Chlorine in submarine glasses from the Lau Basin: seawater contamination and constraints on the composition of slab-derived fluids

Measurements of chlorine concentrations in matrix glasses from 18 primitive (>6 wt% MgO) and eight evolved lavas from active spreading centers in the Lau Basin back-arc system provide insight into the processes which control chlorine concentrations in subduction-related magmas, and can be used to investigate chlorine enrichment related to fluids derived from the underlying subducted slab. Chlorine contents of the glasses are highly variable (0.008-0.835 wt%) and generally high with respect to uncontaminated mid-ocean ridge basalt. Chlorine contents are highest in fractionated lavas from propagating ridge tips and lowest in more primitive basaltic lavas. Two different styles of enrichment in chlorine (relative to other incompatible elements) are recognized. Glasses from the Central Lau Spreading and Eastern Lau Spreading Center typically have low Ba/Nb ratios indicating minimal input of slab-derived components, and high to very high ratios of chlorine relative to K₂O, H₂O, and TiO₂. This style of chlorine enrichment is highest in the most fractionated samples and is consistent with crustal assimilation of chlorine-rich altered ocean crust material. Data from the literature suggest that contamination by chlorine-rich seawater-derived components also characterizes the Woodlark Basin and North Fiji Basin back-arc systems. The second style of chlorine enrichment reflects input from slab-derived fluid(s) to the mantle wedge from the adjacent Tonga subduction zone. Basaltic glasses from the Valu Fa Ridge and Mangatolu Triple Junction show correlations between ratios of chlorine and K₂O, H₂O, and TiO₂ and indices of slab-derived fluid input such as Ba/Nb, Ba/Th and U/Th, consistent with chlorine in these lavas originating from a saline fluid added to the mantle wedge. Within the Valu Fa Ridge the measured range of chlorine contents equates to a chlorine flux of 224-1120 kg/m/yr to the back-arc crust. Using a simple melting model and additional data from other back-arc and arc sample suites we conclude that chlorine is a major component within the slab fluids that contribute to many arc and back-arc melting systems, and probably plays an important role in regulating trace element transport by slab fluids in the mantle wedge. For the back-arc suites we have examined the estimated Cl/H₂O and Cl/K₂O ratios in the slab fluid component correlate with proximity to the arc front, suggesting that progressive dehydration of the slab and/or re-equilibration and transport within the mantle wedge may influence the overall degree of chlorine enrichment within the slab fluid component. The degree of chlorine enrichment observed in most back-arc lavas also appears too great to be explained solely by melting of amphibole, phlogopite or apatite within the mantle source and suggests that chlorine must be present in another phase, possibly a chlorine-rich fluid.     

Geochemistry of late Cenozoic lavas on Kunashir Island, Kurile Arc

Middle Miocene to Quaternary lavas on Kunashir Island in the southern zone of the Kurile Arc were examined for major, trace, and Sr–Nd–Pb isotope compositions. The lavas range from basalt through to rhyolite and the mafic lavas show typical oceanic island arc signatures without significant crustal or sub-continental lithosphere contamination. The lavas exhibit across-arc variation, with increasingly greater fluid-immobile incompatible element contents from the volcanic front to the rear-arc; this pattern, however, does not apply to some other incompatible elements such as B, Sb, and halogens. All Sr–Nd–Pb isotope compositions reflect a depleted source with Indian Ocean mantle domain characteristics. The Nd and Pb isotope ratios are radiogenic in the volcanic front, whereas Sr isotope ratios are less radiogenic. These Nd isotope ratios covary with incompatible element ratios such as Th/Nd and Nb/Zr, indicating involvement of a slab-derived sediment component by addition of melt or supercritical fluid capable of mobilizing these high field-strength elements and rare earth elements from the slab. Fluid mobile elements, such as Ba, are also elevated in all basalt suites, suggesting involvement of slab fluid derived from altered oceanic crust. The Kurile Arc lavas are thus affected both by slab sediment and altered basaltic crust components. This magma plumbing system has been continuously active from the Middle Miocene to the present.     

Magmatic response to early aseismic ridge subduction: the Ecuadorian margin case (South America)

A geochemical and isotopic study of lavas from Pichincha, Antisana and Sumaco volcanoes in the Northern Volcanic Zone (NVZ) in Ecuador shows their magma genesis to be strongly influenced by slab melts. Pichincha lavas (in fore arc position) display all the characteristics of adakites (or slab melts) and were found in association with magnesian andesites. In the main arc, adakite-like lavas from Antisana volcano could be produced by the destabilization of pargasite in a garnet-rich mantle. In the back arc, high-niobium basalts found at Sumaco volcano could be produced in a phlogopite-rich mantle. The strikingly homogeneous isotopic signatures of all the lavas suggest that continental crust assimilation is limited and confirm that magmas from the three volcanic centers are closely related. The following magma genesis model is proposed in the NVZ in Ecuador: in fore arc position beneath Pichincha volcano, oceanic crust is able to melt and produces adakites. En route to the surface, part of these magmas metasomatize the mantle wedge inducing the crystallization of pargasite, phlogopite and garnet. In counterpart, they are enriched in magnesium and are placed at the surface as magnesian andesites. Dragged down by convection, the modified mantle undergoes a first partial melting event by the destabilization of pargasite and produces the adakite-like lavas from Antisana volcano. Lastly, dragged down deeper beneath the Sumaco volcano, the mantle melts a second time by the destabilization of phlogopite and produces high-niobium basalts. The obvious variation in spatial distribution (and geochemical characteristics) of the volcanism in the NVZ between Colombia and Ecuador clearly indicates that the subduction of the Carnegie Ridge beneath the Ecuadorian margin strongly influences the subduction-related volcanism. It is proposed that the flattening of the subducted slab induced by the recent subduction (<5 Ma?) of the Carnegie Ridge has permitted the progressive warming of the oceanic crust and its partial melting since ca. 1.5 Ma. Since then, the production of adakites in fore arc position has deeply transformed the magma genesis in the overall arc changing from ‘typical’ calc-alkaline magmatism induced by hydrous fluid metasomatism, to the space- and time-associated lithology adakite/high-Mg andesite/adakite-like andesite/high-Nb basalts characteristic of slab melt metasomatism.     

Back-arc basin basalt systematics

The Mariana, east Scotia, Lau, and Manus back-arc basins (BABs) have spreading rates that vary from slow (<50 mm/yr) to fast (>100 mm/yr) and extension axes located from 10 to 400 km behind their island arcs. Axial lava compositions from these BABs indicate melting of mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB)-like sources in proportion to the amount added of previously depleted, water-rich, arc-like components. The arc-like end-members are characterized by low Na, Ti and Fe, and by high H₂O and Ba/La; the MORB-like end-members have the opposite traits. Comparisons between basins show that the least hydrous compositions follow global MORB systematics and an inverse correlation between Na8 and Fe8. This is interpreted as a positive correlation between the average degree and pressure of mantle melting that reflects regional variations in mantle potential temperatures (Lau/Manus hotter than Mariana/Scotia). This interpretation accords with numerical model predictions that faster subduction-induced advection will maintain a hotter mantle wedge. The primary compositional trends within each BAB (a positive correlation between Fe8, Na8 and Ti8, and their inverse correlation with H₂O(8) and Ba/La) are controlled by variations in water content, melt extraction, and enrichments imposed by slab and mantle wedge processes. Systematic axial depth (as a proxy for crustal production) variations with distance from the island arc indicate that compositional controls on melting dominate over spreading rate. Hydrous fluxing enhances decompression melting, allowing depleted mantle sources just behind the island arc to melt extensively, producing shallow spreading axes. Flow of enriched mantle components around the ends of slabs may augment this process in transform-bounded back-arcs such as the east Scotia Basin. The re-circulation (by mantle wedge corner flow) to the spreading axes of mantle previously depleted by both arc and spreading melt extraction can explain the greater depths and thinner crust of the East Lau Spreading Center, Manus Southern Rifts, and Mariana Trough and the very depleted lavas of east Scotia segments E8/E9. The crust becomes mid-ocean ridge (MOR)-like where the spreading axes, further away from the island arc and subducted slab, entrain dominantly fertile mantle.     

Trace element transport rates in subduction zones: evidence from Th, Sr and Pb isotope data for Tonga-Kermadec arc lavas

Trace element and Th, Sr and Pb isotope data for young lavas from the Tonga-Kermadec arc in the southwest Pacific suggest that geochemical variations in the lavas along the arc are linked to differences in the material being subducted beneath the arc. Lavas from the southern (Kermadec) segment of the arc have relatively radiogenic Pb isotope compositions, which reflects a contribution from subducted sediment. In contrast, much of the Pb in Tonga lavas is derived from the altered oceanic crust in the subducting Pacific Plate, and lavas from the northernmost Tonga islands of Tafahi and Niuatoputapu contain Pb and Sr derived from the subducted part of the Louisville Seamount Chain. The origin of the Pb in the lavas from these two islands can thus be traced to a point on the subducting slab, and this observation is used to estimate the rate at which trace elements are transported beneath the arc. Our calculations suggest that fluid-soluble elements such as U, Sr and Pb are transported from the subducted slab, across the mantle wedge and back to the surface in lavas over a period of approximately 2–3 Ma, and that magmas are erupted at the surface less than 350 ka after the melts are generated in the mantle wedge.     

Deep melting of old subducted oceanic crust recorded by superchondritic Nb/Ta in modern island arc lavas

Niobium–tantalum systematics of slab-derived melts are powerful tracers that discriminate residual high-pressure rutile-bearing eclogite from low-pressure garnet-bearing amphibolite in subducting plates. Previously reported low Nb–Ta ratios in modern slab melts suggested a predominance of shallow melting in the presence of residual amphibole and that deep melting of rutile-bearing eclogitic slabs, devoid of residual amphibole, is volumetrically insignificant. This study evaluates Nb/Ta in combination with other trace element systematics of modern intra-oceanic and slab melt-related arc lavas from the south-western volcanic chain of the Solomon Islands that cover over 1000 km of the SW Pacific plate border. After a change of subduction polarity, an old subducted Pacific slab and a recently subducting Indian–Australian slab are both present beneath the arc. Solomon arc lavas show sub- to superchondritic Nb–Ta ratios (ca. 10 to 27) which is the largest range ever reported in modern island arc lavas. The large range of Nb/Ta likely results from enrichment of the depleted sub-arc mantle by two distinct slab-derived melts in addition to fluids. One minor slab melt component is derived from the shallow and recent subducting Indian–Australian plate where amphibole is still a significant residual phase. The second slab melt component is predominant in Solomon arc lavas and can be attributed to deep rutile–eclogite-controlled melting of old subducted Jurassic Pacific oceanic crust where residual amphibole is entirely absent or insignificant. The deep Pacific slab melt component is the most likely origin of the extremely high and superchondritic Nb/Ta signatures that produce the upper half of the observed range of Nb/Ta in Solomon arc lavas. The slab melt component that enriched the sub-arc mantle with an unusually high Nb/Ta signature is derived from an initially intact Pacific plate that was probably subject to a slab break-off event and subsequent melting at depths exceeding 100 km. The geochemical evidence presented here shows that old and cold subducted oceanic crust, which is initially not torn, may resist shallow melting but can melt at greater depths instead. The resulting slab melts are generated in the presence of residual rutile-bearing eclogite and significantly fractionate Nb–Ta ratios which may be of relevance at a global scale.     

Causes of spatial compositional variations in Mariana arc lavas: Trace element evidence

New inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) trace element data are presented on a suite of arc lavas from the northern Mariana and southern Bonin island arcs. The samples were dredged from seamounts in the Central Island Province (CIP), the Northern Seamount Province (NSP) and the Volcano Arc (VA), and they range in composition from low-K tholeiites to shoshonites. Previous studies on these samples concluded that the primary compositional control was two-component mixing between a fluid-metasomatized mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) source and an enriched, ocean island basalt (OIB)-like, mantle component, with subducted sediment material playing a secondary role. However, the new trace element data suggest that the compositional variations along the Mariana arc can be better explained by the addition of spatially varying subduction components to a spatially varying mantle source. The data suggest that the subduction component in the CIP and VA is dominated by aqueous fluids derived from altered oceanic crust and a pelagic sediment component, while the subduction component in the NSP is dominated by more silicic fluids derived from volcanogenic sediments as well as from pelagic sediment and altered oceanic crust. The mantle wedge in the CIP and VA is depleted relative to a normal mid-ocean ridge basalt source by loss of a small melt fraction, while the mantle wedge in the NSP is enriched either by possible gain of a small melt fraction or addition of a sediment-derived melt. Because the subduction of seamounts controls the arc and back-arc geometries, so the concomitant variation between subducted material and mantle composition may be no coincidence. The high field strength element (HFSE) data indicate a high degree of melting (∼ 25–30%) throughout the arc, ∼ 10% of which may be attributed to decompression and ∼ 20% to fluid addition.     

Slab melt as metasomatic agent in island arc magma mantle sources, Negros and Batan (Philippines)

Abstract Two new cases of association of adakites with ‘normal’ island arc lavas and transitional adakites are recognized in the islands of Batan and Negros in northern and central Philippines, respectively. The Batan lavas are related to the subduction of the middle Miocene portion of the South China Sea basin along the Manila trench; those of Negros come from the almost aseismic subduction of the middle Miocene Sulu Sea crust along the Negros trench. The occurrence of the Batan adakites is consistent with previous findings showing adakitic glass inclusions within minerals of mantle xenoliths associated with Batan arc lavas. The similarity of adakite ages (1.09 Ma) and that of the metasomatized xenoliths (1 Ma) suggests that both are linked to the same slab‐melting and metasomatic event. Earlier Sr, Pb and Nd‐isotopic studies, however, also reveal the presence of an important sediment contribution to the Batan lava geochemistry. Thus, the role played by slab melts, assumed to have mid‐ocean ridge basalts‐like (MORB) isotopic characteristics, in enriching the Batan subarc mantle is largely masked by the sediment input. The Negros adakites are present only in Mount Cuernos, the volcanic center nearest to the Negros trench. Batch partial melting calculations show that the Negros adakites could be derived from a garnet amphibolitic source with normal‐MORB (N‐MORB) geochemistry. This is supported by the MORB‐like isotopic characteristics of the Mount Cuernos lavas. The volcanic rocks from the other volcanoes consist of normal arc and transitional adakitic lavas that have slightly higher Sr‐ and Pb‐isotopic ratios, probably due to slight sediment input. Mixing of adakites and normal arc lavas to produce transitional adakites is only partly supported by trace element geochemistry and not by field evidence. The transitional adakites can be modeled as partial melts of an adakite‐enriched mantle. Trace element enrichment of non‐adakitic lavas could reflect the interaction of their mantle source with uprising slab melts, as metasomatic mantle minerals scavenge certain trace elements from the adakitic fluids. Therefore, in arcs beneath which thick (up to 2 km) continent‐derived detrital sediments are involved in subduction, like in Batan, the sediment signature can overwhelm the slab melt input. In arcs like Negros where slow subduction could cause a more efficient scraping of thinner (approximately 1 km) detrital sediments, the contribution of slab melts is easier to detect.     

Across-arc geochemical variation of Quaternary lavas in West Java, Indonesia: Mass-balance elucidation using arc basalt simulator model

The Sunda Arc of Indonesia developed along the convergent margin between the Eurasian and the Australian Plates. More than 100 Quaternary volcanic centers occur along the arc. The West Java Arc is a segment of the Sunda Arc in which more than 10 volcanic centers are located, corresponding to the 120 to 200 km depth contours of the Wadati–Benioff zone. The geochemistry of 207 Quaternary lavas from six centers across the arc was investigated. The lavas range from basalt to dacite. Incompatible element abundances increase from the volcanic front to the rear‐arc in response to a change from low‐K to high‐K suites. Nd–Sr isotope compositions of the basalts scatter between mid‐ocean ridge basalt (MORB) source mantle and Indian Ocean sediment (SED) compositions, with volcanic front low‐K basalts having more radiogenic Nd than the rear‐arc basalts. It is suggested that mixing between slab‐derived fluids mainly from the SED and melt from MORB source mantle played a significant role in determining the geochemistry of the West Java basalts. Incompatible element patterns in primitive mantle normalized multi‐element plots are almost identical across the arc, except for greater inclination and weaker positive Sr spikes in the rear‐arc basalts. This suggests a lower degree of partial melting in the rear‐arc mantle, accompanied by change in SED fluid composition between the volcanic front and the rear‐arc. The latter is confirmed by fluid‐fluxed melting model calculations using multiple trace elements and Nd and Sr isotopes. All the West Java Arc lavas require deficit of Sr from the slab SED. This may occur due to selective breakdown of Sr‐rich hydrous silicate minerals, such as zoisite, at shallower depths before the SED component reaches the depth of dehydration effective for magma genesis. The rear‐arc basalts need further Sr deficits along with lesser fluid. These features are commonly observed in many arc basalts, and are likely attributable to the same mechanism.     

三维数值模拟研究俯冲区火山的时空活动性

俯冲板块的深部脱水使得上覆地幔含水, 从而降低含水地幔的熔点, 导致上覆地幔部分熔融。 部分熔融的地幔柱一旦喷发到地表就是俯冲带火山, 也形成新的地壳。 相对于周围的地幔来讲, 具有较小密度和黏度的部分熔融地幔的时空活动性就控制着俯冲带火山的时空分布特征。 本文主要回顾近年来运用三维热力学岩石力学模型数值模拟研究与板片脱水相关的俯冲带火山活动的时空分布特性。 结果表明, 部分熔融地幔的有效黏度和密度是影响俯冲板片之上的三维地幔柱横向分布特征的主要因素。 高黏度的部分熔融地幔(10²⁰~10²¹ Pa·s )易于形成近平行于海沟的、 长波长(70~100 km)的、 薄的波状地幔柱; 低黏度(10¹⁸~10¹⁹ Pa·s )的熔融地幔易于形成平行于海沟的, 短波长(30~50 km)的蘑菇状地幔柱和垂直于海沟的山脊状地幔柱。 当部分熔融地幔和周围地幔的密度相差小于50 kg/m³时, 在俯冲板片之上只能形成长波长低幅度(宽50~100 km, 高10~15 km)的地幔山丘。 岩浆产率随着时间的变化反映了火山活动的生命周期性。 板块俯冲速度会影响地幔柱形成的深度和范围大小。 高效率熔融提取会增加新地壳增长总量。 低的板块俯冲速度和低的熔融提取效率会增加上地壳(花岗岩质)和中地壳(英安岩质)化学成分的比例。 数值模拟结果可以很好地解释如日本东北、 新西兰、 南阿拉斯加俯冲区火山的横向分布特征。     

Water and partial melting of Earth’s mantle

Water plays a crucial role in the melting of Earth’s mantle. Mantle magmatisms mostly occur at plate boundaries (including subduction zones and mid-ocean ridges) and in some intraplate regions with thermal anomaly. At oceanic subduction zones, water released by the subducted slab may induce melting of the overlying mantle wedge or even the slab itself, giving rise to arc magmatism, or may evolve into a supercritical fluid. The physicochemical conditions for the formation of slab melt and supercritical fluid are still under debate. At mid-ocean ridges and intraplate hot zones, water and CO₂ cause melting of the upwelling mantle to occur at greater depths and in greater extents. Low degree melting of the mantle may occur at boundaries between Earth’s internal spheres, including the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB), the upper mantletransition zone boundary, and the transition zone-lower mantle boundary, usually attributed to contrasting water storage capacity across the boundary. The origin for the stimulating effect of water on melting lies in that water as an incompatible component has a strong tendency to be enriched in the melt (i.e., with a mineral-melt partition coefficient much smaller than unity), thereby lowering the Gibbs free energy of the melt. The partitioning of water between melt and mantle minerals such as olivine, pyroxenes and garnet has been investigated extensively, but the effects of hydration on the density and transport properties of silicate melts require further assessments by experimental and computational approaches.     

Major and trace element and Sr–Nd isotope signatures of lavas from the Central Lau Basin: Implications for the nature and influence of subduction components in the back-arc mantle

New major and trace element and Sr–Nd isotope data are presented for basaltic glasses from active spreading centers (Central Lau Spreading Center (CLSC), Relay Zone (RZ) and Eastern Lau Spreading Center (ELSC)) in the Central Lau Basin, SW Pacific. Basaltic lavas from the Central Lau Basin are mainly tholeiitic and are broadly similar in composition to mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB). Their generally high ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios, combined with relatively low ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd ratios are more akin to MORB from the Indian rather than Pacific Ocean. In detail, the CLSC, RZ and ELSC lavas are generally more enriched in large ion lithophile elements (Rb, Ba, Sr, and K) than average normal-MORB, which suggests that the mantle beneath the Central Lau Basin was modified by subducted slab-derived components. Fluid mobile/immobile trace element and Sr – Nd isotope ratios suggest that the subduction components were essentially transferred into the mantle via hydrous fluids derived from the subducted oceanic crust; contributions coming from the subducted sediments are minor. Compared to CLSC lavas, ELSC and RZ lavas show greater enrichment in fluid mobile elements and depletion in high field strength elements, especially Nb. Thus, with increasing distance away from the arc, the influence of subduction components in the mantle source of Lau Basin lavas diminishes. The amount of hydrous fluids also influences the degree of partial melting of the mantle beneath the Central Lau Basin, and hence the degree of melting also decreases with increasing distance from the arc.     

Three-dimensional Mapping of Magma Source and Transport Regions from Seismic Data: The Mantle Wedge beneath Northeastern Japan

—We investigate the distribution of partial melt in island arc using the seismic velocity structure of the mantle wedge beneath northeastern Japan. The comparison of the seismic tomography with laboratory velocity data on a partially-molten mantle rock yields estimates of melting zones in three dimensions. We employ experimental data on the degree of partial melt in hydrous peridotite to give constraints on the melt fraction and temperature. Melting and magma-rich zones derived from the velocity structure coincide with observed low Q zones. The results of the three-dimensional mapping indicate that the source of magma in island arc is diapir-like melting patches localized within the low velocity zones of the mantle wedge. Extensive volcanic activity along the volcanic front is due to the presence of vast magma-rich zones just beneath the Moho. Those melting zones in the uppermost mantle may, in turn, cause melting of lower crustal materials and produce felsic magma. Melt appears to stay at and beneath the Moho, where crystallization fractionation may proceed. Melt exists at greater depths in the back-arc region, which may correlate with across-arc variations of chemical compositions of the volcanic rocks observed in northeastern Japan. We suggest that magma migration in the ductile lower crust may cause low-frequency microearthquakes, and magma penetration into the brittle upper crust may produce mid-crustal S-wave reflectors.     

Atmospheric noble gases in volcanic glasses from the southern Lau Basin: origin from the subducting slab?

Noble gas concentrations and isotopic compositions have been determined for four submarine volcanic glasses from the Valu Fa Ridge (VFR) in the southern Lau Basin. The samples are the least differentiated ones from this area, and they display enrichments in fluid-mobile elements similar to the nearby island arc. ³He/⁴He ratios are slightly below average MORB (6.8–7.8 times atmospheric), whereas Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe have isotopic compositions very similar to air. Together with previously published data from the Valu Fa Ridge and other spreading segments in the Lau Basin, our data show a systematic latitudinal variation of increasing Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe abundances from north to south as well as Ne and Ar isotopic compositions changing from MORB-like to atmosphere-like in the same direction. Moreover, isotopic compositions and noble gas abundances of the lavas correlate strongly with Ba/Nb ratios and H₂O concentrations. Based on these observations and mass balance arguments, we propose that the atmospheric noble gases come from the subducting oceanic crust and are not due to shallow contamination with air dissolved in seawater or assimilation of old crust. Our data suggest that the noble gases released from the subducting slab are atmospheric and thus contain little or no solar He and Ne. In addition to the fact that ratios of He to heavy noble gases are small in aged ocean crust, He has possibly fractionated from the other noble gases due to its higher diffusivity, and thus He transport from the subducting slab into the mantle wedge is probably insignificant. We propose that the ³He/⁴He ratios lower than MORB observed in the VFR lavas result from radiogenic ingrowth of He in a highly depleted, and hence degassed, mantle wedge after the enrichment of U and Th released from the downgoing slab.     

Fluorine and boron geochemistry of an ensialic marginal basin volcano: Deception Island, Bransfield Strait, Antarctica

We present the initial results of a quantitative investigation of the volatile geochemistry of Deception Island, an active volcano situated near the spreading axis of a Quaternary ensialic marginal basin (Bransfield Strait, northern Antarctic Peninsula). Fluorine contents in Deception Island magmas (112–461 ppm) are comparable with lavas from a range of tectonic environments but F-K₂O relationships most closely compare with continental flood basalts and lavas from island arcs and some marginal basins. Boron contents are high (4.3–16.3 ppm) and the values overlap with those of arc lavas; they provide strong support for the presence of a mantle source component derived from the slab subducted at the coeval trench (by melting at the slab/wedge interface and/or during slab dehydration). Both F and B acted incompatibly in Deception Island magmas but there is significant variation in incompatible-element ratios such as K/F, K/B, P/F, P/B, which strongly suggests that the magmatic system was open to some or all of these elements during differentation. The variations in these ratios also provide evidence for the presence of at least two stages in the magmatic evolution of the volcano. During pre-caldera times, mafic magma was emplaced into the upper crust where it evolved and may have reacted with the crustal envelope, thus changing the contents of some or all of the elements F, B, K and P and their inter-element ratios. A later, large influx of hot, mafic magma into the chamber may have been responsible for a major eruption that ultimately led to the formation of the caldera. K/F, K/B, etc, ratios in the magma chamber were “reset” and subsequently continued to change, possibly by further crustal interaction during melt evolution in post-caldera times.     

Late Paleozoic adakites and Nb-enriched basalts from northern Xinjiang, northwest China: Evidence for the southward subduction of the Paleo-Asian Oceanic Plate

Abstract   Volcanic rocks consisting of adakite and Nb-enriched basalt are found in the early Devonian Tuoranggekuduke Group in the northern margin of the Kazakhstan-Junggar Plate, northern Xinjiang, northwest China. The geochemical characteristics of the andesitic and dacitic rocks in this area resemble that of adakites. The relatively high Al₂O₃, Na₂O and MgO content and Mg^♯ values indicate that the adakites were generated in relation to oceanic slab subduction rather than the partial melting of basaltic crust. A slightly higher SrI and a lower ɛ _Nd( t  = 375 Ma) compared to adakites of mid-oceanic ridge basalt (MORB) imply that slab sediments were incorporated into these adakites during slab melting. The Nb-enriched basalt lavas, which are intercalated in adakite lava suite, are silica saturated and are distinguished from the typical arc basalts by their higher Nb and Ti content (high field strength element enrichment). They are derived from the partial melting of the slab melt-metasomatized mantle wedge peridotite. Apparently, positive Sr anomalies and a slightly higher heavy rare earth element content in these adakites compared to their Cenozoic counterparts indicate that the geothermal gradient in the Paleo-Asian Oceanic subduction zone and the depth of the Paleo-Asian Oceanic slab melting are between those of their Archean and Cenozoic counterparts. The distribution of the adakites and Nb-enriched basalts in the northern margin of the Kazakhstan-Junggar Plate, northern Xinjiang, indicates that the Paleo-Asian Oceanic Plate subducted southward beneath the Kazakhstan-Junggar Plate in the early Devonian period.     

The relationship between calc-alkaline volcanism and within-plate continental rift volcanism: evidence from Scottish Palaeozoic lavas

Lower Carboniferous lavas from the Midland Valley and adjacent regions of Scotland are mildly alkaline and intraplate in nature. The sequence is dominated by basalt and hawaiite, although mugearite, benmoreite, trachyte and rhyolite are also present. Basic volcanic rocks display the LIL element and LREE enrichment typical of intraplate alkali basalt terrains. Low initial⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (0.7029–0.7046), high ε_Nd (−0.4 to +5.6) and moderately radiogenic²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb (17.77–18.89) ratios are also comparable with alkali basalts from other continental rifts and oceanic islands.When the Carboniferous lavas are compared with subduction-related lavas of Old Red Sandstone age, erupted in and around the Midland Valley ca. 50 Ma earlier (at 410 Ma) remarkable similarities are apparent. Significant overlap occurs in Nd and Pb isotopic compositions. Sr isotopic compositions are, however, more radiogenic in the older subduction-related lavas. This, combined with high K and Rb concentrations in ORS lavas may be explained by the incorporation of a sediment component derived from the subducted slab, which by Lower Carboniferous times had been lost from the mantle source region by convection. A pronounced negative Nb anomaly in the ORS subduction-related lavas may be explained by the retention of a Nb-bearing phase in the mantle during hydrous melting of the mantle wedge above the subduction zone.Allowing for the effects of the added component from the subducted slab, there appears to be no necessity to invoke separate mantle source regions for the two suites of lavas: both may have been derived from chemically similar portions of mantle. If volcanic arc lavas are derived from the mantle wedge, the implication is that such a source lies at relatively shallow depth within the upper mantle: the same may therefore apply to the Carboniferous continental rift basalts. This evidence, combined with the fact that there is no evident hot-spot trail across the Midland Valley despite a long period of within-plate volcanism and rapid plate movements during the Carboniferous, suggests that the alkali basalt magmatism is not the product of a deep-seated mantle plume. Rather, the volcanism appears to owe more to passive rifting and to diapiric upwelling from a source region within the uppermost mantle.     

Discriminating assimilants and decoupling deep- vs. shallow-level crystal records at Mount Adams using 238U–230Th disequilibria and Os isotopes

A suite of 23 basaltic to dacitic lavas erupted over the last 350 kyr from the Mount Adams volcanic field has been analyzed for U–Th isotope compositions to evaluate the roles of mantle versus crustal components during magma genesis. All of the lavas have (²³⁰Th/²³⁸U) > 1 and span a large range in (²³⁰Th/²³²Th) ratios, and most basalts have higher (²³⁰Th/²³²Th) ratios than andesites and dacites. Several of the lavas contain antecrysts (crystals of pre-existing material), yet internal U–Th mineral isochrons from six of seven lavas are indistinguishable from their eruption ages. This indicates a relatively brief period of time between crystal growth and eruption for most of the phenocrysts (olivine, clinopyroxene, plagioclase, magnetite) prior to eruption. One isochron gave a crystallization age that is ~ 20–25 ka older than its corresponding eruptive age, and is interpreted to reflect mixing of older and juvenile crystals or a protracted period of magma storage in the crust. Much of the eruptive volume since 350 ka consists of lavas that have small to moderate ²³⁰Th excesses (2–16%), which are likely inherited from melting of a garnet-bearing intraplate (“OIB-like”) mantle source. Following melt generation and subsequent migration through the upper mantle, most Mt. Adams magmas interacted with young, mafic lower crust, as indicated by ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os ratios that are substantially more radiogenic than the mantle or those expected via mixing of subducted material and the mantle wedge. Moreover, Os–Th isotope variations suggest that unusually large ²³⁰Th excesses (25–48%) and high ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os ratios in some peripheral lavas reflect assimilation of small degree partial melts of pre-Quaternary basement that had residual garnet or Al-rich clinopyroxene. Despite the isotopic evidence for lower crustal assimilation, these processes are not generally recorded in the erupted phenocrysts, indicating that the crystal record of the deep-level ‘cryptic’ processes has been decoupled from shallow-level crystallization.     

Adakitic magmas in the Ecuadorian Volcanic Front: Petrogenesis of the Iliniza Volcanic Complex (Ecuador)

The Iliniza Volcanic Complex (IVC) is a poorly known volcanic complex located 60 km SSW of Quito in the Western Cordillera of Ecuador. It comprises twin peaks, North Iliniza and South Iliniza, and two satellite domes, Pilongo and Tishigcuchi. The study of the IVC was undertaken in order to better constrain the role of adakitic magmas in the Ecuadorian arc evolution. The presence of volcanic rocks with an adakitic imprint or even pristine adakites in the Ecuadorian volcanic arc is known since the late 1990s. Adakitic magmas are produced by the partial melting of a basaltic source leaving a garnet rich residue. This process can be related to the melting of an overthickened crust or a subducting oceanic crust. For the last case a special geodynamic context is required, like the subduction of a young lithosphere or when the subduction angle is not very steep; both cases are possible in Ecuador. The products of the IVC, made up of medium-K basaltic andesites, andesites and dacites, have been divided in different geochemical series whose origin requires various interactions between the different magma sources involved in this subduction zone. North Iliniza is a classic calc-alkaline series that we interpret as resulting from the partial melting of the mantle wedge. For South Iliniza, a simple evolution with fractional crystallization of amphibole, plagioclase, clinopyroxene, magnetite, apatite and zircon from a parental magma, being itself the product of the mixing of 36% adakitic and 64% calc-alkaline magma, has been quantified. For the Santa Rosa rhyolites, a slab melting origin with little mantle interactions during the ascent of magmas has been established. The Pilongo series magma is the product of a moderate to high degree (26%) of partial melting of the subducting oceanic crust, which reached the surface without interaction with the mantle wedge. The Tishigcuchi series shows two stages of evolution: (1) metasomatism of the mantle wedge peridotite by slab melts, and (2) partial melting (10%) of this metasomatized source. Therefore, the relative ages of the edifices show a geochemical evolution from calc-alkaline to adakitic magmas, as is observed for several volcanoes of the Ecuadorian arc.     

Occurrences of hydrous and carbonate phases in ultrahigh-pressure rocks from east-central China: Implications for the role of volatiles deep in cold subduction zones

Abstract Minor epidote-zoisite, phengite, glaucophane, nyböite, talc, magnesite, and dolomite occur as matrix phases or as mineral inclusions in some ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) rocks from the Dabie-Sulu terrane. Some of these phases contain inclusions of coesite or coesite pseudomorphs and appear to have been in equilibrium with coesite at the time of formation. Their occurrences in the UHP rocks together with experimentally determined and calculated phase relations indicate that they are stable at mantle depths in relatively low-temperature environments. Because of the apparently dry nature of subducted continental protoliths of the Yangtze craton, small amounts of volatile components at depths exceeding 50 km along a cold subduction zone may have been stored mainly by these hydrous and carbonate phases. These minerals, in addition to some dense hydrous magnesian silicates, act as important carriers for H₂O and CO₂ recycled at mantle depths. Available petrological and geochemical data support limited or no fluid flow in this region. At very high pressures and low temperatures, the subducted sialic crust evidently served as a desiccating agent. Partial melting of the subducting slab, therefore, may not have occurred, and near absence of volatile expulsion from the subducting slab to the overlying mantle wedge + continental crust may have inhibited large-scale partial melting, accounting for the lack of a typical contemporaneous calc-alkaline magmatic arc.