Volatile element zonation in Campanian Ignimbrite magmas (Phlegrean Fields, Italy): evidence from the study of glass inclusions and matrix glasses

The distribution of H₂O, F, Cl and S in the Campanian Ignimbrite (CI) magma chamber was investigated through study of primary glass inclusions and matrix glasses from pumices of the Plinian fall deposit. The eruption, fed by trachytic to phono-trachytic magmas, mainly produced a trachytic non-welded to partially welded tuff, underlain by a minor cogenetic fallout deposit. The entire chemical variability of the eruptive products is well represented in the pumices of the Plinian fall deposit, which we divide into a basal Lower Fall Unit (LFU) and an overlying Upper Fall Unit (UFU). Primary glass inclusions were only found in clinopyroxenes associated with the LFU pumice and contain a mean of 1.60ǂ.32 wt% H₂O (analysed by FTIR), 0.11ǂ.08 wt% F, 0.37ǂ.03 wt% Cl and 0.08ǂ.04 wt% SO₃ (EMP analysis); CO₂ concentrations were below the FTIR detection limit (10-20 ppm). The coexisting matrix glasses contain similar amounts of halogens and sulfur but less water (~0.60 wt%). Partially degassed matrix glasses from UFU pumices contain a mean of 0.30ǂ.02 H₂O, 0.28ǂ.10 F, 0.04ǂ.02 SO₃ and 0.80ǂ.04 wt% Cl. To reconstruct the total amount of volatiles dissolved in the most evolved trachytes we have used experimental solubility data and mass balance calculations concerning the amount of crystal fractionation required to produce the most evolved trachyte from the least evolved trachyte; these yield an estimated pre-eruptive magma volatile content (H₂O + Cl + F) of ~5.5 wt% for the most evolved magmas. On the basis of new determinations of Cl solubility limits in hydrous trachytic melts coexisting with an aqueous fluid phase + hydrosaline melt (brine), we suggest that the upper part of the magma chamber which fed the CI eruption was fluid(s) saturated and at a minimum depth of ~2 km. Variations in eruptive style (Plinian fallout, pyroclastic flows) do not appear to be related to significant variations in pre-eruptive volatile contents.     

Geochemical and isotopic insights into the assembly,evolution and disruption of a magmatic plumbing system before and after a cataclysmic caldera-collapse eruption at Ischia volcano (Italy)

New geochemical and isotopic data on volcanic rocks spanning the period ~75–50 ka BP on Ischia volcano, Italy, shed light on the evolution of the magmatic system before and after the catastrophic, caldera-forming Monte Epomeo Green Tuff (MEGT) eruption. Volcanic activity during this period was influenced by a large, composite and differentiating magmatic system, replenished several times with isotopically distinct magmas of deep provenance. Chemical and isotopic variations highlight that the pre-MEGT eruptions were fed by trachytic/phonolitic magmas from an isotopically zoned reservoir that were poorly enriched in radiogenic Sr and became progressively less radiogenic with time. Just prior to the MEGT eruption, the magmatic system was recharged by an isotopically distinct magma, relatively more enriched in radiogenic Sr with respect to the previously erupted magmas. This second magma initially fed several SubPlinian explosive eruptions and later supplied the climactic, phonolitic-to-trachytic MEGT eruption(s). Isotopic data, together with erupted volume estimations obtained for MEGT eruption(s), indicate that >5–10 km³ of this relatively enriched magma had accumulated in the Ischia plumbing system. Geochemical modelling indicates that it accumulated at shallow depths (4–6 km), over a period of ca. 20 ka. After the MEGT eruption, volcanic activity was fed by a new batch of less differentiated (trachyte-latite) magma that was slightly less enriched in radiogenic Sr. The geochemical and Sr–Nd-isotopic variations through time reflect the upward flux of isotopically distinct magma batches, variably contaminated by Hercynian crust at 8–12 km depth. The deep-sourced latitic to trachytic magmas stalled at shallow depths (4–6 km depth), differentiated to phonolite through crystal fractionation and assimilation of a feldspar-rich mush, or ascended directly to the surface and erupted.     

The behavior of chlorine and sulfur during differentiation of the Mt. Somma-Vesuvius magmatic system

Summary Reheated silicate melt inclusions in volcanic rock samples from Mt. Somma-Vesuvius, Italy, have been analyzed for 29 constituents including H₂O, S, Cl, F, B, and P₂O₅. This composite volcano consists of the older Mt. Somma caldera, formed between 14 and 3.55 ka before present, and the younger Vesuvius cone. The melt inclusion compositions provide important constraints on pre-eruptive magma geochemistry, identify relationships that relate to eruption behavior and magma evolution, and provide extensive evidence for magmatic fluid exsolution well before eruption. The melt inclusion data have been categorized by groups that reflect magma compositions, age, and style of eruptions. The data show distinct differences in composition for eruptive products older than 14.0 ka (pre-caldera rocks) versus eruptive products younger than 3.55 ka. Moreover, pre-caldera eruptions were associated with magmas relatively enriched in SiO₂, whereas eruptions younger than 3.55 ka (i.e., the syn- and post-caldera magmas which generated the Somma caldera and the Vesuvius cone) were derived from magmas comparatively enriched in S, Cl, CaO, MgO, P₂O₅, F, and many lithophile trace elements. Melt inclusion data indicate that eruptive behavior at Vesuvius correlates with pre-eruptive volatile enrichments. Most magmas associated with explosive plinian and subplinian events younger than 3.55 ka contained more H₂O, contained significantly more S, and exhibited higher (S/Cl) ratios than syn- and post-caldera magmas which erupted during relatively passive interplinian volcanic phenomena. Received January 10, 2000 Revised version accepted July 17, 2000     

Small volume andesite magmas and melt–mush interactions at Ruapehu, New Zealand: evidence from melt inclusions

Historical eruptions from Mt. Ruapehu (New Zealand) have been small (<0.001 km³ of juvenile magma) and have often occurred without significant warning. Developing better modelling tools requires an improved understanding of the magma storage and transport system beneath the volcano. Towards that end, we have analysed the volatile content and major element chemistry of groundmass glass and phenocryst-hosted melt inclusions in erupted samples from 1945 to 1996. We find that during this time period, magma has been stored at depths of ~2–9 km, consistent with inferences from geophysical data. Our data also show that Ruapehu magmas are relatively H₂O-poor (<2 wt%) and CO₂-rich (≤1,000 ppm) compared to typical arc andesites. Surprisingly, we find that melt inclusions are often more evolved than their transporting melt (as inferred from groundmass glass compositions). Furthermore, even eruptions that are separated by less than 2 years exhibit distinct major element chemistry, which suggests that each eruption involved magma with a unique ascent history. From these data, we infer that individual melt batches rise through, and interact with, crystal mush zones formed by antecedent magmas. From this perspective, we envision the magmatic system at Ruapehu as frequently recharged by small magma inputs that, in turn, cool and crystallise to varying degrees. Melts that are able to erupt through this network of crystal mush entrain (to a greater or lesser extent) exotic crystals. In the extreme case (such as the 1996 eruption), the resulting scoria contain melt inclusion-bearing crystals that are exotic to the transporting magma. Finally, we suggest that complex interactions between recharge and antecedent magmas are probably common, but that the small volumes and short time scales of recharge at Ruapehu provide a unique window into these processes.     

Mixing of rhyolite,trachyte and basalt magma erupted from a vertically and laterally zoned reservoir,composite flow P1, Gran Canaria

The 14.1 Ma composite welded ignimbrite P1 (45 km³ DRE) on Gran Canaria is compositionally zoned from a felsic lower part to a basaltic top. It is composed of four component magmas mixed in vertically varying proportions: (1) Na-rhyolite (10 km³) zoned from crystal-poor to highly phyric; (2) a continuously zoned, evolved trachyte to sodic trachyandesite magma group (6 km³); (3) a minor fraction of Na-poor trachyandesite (<1 km³); and (4) nearly aphyric basalt (26 km³) zoned from 4.3 to 5.2 wt% MgO. We distinguish three sites and phases of mixing: (a) Mutual mineral inclusions show that mixing between trachytic and rhyolitic magmas occurred during early stages of their intratelluric crystallization, providing evidence for long-term residence in a common reservoir prior to eruption. This first phase of mixing was retarded by increasing viscosity of the rhyolite magma upon massive anorthoclase precipitation and accumulation. (b) All component magmas probably erupted through a ring-fissure from a common upper-crustal reservoir into which the basalt intruded during eruption. The second phase of mixing occurred during simultaneous withdrawal of magmas from the chamber and ascent through the conduit. The overall withdrawal and mixing pattern evolved in response to pre-eruptive chamber zonation and density and viscosity relationships among the magmas. Minor sectorial variations around the caldera reflect both varying configurations at the conduit entrance and unsteady discharge. (c) During each eruptive pulse, fragmentation and particulate transport in the vent and as pyroclastic flows caused additional mixing by reducing the length scale of heterogeneities. Based on considerations of magma density changes during crystallization, magma temperature constraints, and the pattern of withdrawal during eruption, we propose that eruption tapped the P1 magma chamber during a transient state of concentric zonation, which had resulted from destruction of a formerly layered zonation in order to maintain gravitational equilibrium. Our model of magma chamber zonation at the time of eruption envisages a basal high-density Na-poor trachyandesite layer that was overlain by a central mass of highly phyric rhyolite magma mantled by a sheath of vertically zoned trachyte-trachyandesite magma along the chamber walls. A conventional model of vertically stacked horizontal layers cannot account for the deduced density relationships nor for the withdrawal pattern.     

The white trachytic tuff of Roccamonfina Volcano (Roman Region,Italy)

The White Trachytic Tuff (WTT) is a compositionally-zoned, trachytic, pyroclastic-flow deposit which erupted from Roccamonfina volcano about 300,000 years ago. It was principally emplaced as unwelded, pumice-rich flow units with an estimated volume of 10 km³. These now cover the flanks of the volcano on all sides except the west, behind the highest rim of Roccamonfina's summit caldera; the caldera was probably in existence prior to the WTT activity. Eruption of the WTT generally initiated the leucite-free, second stage of Roccamonfina's development, following a long history of leucite-bearing volcanism, but minor leucite-bearing lavas and pyroclastics overlie the WTT as well. The WTT was in turn followed by progressively more basic, leucite-free magmas (latite, trachybasalt, and basalt). During the course of the eruption, the WTT evolved from white, crystal-poor pumices containing 66% SiO₂ and 1.2% CaO, to grey pumices containing higher crystal contents, 60% SiO₂, and 3% CaO. Early pumices are also relatively enriched in Mn, Na, Zn, Ga, Rb, Y, Zr, Nb, Cs, La, Ce, Yb, Lu, W, Hf, Th, and U, and depleted in Ti, Fe, Mg, K, Sc, V, Cr, Co, Sr, Ba, Nd, Sm, Eu, Tb, Dy, and Ta. The pumices are essentially bimodal in composition, with several minor intermediate types including megascopic, physical mixtures of the white and grey varieties. Certain WTT pumices, including all analyzed intra-caldera samples, are relatively enriched in Pb, Th, Zr, Rb, Ga, Zn, and Cs compared to the rest of the suite. These enrichments may reflect local assimilation of carbonates or more complex exchange processes at the magma chamber margin. All WTT pumices contain the phases sanidine, plagioclase, clinopyroxene, biotite, titanomagnetite, sphene, and apatite; grey varieties also contain magnesian olivine crystals which are probably xenocrysts. The white, crystal-poor types show relatively simple mineralogies with little compositional variability or zoning among crystals of a single phase. Other pumice types, and dark, trachyandesitic inclusions separated from white pumices, show a large compositional spectrum of individually homogeneous crystals. These compositionally diverse crystals and inclusions are interpreted as a result of widespread mixing between the trachytic magmas and more basic magmas prior to or during the WTT eruption. Major-element crystal-fractionation models can successfully derive the early trachytes from the late trachytes by 50–85% separation of a syenitic assemblage of all phases. The predicted phase proportions and compositions closely match cumulate syenite nodules found at Roccamonfina. Trace element models are permissive of syenitic fractionation within the large uncertainties allowed by published partition coefficients.     

Geochemical constraints on magma processes in a peralkaline system: The Paisano volcano,west Texas

Major and trace element data for a sequence of peralkaline silicic lavas and pyroclastic flows, exposed in the caldera wall of the Paisano volcano, west Texas, document systematic fractional crystallization during magmatic evolution and an open system, magma mixing event in the upper parts of the sequence. Stratigraphically lowest flows are comendite and comenditic quartz trachyte lavas and ash flow tufts. Overlying these units is a trachyte with compositional, textural and mineralogical features indicating that it is the product of magma-mixing; similar flows occur in other parts of the volcano at the same stratigraphic level. This composite trachyte is considered to be a mixture of mugearitic or mafic trachytic magma, derived from a similar source region which yielded the earlier caldera wall flows. Trace element concentrations of the post-trachyte comenditic quartz trachyte lavas suggest they were erupted from a chamber whose magma was diluted by an influx of mugearitic or mafic trachytic magma during a magma mixing event.Rayleigh fractionation calculations show that the comendites and comenditic quartz trachytes can be derived from a parental mugearite magma by 88% to 93% fractionation of dominantly plagioclase and alkali feldspar, with lesser amounts of clinopyroxene, magnetite and apatite. Zircon was not a significant fractionating phase. The composition, mineralogy and depth of the source region(s) which generated these magmas cannot be constrained from the present data set.     

The role of magma mixing/mingling and cumulate melting in the Neapolitan Yellow Tuff caldera-forming eruption (Campi Flegrei,Southern Italy)

Understanding the mechanisms responsible for the generation of chemical gradients in high-volume ignimbrites is key to retrieve information on the processes that control the maturation and eruption of large silicic magmatic reservoirs. Over the last 60 ky, two large ignimbrites showing remarkable zoning were emplaced during caldera-forming eruptions at Campi Flegrei (i.e., Campanian Ignimbrite, CI, ~?39 ka and Neapolitan Yellow Tuff, NYT, ~?15 ka). While the CI displays linear compositional, thermal and crystallinity gradients, the NYT is a more complex ignimbrite characterized by crystal-poor magmas ranging in composition from trachy-andesites to phonolites. By combining major and trace element compositions of matrix glasses and mineral phases from juvenile clasts located at different stratigraphic heights along the NYT pyroclastic sequence, we interpret such compositional gradients as the result of mixing/mingling between three different magmas: (1) a resident evolved magma showing geochemical characteristics of a melt extracted from a cumulate mush dominated by clinopyroxene, plagioclase and oxides with minor sanidine and biotite; (2) a hotter and more mafic magma from recharge providing high-An plagioclase and high-Mg clinopyroxene crystals and (3) a compositionally intermediate magma derived from remelting of low temperature mineral phases (i.e., sanidine and biotite) within the cumulate crystal mush. We suggest that the presence of a refractory crystal mush, as documented by the occurrence of abundant crystal clots containing clinopyroxene, plagioclase and oxides, is the main reason for the lack of erupted crystal-rich material in the NYT. A comparison between the NYT and the CI, characterized by both crystal-poor extracted melts and crystal-rich magmas representing remobilized portions of a “mature” (i.e., sanidine dominated) cumulate residue, allows evaluation of the capability of crystal mushes of becoming eruptible upon recharge.     

The 2011 eruption of Nabro volcano,Eritrea: perspectives on magmatic processes from melt inclusions

The 2011 eruption of Nabro volcano, Eritrea, produced one of the largest volcanic sulphur inputs to the atmosphere since the 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, yet has received comparatively little scientific attention. Nabro forms part of an off-axis alignment, broadly perpendicular to the Afar Rift, and has a history of large-magnitude explosive silicic eruptions, as well as smaller more mafic ones. Here, we present and analyse extensive petrological data obtained from samples of trachybasaltic tephra erupted during the 2011 eruption to assess the pre-eruptive magma storage system and explain the large sulphur emission. We show that the eruption involved two texturally distinct batches of magma, one of which was more primitive and richer in sulphur than the other, which was higher in water (up to 2.5 wt%). Modelling of the degassing and crystallisation histories demonstrates that the more primitive magma rose rapidly from depth and experienced degassing crystallisation, while the other experienced isobaric cooling in the crust at around 5 km depth. Interaction between the two batches occurred shortly before the eruption. The eruption itself was likely triggered by recharge-induced destabilisation of vertically extensive mush zone under the volcano. This could potentially account for the large volume of sulphur released. Some of the melt inclusions are volatile undersaturated, and suggest that the original water content of the magma was around 1.3 wt%, which is relatively high for an intraplate setting, but consistent with seismic studies of the Afar plume. This eruption was smaller than some geological eruptions at Nabro, but provides important insights into the plumbing systems and dynamics of off-axis volcanoes in Afar.     

Sixty thousand years of magmatic volatile history before the caldera-forming eruption of Mount Mazama, Crater Lake, Oregon

The well-documented eruptive history of Mount Mazama, Oregon, provides an excellent opportunity to use pre-eruptive volatile concentrations to study the growth of an explosive silicic magmatic system. Melt inclusions (MI) hosted in pyroxene and plagioclase crystals from eight dacitic–rhyodacitic eruptive deposits (71–7.7?ka) were analyzed to determine variations in volatile-element concentrations and changes in magma storage conditions leading up to and including the climactic eruption of Crater Lake caldera. Temperatures (Fe–Ti oxides) increased through the series of dacites, then decreased, and increased again through the rhyodacites (918–968 to ~950 to 845–895?°C). Oxygen fugacity began at nickel–nickel-oxide buffer (NNO) +0.8 (71?ka), dropped slightly to NNO +0.3, and then climbed to its highest value with the climactic eruption (7.7?ka) at NNO +1.1 log units. In parallel with oxidation state, maximum MI sulfur concentrations were high early in the eruptive sequence (~500?ppm), decreased (to ~200?ppm), and then increased again with the climactic eruption (~500?ppm). Maximum MI sulfur correlates with the Sr content (as a proxy for LREE, Ba, Rb, P₂O₅) of recharge magmas, represented by basaltic andesitic to andesitic enclaves and similar-aged lavas. These results suggest that oxidized Sr-rich recharge magmas dominated early and late in the development of the pre-climactic dacite–rhyodacite system. Dissolved H₂O concentrations in MI do not, however, correlate with these changes in dominant recharge magma, instead recording vapor solubility relations in the developing shallow magma storage and conduit region. Dissolved H₂O concentrations form two populations through time: the first at 3–4.6 wt% (with a few extreme values up to 6.1 wt%) and the second at ≤2.4 wt%. CO₂ concentrations measured in a subset of these inclusions reach up to 240?ppm in early-erupted deposits (71?ka) and are below detection in climactic deposits (7.7?ka). Combined H₂O and CO₂ concentrations and solubility models indicate a dominant storage region at 4–7?km (up to 12?km), with drier inclusions that diffusively re-equilibrated and/or were trapped at shallower depths. Boron and Cl (except in the climactic deposit) largely remained in the melt, suggesting vapor–melt partition coefficients and gas fractions were low. Modeled Li, F, and S vapor–melt partition coefficients are higher than those of B and Cl. The decrease in maximum MI CO₂ concentration following the earliest dacitic eruptions is interpreted to result from a broadening of the shallow storage region to greater than the diameter of subjacent feeders, so that greater proportions of reservoir magma were to the side of CO₂-bearing vapor bubbles ascending vertically from the locus of recharge magma injection, thereby escaping recarbonation by streaming vapor bubbles. The Mazama melt inclusions provide a picture of a growing magma storage region, where chemical variations in melt and magma occur due to changes in the nature and supply rate of magma recharge, the timing of degassing, and the possible degree of equilibration with gases from below.     

Magmatic processes in the Bishop Tuff rhyolitic magma based on trace elements in melt inclusions and pumice matrix glass

To investigate the origin of compositional zonation in the Bishop Tuff magma body, we have analyzed trace elements in the matrix glass of pumice clasts and in quartz-hosted melt inclusions. Our results show contrasting patterns for quartz in different parts of the Bishop Tuff. In all samples from the early part of the eruption, trace element compositions of matrix glasses are similar to but slightly more evolved than quartz-hosted melt inclusions. This indicates a cogenetic relationship between quartz crystals and their surrounding matrix glass, consistent with in situ crystallization. The range of incompatible element concentrations in melt inclusions and matrix glass from single pumice clasts requires 16–20 wt% in situ crystallization. This is greater than the actual crystal content of the pumices (<15 % crystals). In contrast to the pattern for the early pumices, pyroclastic flow samples from the middle part of the eruption show contrasting trends: In some clasts, the matrix is more evolved than the inclusions, whereas in other clasts, the matrix is less evolved. In the late Bishop Tuff, all crystal-rich samples have matrix glasses that are less evolved than the melt inclusions. Trace element abundances indicate that the cores of quartz in the late Bishop Tuff crystallized from more differentiated rhyolitic magma that was similar in many ways, yet distinct from the early-erupted Bishop Tuff. Our results are compatible with a model of secular incremental zoning (Hildreth and Wilson in Compositional zoning of the Bishop Tuff. J Petrol 48(5):951–999, 2007), in which melt batches from underlying crystal mush rise to various levels in a growing magma body according to their buoyancy. Early- and middle-erupted quartz crystallized from highly evolved rhyolitic melt, but then some parts of the middle-erupted magma were invaded by less differentiated rhyolite such that the matrix melt at the time of eruption was less evolved than the melt inclusions. A similar process occurred but to a greater extent in magma that erupted to form the late Bishop Tuff. In addition, there was a final, major magma mixing event in the late magma that formed Ti-rich rims on quartz and Ba-rich rims on sanidine, trapped less evolved rhyolitic melt inclusions, and resulted in dark and swirly crystal-poor pumice that is a rare type throughout much of the Bishop Tuff.     

Petrology and Petrogenesis of the Latera Caldera, Central Italy

At least 8 km³ of felsic ignimbrites and high-K silica-undersaturatedlavas and tephra were erupted from the Latera caldera between250 and 150 ka. Four distinct periods of explosive eruptions(at about 232, 206, 195, and 156 ka) produced ignimbrite sequencesthat show an upward compositional progression from trachyteand differentiated phonolite to less evolved phonolite. Duringthe last two of these periods, the tuffs grade upward from phonoliteto tephriphonolite. The stratigraphy indicates that eruptionssampled magmas that were stratified downward from trachyte andphonolite to tephriphonolite, and the compositional cyclicitysuggested by the timing of the eruptions implies an unusualcontemporaneity of silica-saturated and -undersaturated compositions. At Latera, pumice fragments in the same deposit can exhibitup to 10-fold differences in vesicularity and crystal content(from <5 to >50 vol.% phenocrysts). These clasts, in conjunctionwith glassbearing syenite and skarn xenoliths, represent a rangeof progressively crystallized magmas that were quenched at theinstant of their eruptive entrainment. The syenites compriseeutectic mineral assemblages with high percentages of titanite,apatite, and melanite garnet as accessory minerals. Least-squaresmodels based on major element and compatible trace element (e.g.,Ba and Sr) abundances of the pumices and syenite indicate thatthe fractionation of plagioclase and sanidine largely controlledthe liquid lines of descent for phonolite and trachyte, respectively.Additional mineral phases that may have contributed to magmaticdifferentiation include fassaitic diopside, leucite, biotite,apatite, and alkali amphibole. Models further imply that tephriphonoliticliquids required roughly 70% crystallization of tephritic orbasanitic parent magmas, whereas the evolved phonolitic liquidswere obtained after the removal of >85% of the above mineralassemblage. The commonly aphyric trachytic tuffs represent themost evolved derivatives. Despite the limited range in major element contents, trace elementsvary considerably among the different pumice types and syenites.Large ranges in Rb/Sr, Nb/Ta, Zr/Hf, La/Yb, and Ba/Th reflectthe selective partitioning of some elements into accessory phases.However, the variations of B, Sc, Rb, Nb, Hf, Y, and Yb cannotbe explained completely by crystal fractionation. Syenite compositions,for example, bracket the range of most elements in all pumicetypes, and chemical models demonstrate that processes operatingalong the chamber margins could have greatly influenced thebehavior of trace elements in the evolved liquids. Plausiblemechanisms that might have accompanied crystal fractionationin these magmas include the mixing of several magma batches,and the possible dilution of central reservoir magmas by back-mixingwith fractionated liquids or with CO₂-rich fluids released fromskarns. *Present Address: Bureau of Economic Geology, Mineral Studies Laboratory, University of Texas, Austin, Texas 78713-7508     

Trachytic pyroclastics from Agua de Pau volcano,Sao Miguel,Azores: evolution of a magma body over 4,000 years

The Recent stratigraphy of Sao Miguel records large numbers of trachytic pyroclastic deposits produced by sub-plinian to plinian eruptions. Tephrochronological studies by Walker and Croasdale (1971) and Booth et al. (1978) have shown that in the last 5,000 years there have been five such eruptions from the caldera of Agua de Pau, one of the three active stratovolcanoes on Sao Miguel.A geochemical and electron microprobe study made on the resultant pyroclastic succession, revealed significant variations in pumice clast chemistry and mineralogy between the individual deposits; most of these variations show temporal control. For example, Sr and Eu/Eu{sr*} decrease in value up through the succession, whereas incompatible elements such as La, Zr and Nb show stepwise enrichment, attaining highest concentrations in the most recent deposit. It is proposed that the five air fall pumice deposits represent successive samples of an evolving trachytic magma body in which fractionation of alkali feldspar has largely controlled the liquid line of descent. This crystal fractionation had resulted in the development of peralkalinity in the melt by the time Fogo D, the second youngest deposit, was erupted.The presence of some mineralogical and chemical peculiarities suggest that the trachytic melt has been periodically contaminated by less evolved magmas.     

Contrasting compositional trends of rocks and olivine-hosted melt inclusions from Cerro Negro volcano (Central America): implications for decompression-driven fractionation of hydrous magmas

Melt inclusions in olivine Fo_83–72 from tephras of 1867, 1971 and 1992 eruptions of Cerro Negro volcano represent a series of basaltic to andesitic melts of narrow range of MgO (5.6–8 wt %) formed by ~46 wt % fractional crystallization of olivine (~6 wt %), plagioclase (~27 wt %), pyroxene (~13 wt %) and magnetite (<1 wt %) from primitive basaltic melt (average SiO₂ = 49 wt %, MgO = 7.6 wt %, H₂O = 6 wt %) as it ascended to the surface from the depth of about 14 km. The crystallization occurred at increasing liquidus temperature from 1,050 to 1,090 °C in the pressure range from 400 to 50 MPa and was induced by release of mixed H₂O–CO₂ fluid from the melt at decreasing pressure. Matrix glass compositions fall at the high-Si end of the melt inclusion trend and represent the final stage of melt crystallization during and after eruption. The bulk compositions of erupted Cerro Negro magmas (tephras and lavas) range from high- to low-MgO (3–10 wt %) basalts, which form a compositional array crossing the trend of melt inclusions so that virtually no rock from Cerro Negro has composition akin to true melt represented by the inclusions. The variations of the bulk magma (rocks) and melt (melt inclusions) compositions can be generated in a dyke connecting a deep primitive magma reservoir with the Cerro Negro edifice. While the melt inclusions represent the compositional trend of instantaneous melts along the magma pathway at decreasing pressure and H₂O content, occurrence of low-Mg to high-Mg basalts reflects the process of phenocryst re-distribution in progressively evolving melt. The crystallization scenario is anticipated to operate everywhere in dykes feeding basaltic volcanoes and can explain the predominance of plagioclase-rich high-Al basalts in island arc as well as typical compositional variations of magmas during single eruptions.     

Pre- and syn-eruptive degassing and crystallisation processes of the 2010 and 2006 eruptions of Merapi volcano,Indonesia

The 2010 eruption of Merapi (VEI 4) was the volcano’s largest since 1872. In contrast to the prolonged and effusive dome-forming eruptions typical of Merapi’s recent activity, the 2010 eruption began explosively, before a new dome was rapidly emplaced. This new dome was subsequently destroyed by explosions, generating pyroclastic density currents (PDCs), predominantly consisting of dark coloured, dense blocks of basaltic andesite dome lava. A shift towards open-vent conditions in the later stages of the eruption culminated in multiple explosions and the generation of PDCs with conspicuous grey scoria and white pumice clasts resulting from sub-plinian convective column collapse. This paper presents geochemical data for melt inclusions and their clinopyroxene hosts extracted from dense dome lava, grey scoria and white pumice generated during the peak of the 2010 eruption. These are compared with clinopyroxene-hosted melt inclusions from scoriaceous dome fragments from the prolonged dome-forming 2006 eruption, to elucidate any relationship between pre-eruptive degassing and crystallisation processes and eruptive style. Secondary ion mass spectrometry analysis of volatiles (H₂O, CO₂) and light lithophile elements (Li, B, Be) is augmented by electron microprobe analysis of major elements and volatiles (Cl, S, F) in melt inclusions and groundmass glass. Geobarometric analysis shows that the clinopyroxene phenocrysts crystallised at depths of up to 20 km, with the greatest calculated depths associated with phenocrysts from the white pumice. Based on their volatile contents, melt inclusions have re-equilibrated during shallower storage and/or ascent, at depths of ~0.6–9.7 km, where the Merapi magma system is interpreted to be highly interconnected and not formed of discrete magma reservoirs. Melt inclusions enriched in Li show uniform “buffered” Cl concentrations, indicating the presence of an exsolved brine phase. Boron-enriched inclusions also support the presence of a brine phase, which helped to stabilise B in the melt. Calculations based on S concentrations in melt inclusions and groundmass glass require a degassing melt volume of 0.36 km³ in order to produce the mass of SO₂ emitted during the 2010 eruption. This volume is approximately an order of magnitude higher than the erupted magma (DRE) volume. The transition between the contrasting eruptive styles in 2010 and 2006 is linked to changes in magmatic flux and changes in degassing style, with the explosive activity in 2010 driven by an influx of deep magma, which overwhelmed the shallower magma system and ascended rapidly, accompanied by closed-system degassing.     

Straddling the tholeiitic/calc-alkaline transition: the effects of modest amounts of water on magmatic differentiation at Newberry Volcano,Oregon

Melting experiments have been performed at 1 bar (anhydrous) and 1- and 2-kbar H₂O-saturated conditions to study the effect of water on the differentiation of a basaltic andesite. The starting material was a mafic pumice from the compositionally zoned tuff deposited during the ~75 ka caldera-forming eruption of Newberry Volcano, a rear-arc volcanic center in the central Oregon Cascades. Pumices in the tuff of Newberry caldera (TNC) span a continuous silica range from 53 to 74 wt% and feature an unusually high-Na₂O content of 6.5 wt% at 67 wt% SiO₂. This wide range of magmatic compositions erupted in a single event makes the TNC an excellent natural laboratory in which to study the conditions of magmatic differentiation. Our experimental results and mineral–melt hygrometers/thermometers yield similar estimates of pre-eruptive H₂O contents and temperatures of the TNC liquids. The most primitive (mafic) basaltic andesites record a pre-eruptive H₂O content of 1.5 wt% and a liquidus temperature of 1,060–1,070 °C at upper crustal pressure. This modest H₂O content produces a distinctive fractionation trend that is much more enriched in Na, Fe, and Ti than the calc-alkaline trend typical of wetter arc magmas, but slightly less enriched in Fe and Ti than the tholeiitic trend of dry magmas. Modest H₂O contents might be expected at Newberry Volcano given its location in the Cascade rear arc, and the same fractionation trend is also observed in the rim andesites of the rear-arc Medicine Lake volcano in the southern Cascades. However, the Na–Fe–Ti enrichment characteristic of modest H₂O (1–2 wt%) is also observed to the west of Newberry in magmas erupted from the arc axis, such as the Shevlin Park Tuff and several lava flows from the Three Sisters. This shows that modest-H₂O magmas are being generated directly beneath the arc axis as well as in the rear arc. Because liquid lines of descent are particularly sensitive to water content in the range of 0–3 wt% H₂O, they provide a quantitative and reliable tool for precisely determining pre-eruptive H₂O content using major-element data from pumices or lava flows. Coupled enrichment in Na, Fe, and Ti relative to the calc-alkaline trend is a general feature of fractional crystallization in the presence of modest amounts of H₂O, which may be used to look for “damp” fractionation sequences elsewhere.     

Mantle and crustal processes in the magmatism of the Campania region: inferences from mineralogy, geochemistry, and Sr–Nd–O isotopes of young hybrid volcanics of the Ischia island (South Italy)

Ischia, one active volcano of the Phlegraean Volcanic District, prone to very high risk, is dominated by a caldera formed 55 ka BP, followed by resurgence of the collapsed area. Over the past 3 ka, the activity extruded evolved potassic magmas; only a few low-energy explosive events were fed by less evolved magmas. A geochemical and Sr–Nd–O isotope investigation has been performed on minerals and glass from products of three of such eruptions, Molara, Vateliero, and Cava Nocelle (<2.6 ka BP). Data document strong mineralogical, geochemical, and isotopic heterogeneities likely resulting from mingling/mixing processes among mafic and felsic magmas that already fed the Ischia volcanism in the past. Detailed study on the most mafic magma has permitted to investigate its origin. The mantle sector below Ischia underwent subduction processes that modified its pristine chemical, isotopic, and redox conditions by addition of ≤1 % of sediment fluids/melts. Similar processes occurred from Southeast to Northwest along the Apennine compressive margin, with addition of up to 2.5 % of sediment-derived material. This is shown by volcanics with poorly variable, typical δ¹⁸O mantle values, and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr progressively increasing toward typical continental crust values. Multiple partial melting of this modified mantle generated distinct primary magmas that occasionally assimilated continental crust, acquiring more ¹⁸O than ⁸⁷Sr. At Ischia, 7 % of Hercynian granodiorite assimilation produced isotopically distinct, K-basaltic to latitic magmas. A SW–NE regional tectonic structure gave these magmas coming from large depth the opportunity to mingle/mix with felsic magmas stagnating in shallower reservoirs, eventually triggering explosive eruptions.     

Evolution of silicic magmas in the Kos-Nisyros volcanic center,Greece: a petrological cycle associated with caldera collapse

Multiple eruptions of silicic magma (dacite and rhyolites) occurred over the last ~3 My in the Kos-Nisyros volcanic center (eastern Aegean sea). During this period, magmas have changed from hornblende-biotite-rich units with low eruption temperatures (≤750–800°C; Kefalos and Kos dacites and rhyolites) to hotter, pyroxene-bearing units (>800–850°C; Nisyros rhyodacites) and are transitioning back to cooler magmas (Yali rhyolites). New whole-rock compositions, mineral chemistry, and zircon Hf isotopes show that these three types of silicic magmas followed the same differentiation trend: they all evolved by crystal fractionation and minor crustal assimilation (AFC) from parents with intermediate compositions characterized by high Sr/Y and low Nb content, following a wet, high oxygen fugacity liquid line of descent typical of subduction zones. As the transition between the Kos-Kefalos and Nisyros-type magmas occurred immediately and abruptly after the major caldera collapse in the area (the 161 ka Kos Plateau Tuff; KPT), we suggest that the efficient emptying of the magma chamber during the KPT drew out most of the eruptible, volatile-charged magma and partly solidified the unerupted mush zone in the upper crust due to rapid unloading, decompression, and coincident crystallization. Subsequently, the system reestablished a shallow silicic production zone from more mafic parents, recharged from the mid to lower crust. The first silicic eruptions evolving from these parents after the caldera collapse (Nisyros units) were hotter (up to >100°C) than the caldera-forming event and erupted from reservoirs characterized by different mineral proportions (more plagioclase and less amphibole). We interpret such a change as a reflection of slightly drier conditions in the magmatic column after the caldera collapse due to the decompression event. With time, the upper crustal intermediate mush progressively transitioned into the cold-wet state that prevailed during the Kefalos-Kos stage. The recent eruptions of the high-SiO₂ rhyolite on Yali Island, which are low temperature and hydrous phases (sanidine, quartz, biotite), suggest that another large, potentially explosive magma chamber is presently building under the Kos-Nisyros volcanic center.     

Initiation of large-volume silicic centers in the Yellowstone hotspot track: insights from H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O- and F-rich quartz-hosted rhyolitic melt inclusions in the Arbon Valley Tuff of the Snake River Plain

During the onset of caldera cluster volcanism at a new location in the Snake River Plain (SRP), there is an increase in basalt fluxing into the crust and diverse silicic volcanic products are generated. The SRP contains abundant and compositionally diverse hot, dry, and often low-δ¹⁸O silicic volcanic rocks produced through time during the formation of individual caldera clusters, but more H₂O-rich eruptive products are rare. We report analyses of quartz-hosted melt inclusions from pumice clasts from the upper and lower Arbon Valley Tuff (AVT) to gain insight into the initiation of caldera cluster volcanism. The AVT, a voluminous, caldera-forming rhyolite, represents the commencement of volcanism (10.44 Ma) at the Picabo volcanic field of the Yellowstone hotspot track. This is a normal δ¹⁸O rhyolite consisting of early and late erupted members (lower and upper AVT, respectively) with extremely radiogenic Sr isotopes and unradiogenic Nd isotopes, requiring that ~50 % of the mass of these elements is derived from melts of Archean upper crust. Our data reveal distinctive features of the early erupted lower AVT melt including: variable F concentrations up to 1.4 wt%, homogenous and low Cl concentrations (~0.08 wt%), H₂O contents ranging from 2.3 to 6.4 wt%, CO₂ contents ranging from 79 to 410 ppm, and enrichment of incompatible elements compared to the late erupted AVT, subsequent Picabo rhyolites, SRP rhyolites, and melt inclusions from other metaluminous rhyolites (e.g., Bishop Tuff, Mesa Falls Tuff). We couple melt inclusion data with Ti measurements and cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging of the host quartz phenocrysts to elucidate the petrogenetic evolution of the AVT rhyolitic magma. We observe complex and multistage CL zoning patterns, the most critical being multiple truncations indicative of several dissolution–reprecipitation episodes with bright CL cores (higher Ti) and occasional bright CL rims (higher Ti). We interpret the high H₂O, F, F/Cl, and incompatible trace element concentrations in the context of a model involving melting of Archean crust and mixing of the crustal melt with basaltic differentiates, followed by multiple stages of fractional crystallization, remelting, and melt extraction. This multistage process, which we refer to as distillation, is further supported by the complex CL zoning patterns in quartz. We interpret new Δ¹⁸O(Qz-Mt) isotope measurements, demonstrating a 0.4 ‰ or ~180 °C temperature difference, and strong Sr isotopic and chemical differences between the upper and lower AVT to represent two separate eruptions. Similarities between the AVT and the first caldera-forming eruptions of other caldera clusters in the SRP (Yellowstone, Heise and Bruneau Jarbidge) suggest that the more evolved, lower-temperature, more H₂O-rich rhyolites of the SRP are important in the initiation of a caldera cluster during the onset of plume impingement.     

Crystallization and eruption ages of Breccia Museo (Campi Flegrei caldera,Italy) plutonic clasts and their relation to the Campanian ignimbrite

The Campi Flegrei volcanic district (Naples region, Italy) is a 12-km-wide, restless caldera system that has erupted at least six voluminous ignimbrites during the late Pleistocene, including the >300 km³ Campanian ignimbrite (CI) which originated from the largest known volcanic event of the Mediterranean region. The Breccia Museo (BM), a petrologically heterogeneous and stratigraphically complex volcanic deposit extending over 200 km² in close proximity to Campi Flegrei, has long remained contentious regarding its age and stratigraphic relation to the CI. Here, we present crystallization and eruption ages for BM plutonic ejecta clasts that were determined via uranium decay series and (U–Th)/He dating of zircon, respectively. Despite mineralogical and textural heterogeneity of these syenitic clasts, their U–Th zircon rim crystallization ages are indistinguishable with an average age of 49.7 ± 2.5 ka (2σ errors; mean square of weighted deviates MSWD = 1.2; n = 34). A subset of these crystals was used to obtain disequilibrium-corrected (U–Th)/He zircon ages which average 41.7 ± 1.8 ka (probability of fit P = 0.54; n = 15). This age closely overlaps with published CI ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar eruption ages (40.6 ± 0.1 ka) after recalibration to recently revised flux monitor ages. Concordant eruption ages for BM and CI agree with previous chemostratigraphic and paleomagnetic correlations, suggesting their origin from the same eruption. However, they are at variance with recalibrated ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages which have BM postdate CI by 3 ± 1 ka. BM syenites show similar geochemical and Sr–Nd isotopical features of pre-caldera rocks erupted between 58 and 46 ka, but are distinctive from subsequent caldera-forming magmas. Energy-constrained assimilation and fractional crystallization modeling of Nd–Sr isotopic data suggests that pre-caldera magmas formed a carapace of BM-type intrusions in a mid-crust magma chamber (≥8 km depth) shielding the younger CI magma from contamination by Hercynian basement wall rocks. An ~41–50 ka hiatus in crystallization ages implies rapid solidification of these pre-CI intrusions. This argues against protracted pre-eruptive storage of a large volume of CI magma at shallow crustal levels.