized magma body

We use comprehensive geochemical and petrological records from whole-rock samples, crystals, matrix glasses and melt inclusions to derive an integrated picture of the generation, accumulation and evacuation of 530 km³ of crystal-poor rhyolite in the 25.4 ka Oruanui supereruption (New Zealand). New data from plagioclase, orthopyroxene, amphibole, quartz, Fe–Ti oxides, matrix glasses, and plagioclase- and quartz-hosted melt inclusions, in samples spanning different phases of the eruption, are integrated with existing data to build a history of the magma system prior to and during eruption. A thermally and compositionally zoned, parental crystal-rich (mush) body was developed during two periods of intensive crystallisation, 70 and 10–15 kyr before the eruption. The mush top was quartz-bearing and as shallow as ~3.5 km deep, and the roots quartz-free and extending to >10 km depth. Less than 600 year prior to the eruption, extraction of large volumes of ~840 °C low-silica rhyolite melt with some crystal cargo (between 1 and 10%), began from this mush to form a melt-dominant (eruptible) body that eventually extended from 3.5 to 6 km depth. Crystals from all levels of the mush were entrained into the eruptible magma, as seen in mineral zonation and amphibole model pressures. Rapid translation of crystals from the mush to the eruptible magma is reflected in textural and compositional diversity in crystal cores and melt inclusion compositions, versus uniformity in the outermost rims. Prior to eruption the assembled eruptible magma body was not thermally or compositionally zoned and at temperatures of ~790 °C, reflecting rapid cooling from the ~840 °C low-silica rhyolite feedstock magma. A subordinate but significant volume (3–5 km³) of contrasting tholeiitic and calc-alkaline mafic material was co-erupted with the dominant rhyolite. These mafic clasts host crystals with compositions which demonstrate that there was some limited pre-eruptive physical interaction of mafic magmas with the mush and melt-dominant body. However, the mafic magmas do not appear to have triggered the eruption or controlled magmatic temperatures in the erupted rhyolite. Integration of textural and compositional data from all available crystal types, across all dominant and subordinate magmatic components, allow the history of the Oruanui magma body to be reconstructed over a wide range of temporal scales using multiple techniques. This history spans the tens of millennia required to grow the parental magma system (U–Th disequilibrium dating in zircon), through the centuries and decades required to assemble the eruptible magma body (textural and diffusion modelling in orthopyroxene), to the months, days, hours and minutes over which individual phases of the eruption occurred, identified through field observations tied to diffusion modelling in magnetite, olivine, quartz and feldspar. Tectonic processes, rather than any inherent characteristics of the magmatic system, were a principal factor acting to drive the rapid accumulation of magma and control its release episodically during the eruption. This work highlights the richness of information that can be gained by integrating multiple lines of petrologic evidence into a holistic timeline of field-verifiable processes.     

Multiple timescale constraints for high-flux magma chamber assembly prior to the Late Bronze Age eruption of Santorini (Greece)

The rhyodacitic magma discharged during the 30–80 km³ DRE (dense rock equivalent) Late Bronze Age (LBA; also called ‘Minoan’) eruption of Santorini caldera is known from previous studies to have had a complex history of polybaric ascent and storage prior to eruption. We refine the timescales of these processes by modelling Mg–Fe diffusion profiles in orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene crystals. The data are integrated with previously published information on the LBA eruption (phase equilibria studies, melt inclusion volatile barometry, Mg-in-plagioclase diffusion chronometry), as well as new plagioclase crystal size distributions and the established pre-LBA history of the volcano, to reconstruct the events that led up to the assembly and discharge of the LBA magma chamber. Orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene and plagioclase crystals in the rhyodacite have compositionally distinct rims, overgrowing relict, probably source-derived, more magnesian (or calcic) cores, and record one or more crystallization (plag???opx?>?cpx) events during the few centuries to years prior to eruption. The crystallization event(s) can be explained by the rapid transfer of rhyodacitic melt from a dioritic/gabbroic region of the subcaldera pluton (mostly in the 8–12 km depth range), followed by injection, cooling and mixing in a large melt lens at 4–6 km depth (the pre-eruptive magma chamber). Since crystals from all eruptive phases yield similar timescales, the melt transfer event(s), the last of which took place less than 2 years before the eruption, must have involved most of the magma that subsequently erupted. The data are consistent with a model in which prolonged generation, storage and segregation of silicic melts were followed by gravitational instability in the subcaldera pluton, causing the rapid interconnection and amalgamation of melt-rich domains. The melts then drained to the top of the pluton, at fluxes of up to 0.1–1 km³ year^??1, where steep vertical gradients of density and rheology probably caused them to inject laterally, forming a short-lived holding chamber prior to eruption. This interpretation is consistent with growing evidence that some large silicic magma chambers are transient features on geological timescales. A similar process preceded at least one earlier caldera-forming eruption on Santorini, suggesting that it may be a general feature of this rift-hosted magmatic system.     

Water content of primitive low-K tholeiitic basalt magma from Iwate Volcano,NE Japan arc: implications for differentiation mechanism of frontal-arc basalt magmas

The water content of low-K tholeiitic basalt magma from Iwate volcano, which is located on the volcanic front of the NE Japan arc, was estimated using multi-component thermodynamic models. The Iwate lavas are moderately porphyritic, consisting of ~8 vol.% olivine and ~20 vol.% plagioclase phenocrysts. The olivine and plagioclase phenocrysts show significant compositional variations, and the Mg# of olivine phenocrysts (Mg#78–85) correlates positively with the An content of coexisting plagioclase phenocrysts (An_85–92). The olivine phenocrysts with Mg# > ~82 do not form crystal aggregates with plagioclase phenocrysts. It is inferred from these observations that the phenocrysts with variable compositions were primarily derived from mushy boundary layers along the walls of a magma chamber. By using thermodynamic calculations with the observed petrological features of the lavas, the water content of the Iwate magma was estimated to be 4–5 wt.%. The high water content of the magma supports the recent consensus that frontal-arc magmas are remarkably hydrous. Using the estimated water content of the Iwate magma, the water content and temperature of the source mantle were estimated. Given that the Iwate magma was derived from a primary magma solely by olivine fractionation, the water content and temperature were estimated to be ~0.7 wt.% and ~1,310 °C, respectively. Differentiation mechanisms of low-K frontal-arc basalt magmas were also examined by application of a thermodynamics-based mass balance model to the Iwate magma. It is suggested that magmatic differentiation proceeds primarily through fractionation of crystals from the main molten part of a magma chamber when it is located at <~200 MPa, whereas magma evolves through a convective melt exchange between the main magma and mushy boundary layers when the magma body is located at >~200 MPa.     

Textural history of recent basaltic-andesites and plutonic inclusions from Merapi volcano

Mt. Merapi in Central Java is one of the most active stratovolcanoes on Earth and is underlain by a multistage plumbing system. Crystal size distribution analyses (CSD) were carried out on recent Merapi basaltic-andesites and co-eruptive magmatic and plutonic inclusions to characterise the crystallisation processes that operate during storage and ascent and to obtain information on respective time scales. The basaltic-andesites exhibit log-linear, kinked-upwards CSD curves for plagioclase and clinopyroxene that can be separated into two main textural populations. Large plagioclase phenocrysts (≥1.6 mm) make up one population, but correspond to crystals with variable geochemical composition and reflect a period of crystal growth at deep to mid-crustal levels. This population was subsequently influenced by crystal accumulation and the onset of crustal assimilation, including the incorporation of high-Ca skarn-derived xenocrysts. Textural re-equilibration is required for these crystals to form a single population in CSD. A second episode of crystal growth at shallower levels is represented by chemically homogenous plagioclase crystals <1.6 mm in size. Crustal assimilation is indicated by, for example, oxygen isotopes and based on the CSD data, crystallisation combined with contamination is likely semi-continuous in these upper crustal storage chambers. The CSD data observed in the basaltic-andesite samples are remarkably consistent and require a large-volume steady state magmatic system beneath Merapi in which late textural equilibration plays a significant role. Plagioclase CSDs of co-eruptive magmatic and plutonic inclusions may contain a third crystal population (<1 mm) not found in the lavas. This third population has probably formed from enhanced degassing of portions of basaltic-andesite magma at shallow crustal levels which resulted in increased crystallinity and basaltic-andesite mush inclusions. A suite of coarse plutonic inclusions is also present that reflects crystallisation and accumulation of crystals in the deep Merapi plumbing system, as deduced from CSD patterns and mineral assemblages.     

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gsf.2016.11.007

Lunar anorthosite is a major rock of the lunar highlands,which formed as a result of plagioclasefloatation in the lunar magma ocean(LMO).Constraints on the sufficient conditions that resulted in the formation of a thick pure anorthosite(mode of plagioclase 95 vol.%) is a key to reveal the early magmatic evolution of the terrestrial planets.To form the pure lunar anorthosite,plagioclase should have separated from the magma ocean with low crystal fraction.Crystal networks of plagioclase and mafic minerals develop when the crystal fraction in the magma(φ) is higher than ca.40-60 vol.%,which inhibit the formation of pure anorthosite.In contrast,when φ is small,the magma ocean is highly turbulent,and plagioclase is likely to become entrained in the turbulent magma rather than separated from the melt.To determine the necessary conditions in which anorthosite forms from the LMO,this study adopted the energy criterion formulated by Solomatov.The composition of melt,temperature,and pressure when plagioclase crystallizes are constrained by using MELTS/pMELTS to calculate the density and viscosity of the melt.When plagioclase starts to crystallize,the Mg~# of melt becomes 0.59 at 1291 C.The density of the melt is smaller than that of plagioclase for P 2.1 kbar(ca.50 km deep),and the critical diameter of plagioclase to separate from the melt becomes larger than the typical crystal diameter of plagioclase(1.8-3 cm).This suggests that plagioclase is likely entrained in the LMO just after the plagioclase starts to crystallize.When the Mg~# of melt becomes 0.54 at 1263 C,the density of melt becomes larger than that of plagioclase even for 0 kbar.When the Mg~# of melt decreases down to 0.46 at 1218 C,the critical diameter of plagioclase to separate from the melt becomes 1.5-2.5 cm,which is nearly equal to the typical plagioclase of the lunar anorthosite.This suggests that plagioclase could separate from the melt.One of the differences between the Earth and the Moon is the presence of water.If the terrestrial magma ocean was saturated with H_2O,plagioclase could not crystallize,and anorthosite could not form.     

Rapid pre-eruptive thermal rejuvenation in a large silicic magma body: the case of the Masonic Park Tuff,Southern Rocky Mountain volcanic field,CO, USA

Determining the mechanisms involved in generating large-volume eruptions (>100 km³) of silicic magma with crystallinities approaching rheological lock-up (~50 vol% crystals) remains a challenge for volcanologists. The Cenozoic Southern Rocky Mountain volcanic field, in Colorado and northernmost New Mexico, USA, produced ten such crystal-rich ignimbrites within 3 m.y. This work focuses on the 28.7 Ma Masonic Park Tuff, a dacitic (~62–65 wt% SiO₂) ignimbrite with an estimated erupted volume of ~500 km³ and an average of ~45 vol% crystals. Near-absence of quartz, titanite, and sanidine, pronounced An-rich spikes near the rims of plagioclase, and reverse zoning in clinopyroxene record the reheating (from ~750 to >800?°C) of an upper crustal mush in response to hotter recharge from below. Zircon U–Pb ages suggest prolonged magmatic residence, while Yb/Dy vs temperature trends indicate co-crystallization with titanite which was later resorbed. High Sr, Ba, and Ti concentrations in plagioclase microlites and phenocryst rims require in-situ feldspar melting and concurrent, but limited, mass addition provided by the recharge, likely in the form of a melt-gas mixture. The larger Fish Canyon Tuff, which erupted from the same location ~0.7 m.y. later, also underwent pre-eruptive reheating and partial melting of quartz, titanite, and feldspars in a long-lived upper crustal mush following the underplating of hotter magma. The Fish Canyon Tuff, however, records cooler pre-eruptive temperatures (~710–760?°C) and a mineral assemblage indicative of higher magmatic water contents (abundant resorbed sanidine and quartz, euhedral amphibole and titanite, and absence of pyroxene). These similar pre-eruptive mush-reactivation histories, despite differing mineral assemblages and pre-eruptive temperatures, indicate that thermal rejuvenation is a key step in the eruption of crystal-rich silicic volcanics over a wide range of conditions.     

From mush to eruption in centuries: assembly of the super-sized Oruanui magma body

The magmatic systems that give rise to voluminous crystal-poor rhyolite magma bodies can be considered to operate on two contrasting timescales: Those governed by longer-term processes by which a magma acquires its chemical and isotopic characteristics (e.g., fractional crystallisation and assimilation), and those operating at shorter timescales during the physical accumulation of the melt-dominant magma body that finally erupts. We explore the compositional and textural relationships between amphibole and orthopyroxene crystals from the 25.4 ka, 530 km³ (magma) Oruanui eruption products (Taupo volcano, New Zealand) to investigate how processes related to the physical assembly of the pre-eruptive magma body are represented in the crystal record. Over 90 % of orthopyroxenes from the volumetrically dominant high-SiO₂ (>74 wt%) rhyolite pumices record textural evidence for a significant disequilibrium event (partial dissolution ± resorption of cores and interiors) prior to the growth of 40–500 μm thick rim zones. This dissolution/regrowth history of orthopyroxene is recorded in the chemistry of co-crystallising amphiboles as a prominent inflection in the concentrations of Mn and Zn, two elements notably enriched in orthopyroxene relative to amphibole. Textural and chemical features, linked with in situ thermobarometric estimates, indicate that a major decompression event preceded the formation of the melt-dominant body. The decompression event is inferred to represent the extraction of large volumes of melt plus crystals from the Oruanui crystal mush/source zone at pressures of 140–300 MPa (~6–12 km depth). Orthopyroxene underwent partial dissolution during ascent before reestablishing in the melt-dominant magma body at pressures of 90–140 MPa (~3.5–6 km). We model Fe–Mg diffusion across the core-rim boundaries along the crystallographic a or b-axes to constrain the timing of this decompression event, which marked establishment of the melt-dominant magma body. Maximum modelled ages indicate that this event did not begin until ~1,600 years before eruption, consistent with constraints from zircon model-age spectra. Once extraction began, it underwent runaway acceleration with a peak extraction age of ~230 years, followed by an apparent period of stasis of ~60 years prior to eruption. The rapidity of the extraction and accumulation processes implies the involvement of a dynamic driving force which, in the rifted continental arc setting of the Taupo Volcanic Zone, seems likely to be represented by magma-assisted extensional tectonic processes.     

Crystal Size Distribution of Plagioclase and Amphibole from Soufriere Hills Volcano, Montserrat: Evidence for Dynamic Crystallization-Textural Coarsening Cycles

The crystal size distributions (CSDs) of plagioclase and amphibolewere determined from andesites of the Soufrière Hillsvolcano, Montserrat. Plagioclase occurs as separate crystalsand as chadocrysts in large amphibole oikocrysts. The chadocrystsrepresent an earlier stage of textural development, preservedby growth of the oikocryst. Seventeen rock and eight chadocrystplagioclase CSDs are considered together as a series of samplesof textural development. All are curved, concave up, and coincident,differing only in their maximum crystal size. Three amphiboleCSDs have a similar shape and behaviour, but at a differentposition from the plagioclase CSDs. A dynamic model is proposedfor the origin of textures in these rocks. Crystallization ofplagioclase started following emplacement of andesite magmaat a depth of at least 5 km. A steep, straight CSD developedby nucleation and growth. This process was interrupted by theinjection of mafic magma into the chamber, or convective overturnof hotter magma. The magma temperature rose until it was buffered,initially by plagioclase solution and later by crystallization.During this period textural coarsening (Ostwald ripening) ofplagioclase and amphibole occurred: small crystals dissolvedsimultaneously with the growth of large crystals. The CSD becameless steep and extended to larger crystal sizes. Early stagesof this process are preserved in coarsened amphibole oikocrysts.Repetitions of this cycle generated the observed family of CSDs.Textural coarsening followed the ‘Communicating Neighbours’model. Hence, each crystal has its own, unique growth–solutionhistory, without appealing to mixing of magmas that crystallizedin different environments. KEY WORDS: Ostwald ripening; textural coarsening; oikocryst; CSD; texture     

Magmatic processes under Quizapu volcano,Chile, identified from geochemical and textural studies

Quizapu is part of a linear system of active volcanos in central Chile. The volcanic petrology and geology have been used to infer the plumbing system beneath the volcano. The 1846–1847 eruption (~5 km³) started with small flows of dacite, then changed to a range of andesite–dacite compositions and finally terminated with large flows of dacite. Andesitic enclaves (<10 %) occur in some of these flows. Activity restarted explosively in 1932 (~4 km³ DRE) with an initial andesite–dacite ash, followed by uniform dacite ash and then a terminal andesite ash. All samples, including the enclaves, have chemical compositions that lie on an almost perfect mixing line, with a few exceptions. The abundant plagioclase macrocrysts in the matrix were divided into five petrographic classes on the basis of colour in cold-cathode cathodoluminescence images and zonation in visible light. All populations of macrocrysts have CSDs characteristic of coarsening, although they differ in detail. Two classes can be ascribed to growth in andesite and dacite magmas, but the three other classes are associated with particular magma batches. A model is developed which started with ponding of andesite magma in the crust. This differentiated to produce a dacite magma, most of which probably solidified to make a granodiorite batholith. Activation of a N–S fault enabled volcanism: andesite magma traversed the dacite-filled chamber, heating and raising it up into storage areas hosted by the fault, where it mixed to form a homogeneous magma. A short time before the 1846–1847 eruption, more andesite magma was injected into the shallow part of the system where it mingled with existing mixed magmas. The first magma to be erupted from Quizapu was a dacite, but soon other storage areas along the fault started to feed the system—first mixed magmas, then back to dacites. The eruption then terminated until 1932 when renewed injection of andesite into the system created a conduit that tapped an undegassed dacite chamber and resulted in a strong explosive eruption. The whole story is one of continual andesite magmatism, modulated by storage, degassing and mixing.     

The time scales of magma mixing and mingling involving primitive melts and melt–mush interaction at mid-ocean ridges

We have studied the chemical zoning of plagioclase phenocrysts from the slow-spreading Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the intermediate-spreading rate Costa Rica Rift to obtain the time scales of magmatic processes beneath these ridges. The anorthite content, Mg, and Sr in plagioclase phenocrysts from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge can be interpreted as recording initial crystallisation from a primitive magma (~11 wt% MgO) in an open system. This was followed by crystal accumulation in a mush zone and later entrainment of crystals into the erupted magma. The initial magma crystallised plagioclase more anorthitic than those in equilibrium with any erupted basalt. Evidence that the crystals accumulated in a mush zone comes from both: (1) plagioclase rims that were in equilibrium with a Sr-poor melt requiring extreme differentiation; and (2) different crystals found in the same thin section having different histories. Diffusion modelling shows that crystal residence times in the mush were <140 years, whereas the interval between mush disaggregation and eruption was ≤1.5 years. Zoning of anorthite content and Mg in plagioclase phenocrysts from the Costa Rica Rift show that they partially or completely equilibrated with a MgO-rich melt (>11 wt%). Partial equilibration in some crystals can be modelled as starting <1 year prior to eruption but for others longer times are required for complete equilibration. This variety of times is most readily explained if the mixing occurred in a mush zone. None of the plagioclase phenocrysts from the Costa Rica Rift that we studied have Mg contents in equilibrium with their host basalt even at their rims, requiring mixing into a much more evolved magma within days of eruption. In combination these observations suggest that at both intermediate- and slow-spreading ridges: (1) the chemical environment to which crystals are exposed changes on annual to decadal time scales; (2) plagioclase crystals record the existence of melts unlike those erupted; and (3) disaggregation of crystal mush zones appears to precede eruption, providing an efficient mechanism by which evolved interstitial melt can be mixed into erupted basalts.     

Effects of CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> flushing on crystal textures and compositions: experimental evidence from recent K-trachybasalts erupted at Mt. Etna

Changes in magmatic assemblages and crystal stability as a response of CO₂-flushing in basaltic systems have rarely been directly addressed experimentally, making the role of CO₂ in magma dynamics still controversial and object of scientific debate. We conducted a series of experiments to understand the response of magmas from Etna volcano to CO₂ flushing. We performed a first experiment at 300 MPa to synthesize a starting material composed of crystals of some hundreds of µm and melt pools. This material is representative of an initial magmatic assemblage composed of plagioclase, clinopyroxene and a water-undersaturated melt with 1.6 wt% H₂O. In a second step, the initial assemblage was equilibrated at 300 and 100 MPa with fluids having different XCO ₂ ^fl (CO₂/(H₂O + CO₂)). At low XCO ₂ ^fl (< 0.2 to 0.4), plagioclase is completely dissolved and clinopyroxene show dissolution textures. For relatively high XCO ₂ ^fl (0.9 at 300 MPa), the flushing of a CO₂-rich fluid phase leads to an increase of the amount of clinopyroxene and a decrease of the abundance of plagioclase at 300 MPa. This decrease of plagioclase proportion is associated with a change in An content. Our experiments demonstrate that flushing basaltic systems with fluids may drastically affect crystal textures and phase equilibria depending on proportions of H₂O and CO₂ in the fluid phase. Since texture and crystal proportions are among the most important parameters governing the rheology of magmas, fluid flushing will also influence magma ascent to the Earth’s surface. The experimental results open new perspectives to decipher the textural and compositional record of minerals observed in volcanic rocks from Mt. Etna, and at the same time offer the basis for interpreting the information preserved in minerals from other basaltic volcanoes erupting magmas enriched in CO₂.     

Erratum to: Crystal growth during dike injection of MOR basaltic melts: evidence from preservation of local Sr disequilibria in plagioclase

Profiles of a total of 23 plagioclase crystals erupted within the 1982–1991 and 1993 flows of the Coaxial segment of the Juan de Fuca ridge, the 1996 flow of the North Gorda ridge, and from the Western Volcanic Zone of the ultra-slow spreading Gakkel Ridge, have been studied for variations in major and trace element concentrations. We derive equilibration times for the relatively rapidly diffusing Sr in mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) plagioclase crystals of the order of months to a few years in each case. All crystals preserve diffusive disequilibria of strontium and barium. Crystal residence times at MORB magmatic temperatures are thus significantly shorter, of the order of days to a few months at most, precluding prolonged crystal storage in axial magma chambers and instead pointing to rapid crystal growth (up to ~10⁻⁸ cm s⁻¹) and cooling (up to ~1°C h⁻¹) shortly prior to eruption of these samples. Growth of these crystals is therefore inferred to occur almost entirely within oceanic layer 2 during dike injection. Crystals that grew at lower crustal levels or earlier in the differentiation sequence appear to have been excluded from the erupted magmas, as might occur if most of the gabbroic rocks in oceanic layer 3 formed an interlocking crystal framework, with viscosities that are too high to carry earlier formed crystals with the melt. The vertical extent of eruptible, crystal-poor melt lenses within the gabbroic zone is constrained to ~1 m or less by considering the width of local equilibrium growth zones, equilibration times, and crystal settling velocities. This lengthscale is consistent with field evidence from ophiolites. Finally, crystal aggregates within the Gakkel ridge sample studied here are the result of synneusis within the propagating dike during melt ascent.     

Minor- and trace-element zoning in plagioclase: implications for magma chamber processes at Parinacota volcano, northern Chile

Textural and compositional zoning in plagioclase phenocrysts in a sample from Parinacota volcano (Chile) was investigated using backscattered electron images and electron microprobe analysis of major and trace elements. Large (2 mm) oscillatory zoned crystals (type I) with resorption surfaces of moderate An discontinuities (Ⲓ% An) and decreasing trace-element contents (Sr, Mg, Ti) towards the rim reflect melt differentiation and turbulent convection in the main magma body. Early recharge with a low-Sr mafic magma is seen in the core. Small-scale Sr variations in the core indicate limited diffusion and thus residence and differentiation times of the magma shorter than a few thousand years. Smaller crystals (type II) with low trace-element/An ratio reflect the influence of an H₂O-rich melt probably from a differentiated boundary layer. Closed-system in-situ crystallisation, mafic magma recharge and the role of a water-rich differentiated boundary layer can be distinguished from the An-trace element relationships. Crystals apparently move relatively freely between different parts and regimes in the magma chamber, evidence for "convective crystal dispersion". High-Sr type II crystals indicate an earlier input of Sr-rich mafic magma. Recharge of two distinct mafic magma types is thus identified (high-Sr and low-Sr), which must have been present - at increasing recharge rates with time - in the plumbing system throughout the volcano's history.     

Reconciling heterogeneity in crystal zoning data: An application of shared characteristic diagrams at Chaos Crags,Lassen Volcanic Center,California

Isotope, trace element, and textural crystal zoning patterns record heterogeneity in magmatic systems not resolved by whole rock analyses. These zoning data are used to infer crystal residence times, magma mixing, and other magmatic processes in many magmatic systems. We present the shared characteristic diagram (SCD) as an organizational framework for crystal zoning data that compares information from different phases and chemical tracers in a common framework. An example from Chaos Crags in the Cascade arc, produces three main results. (1) Anorthite zoning profiles in plagioclase have fewer shared characteristics in mafic inclusions than in the host rhyodacite. (2) Single-crystal ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr data from previous studies (Tepley et al. 1999) are consistent with more shared history between crystals than in anorthite profiles. This difference reflects a more homogeneous distribution of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr than the intensive parameters controlling plagioclase composition. (3) The Chaos Crags system exhibits a layer of heterogeneity in crystal populations that is not represented in whole-rock analyses that indicate only simple binary mixing. The inconsistency between ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and anorthite zoning data highlights decoupling between compositionally controlled and temperature/water-controlled zoning in plagioclase from Chaos Crags.     

Primary melt from Sannome-gata volcano,NE Japan arc: constraints on generation conditions of rear-arc magmas

The conditions under which rear-arc magmas are generated were estimated using primary basalts from the Sannome-gata volcano, located in the rear of the NE Japan arc. Scoriae from the volcano occur with abundant crustal and mantle xenoliths, suggesting that the magma ascended rapidly from the upper mantle. The scoriae show significant variations in their whole-rock compositions (7.9–11.1 wt% MgO). High-MgO scoriae (MgO > ~9.5 wt%) have mostly homogeneous ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (0.70318–0.70320), whereas low-MgO scoriae (MgO < ~9 wt%) have higher ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (>0.70327); ratios tend to increase with decreasing MgO content. The high-MgO scoriae are aphyric, containing ~5 vol% olivine microphenocrysts with Mg# [100 × Mg/(Mg + Fe²⁺)] of up to 90. In contrast, the low-MgO scoriae have crustal xenocrysts of plagioclase, alkali feldspar, and quartz, and the mineralogic modes correlate negatively with whole-rock MgO content. On the basis of these observations, it is inferred that the high-MgO scoriae represent primary or near-primary melts, while the low-MgO scoriae underwent considerable interaction with the crust. Using thermodynamic analysis of the observed petrological features of the high-MgO scoriae, the eruption temperature of the magmas was constrained to 1,160–1,220 °C. Given that the source mantle was depleted MORB-source mantle, the primary magma was plausibly generated by ~7 % melting of a garnet-bearing spinel peridotite; taking this into consideration, and considering the constraints of multi-component thermodynamics, we estimated that the primary Sannome-gata magma was generated in the source mantle with 0.5–0.6 wt% H₂O at 1,220–1,230 °C and at ~1.8 GPa, and that the H₂O content of the primary magma was 6–7 wt%. The rear-arc Sannome-gata magma was generated by a lower degree of melting of the mantle at greater depths and lower temperatures than the frontal-arc magma from the Iwate volcano, which was also estimated to be generated by ~15 % melting of the source mantle with 0.6–0.7 wt% H₂O at ~1,250 °C and at ~1.3 GPa.     

How do olivines record magmatic events? Insights from major and trace element zoning

Reconciling the diverse records of magmatic events preserved by multiple crystals and minerals in the same sample is often challenging. In the case of basaltic–andesites from Volcán Llaima (Chile), Mg zoning in olivine is always simpler than Ca zoning in plagioclase. A model that explains a number of chemical patterns is that Llaima magmas stall in the upper crust, where they undergo decompression crystallization and form crystal-mush bodies. Frequent magma inputs from deeper reservoirs provide the potential for remobilization and eruption. The records of multiple recharge events in Llaima plagioclase versus an apparent maximum of one such event in coexisting olivine are addressed by using trace element zoning in olivine phenocrysts. We have integrated elements that (1) respond to changes in magma composition due to recharge or mixing (Mg, Fe, Ni, Mn, ±Ca), with (2) elements that are incorporated during rapid, disequilibrium crystal growth (P, Ti, Sc, V, Al). A more complex history is obtained when these elements are evaluated considering their partition coefficients, diffusivities, and crystal growth rates. The olivine archive can then be reconciled with the plagioclase archive of magma reservoir processes. Olivine (and plagioclase) phenocrysts may experience up to three or more recharge events between nucleation and eruption. Diffusion modeling of major and trace element zoning in two dimensions using a new lattice Boltzmann model suggests that recharge events occur on the order of months to a couple of years prior to eruption, whereas crystal residence times are more likely to be on the order of a few years to decades.     

Petrology of the zoned calcalkaline magma chamber of Mount Mazama,Crater Lake,Oregon

Evolution of the magma chamber at Mount Mazama involved repeated recharge by two types of andesite (high-Sr and low-Sr), crystal fractionation, crystal accumulation, assimilation, and magma mixing (Bacon and Druitt 1988). This paper addresses the modal compositions, textures, mineral chemistry and magmatic temperatures of (i) products of the 6845±50 BP climactic eruption, (ii) blocks of partially fused granitoid wallrock found in the ejecta, and (iii) preclimactic rhyodacitic lavas leaked from the chamber in late Pleistocene and early Holocene time. Immediately prior to the climactic eruption the chamber contained ≳ 40 km³ of rhyodacite (10 vol% plag + opx + aug + hb + mt + ilm, ∼880° C) overlying high-Sr andesite and cumulus-crystal mush (28–51 vol% plag + hb ± opx ± aug + mt ± ilm, 880° to ≥950° C), which in turn overlay low-Sr crystal mush (50–66 vol% plag + opx + aug ± hb ± ol + mt + ilm, 890° to ≥950† C). Despite the well known compositional gap in the ejecta, no thermal discontinuity existed in the chamber. Pre-eruptive water contents of pore liquids in most high-Sr and low-Sr mushes were 4–6 wt%, but on average the high-Sr mushes were slightly richer in water. Although parental magmas of the crystal mushes were andesitic, xenocrysts of bytownite and Ni-rich magnesian olivine in some scoriae record the one-time injection of basalt into the chamber. Textures in ol-bearing scoriae preserve evidence for the reactions ol + liq = opx and ol + aug + liq(+ plag?) = hb, which occurred in andesitic liquids at Mount Mazama. Strontium abundances in plagioclase phenocrysts constrain the petrogenesis of preclimactic and climactic rhyodacites. Phenocryst cores derived from high-Sr and low-Sr magmas have different Sr contents which can be resolved by microprobe. Partition coefficients for plagioclase in andesitic to rhyolitic glasses range from 2 to 7, and increase as glass %SiO₂ increases. Evolved Pleistocene rhyodacites (∼30–25,000 BP) and rhyodacites of the Holocene Llao Rock center (7015±45 BP) contain Sr-poor plagioclase and are derivatives from low-Sr magma. Rhyodacites of the Pleistocene Sharp Peak domes, Holocene Cleetwood flow (∼6850 BP), and climactic ejecta contain discrete Sr-rich and Sr-poor plagioclase phenocryst populations and are hybrids produced by mixing low-Sr rhyodacite (containing Sr-poor plag + opx + aug) with a more mafic high-Sr magma (with Sr-rich plag [ + hb?]). The data reinforce the conclusions of crystal-liquid mixing calculations (Bacon and Druitt 1988), and suggest some important refinements to the magma chamber model.