Eruption and emplacement of a basaltic welded ignimbrite during caldera formation on Gran Canaria

The 14.1 Ma old composite ignimbrite cooling unit P1 (45 km³) on Gran Canaria comprises a lower mixed rhyolite-trachyte tuff, a central rhyolite-basalt mixed tuff, and a slightly rhyolite-contaminated basaltic tuff at the top. The basaltic tuff is compositionally zoned with (a) an upward change in basalt composition to higher MgO content (4.3–5.2 wt.%), (b) variably admixed rhyolite or trachyte (commonly <5 wt.%), and (c) an upward increasing abundance of basaltic and plutonic lithic fragments and cognate cumulate fragments. The basaltic tuff is divided into three structural units: (I) the welded basaltic ignimbrite, which forms the thickest part (c. 95 vol.%) and is the main subject of the present paper; (II) poorly consolidated massive, bomb- and block-rich beds interpreted as phreatomagmatic pyroclastic flow deposits; and (III) various facies of reworked basaltic tuff. Tuff unit I is a basaltic ignimbrite rather than a lava flow because of the absence of top and bottom breccias, radial sheet-like distribution around the central Tejeda caldera, thickening in valleys but also covering higher ground, and local erosion of the underlying P1 ash. A gradual transition from dense rock in the interior to ash at the top of the basaltic ignimbrite reflects a decrease in welding; the shape of the welding profile is typical for emplacement temperatures well above the minimum welding temperature. A similar transition occurs at the base where the ignimbrite was emplaced on cold ground in distal sections. In proximal sections the base is dense where it was emplaced on hot felsic P1 tuff. The intensity of welding, especially at the base, and the presence of spherical particles and of mantled and composite particles formed by accretion and coalescence in a viscous state imply that the flow was a suspension of hot magma droplets. The flow most likely had to be density stratified and highly turbulent to prevent massive coalescence and collapse. Model calculations suggest eruption through low pyroclastic fountains (<1000 m high) with limited cooling during eruption and turbulent flow from an initial temperature of 1160°C. The large volume of 26 km³ of erupted basalt compared with only 16 km³ of the evolved P1 magmas, and the extremely high discharge rates inferred from model calculations are unusual for a basaltic eruption. It is suggested that the basaltic magma was erupted and emplaced in a fashion commonly only attributed to felsic magmas because it utilized the felsic P1 magma chamber and its ring-fissure conduits. Evolution of the entire P1 eruption was controlled by withdrawal dynamics involving magmas differing in viscosity by more than four orders of magnitude. The basaltic eruption phase was initially driven by buoyancy of the basaltic magma at chamber depth and continued degassing of felsic magma, but most of the large volume of basalt magma was driven out of the reservoir by subsidence of a c. 10 km diameter roof block, which followed a decrease in magma chamber pressure during low viscosity basaltic outflow.     

Origin and emplacement of the andesite of Burroughs Mountain,a zoned,large-volume lava flow at Mount Rainier,Washington, USA

Burroughs Mountain, situated at the northeast foot of Mount Rainier, WA, exposes a large-volume (3.4 km³) andesitic lava flow, up to 350 m thick and extending 11 km in length. Two sampling traverses from flow base to eroded top, over vertical sections of 245 and 300 m, show that the flow consists of a felsic lower unit (100 m thick) overlain sharply by a more mafic upper unit. The mafic upper unit is chemically zoned, becoming slightly more evolved upward; the lower unit is heterogeneous and unzoned. The lower unit is also more phenocryst-rich and locally contains inclusions of quenched basaltic andesite magma that are absent from the upper unit. Widespread, vuggy, gabbronorite-to-diorite inclusions may be fragments of shallow cumulates, exhumed from the Mount Rainier magmatic system. Chemically heterogeneous block-and-ash-flow deposits that conformably underlie the lava flow were the earliest products of the eruptive episode. The felsic–mafic–felsic progression in lava composition resulted from partial evacuation of a vertically-zoned magma reservoir, in which either (1) average depth of withdrawal increased, then decreased, during eruption, perhaps due to variations in effusion rate, or (2) magmatic recharge stimulated ascent of a plume that brought less evolved magma to shallow levels at an intermediate stage of the eruption. Pre-eruptive zonation resulted from combined crystallization–differentiation and intrusion(s) of less evolved magma into the partly crystallized resident magma body. The zoned lava flow at Burroughs Mountain shows that, at times, Mount Rainier’s magmatic system has developed relatively large, shallow reservoirs that, despite complex recharge events, were capable of developing a felsic-upward compositional zonation similar to that inferred from large ash-flow sheets and other zoned lava flows.     

The Monte Guardia eruption (Lipari,Aeolian Islands): an example of a reversely zoned magma mixing sequence

The Monte Guardia rhyolitic eruption (~22 ka, Lipari, Aeolian Islands, Italy) produced a sequence of pyroclastic deposits followed by the emplacement of lava domes. The total volume of dense magma erupted was nearly 0.5 km³. The juvenile clasts in the pyroclastic deposits display a variety of magma mixing evidence (mafic magmatic enclaves, streaky pumices, mineral disequilibria and heterogeneous glass composition). Petrographic, mineralogical and geochemical investigations and melt inclusion studies were carried out on the juvenile clasts in order to reconstruct the mixing process and to assess the pre-eruptive chemico-physical magmatic conditions. The results suggest that the different mingling and mixing textures were generated during a single mixing event between a latitic and a rhyolitic end member. A denser, mixed magma was first erupted, followed by a larger volume of an unmixed, lighter rhyolitic one. This compositional sequence is the reverse of what would be expected from the tapping of a zoned magma chamber. The Monte Guardia rhyolitic magma, stored below 200 MPa, was volatile-rich and fluid-saturated, or very close to this, despite its relatively low explosivity. In contrast to previous interpretations, there exists the possibility that the rhyolite could rise and erupt without the trigger of a mafic input. The entire data collected are compatible with two possible mechanisms that would generate a reversely zoned sequence: (1) the occurrence of thermal instabilities in a density stratified, salic to mafic magma chamber and (2) the intrusion of rising rhyolite into a shallower mafic sill/dike.     

Magma mixing recorded in intermediate rocks associated with high-Mg andesites from the Setouchi volcanic belt, Japan: implications for Archean TTG formation

Calc-alkaline intermediate rocks are spatially and temporally associated with high-Mg andesites (HMAs, Mg#>60) in Middle Miocene Setouchi volcanic belt. The calc-alkaline rocks are characterized by higher Mg# (strongly calc-alkaline trend) than ordinary calc-alkaline rocks at equivalent silica contents. Phenocrysts in the intermediate rocks have petrographical features such as: (1) coexisting reversely and normally zoned orthopyroxene phenocrysts in single rock; (2) sieve type plagioclase in which cores are mantled by higher An%, melt inclusion-rich zone; and (3) reversely zoned amphibole phenocrysts with opacite cores. In addition, mingling textures and magmatic inclusions were observed in some rocks. These petrographic features and the mineral chemistry indicate that magma mixing was the most important process in producing the strongly calc-alkaline rocks. The core composition of normally zoned orthopyroxene phenocrysts and the mantle composition of reversely zoned orthopyroxene phenocrysts have relatively high Mg# (85–90) in maximum. Although basaltic and high-Mg andesitic magmas are candidate as possible mafic end-member magmas, basaltic magma is excluded in terms of phenocryst assemblage and bulk composition. HMA magmas are suitable mafic end-member magmas that precipitated high Mg# (90) orthopyroxene, whereas andesitic to dacitic magma are suitable felsic end-members. In contrast, it is difficult to produce the strongly calc-alkaline trend through fractional crystallization from a HMA magma, because it would require removal of plagioclase together with mafic minerals from the early stage of crystallization, whereas the precipitation of plagiolase is suppressed due to the high water content of HMA magmas. These results imply that Archean Mg#-rich TTGs (>45–55), which are an analog of the strongly calc-alkaline rocks in terms of chemistry and magma genesis, can be derived from magma mixing in which a HMA magma is the mafic end-member magma, rather than by fractional crystallization from a HMA magma.     

Effusive eruption of viscous silicic magma triggered and driven by recharge: a case study of the Cerro Chascon-Runtu Jarita Dome Complex in Southwest Bolivia

 The Cerro Chascon-Runtu Jarita Complex is a group of ten Late Pleistocene (∼85 ka) lava domes located in the Andean Central Volcanic Zone of Bolivia. These domes display considerable macroscopic and microscopic evidence of magma mixing. Two groups of domes are defined chemically and geographically. A northern group, the Chascon, consists of four lava bodies of dominantly rhyodacite composition. These bodies contain 43–48% phenocrysts of plagioclase, quartz, sanidine, biotite, and amphibole in a microlite-poor, rhyolitic glass. Rare mafic enclaves and selvages are present. Mineral equilibria yield temperatures from 640 to 750  °C and log ƒO₂ of –16. Geochemical data indicate that the pre-eruption magma chamber was zoned from a dominant volume of 68% to minor amounts of 76% SiO₂. This zonation is best explained by fractional crystallization and some mixing between rhyodacite and more evolved compositions. The mafic enclaves represent magma that intruded but did not chemically interact much with the evolved magmas. A southern group, the Runtu Jarita, is a linear chain of six small domes (<1 km³ total volume) that probably is the surface expression of a dike. The five most northerly domes are composites of dacitic and rhyolitic compositions. The southernmost dome is dominantly rhyolite with rare mafic enclaves. The composite domes have lower flanks of porphyritic dacite with ∼35 vol.% phenocrysts of plagioclase, orthopyroxene, and hornblende in a microlite-rich, rhyodacitic glass. Sieve-textured plagioclase, mixed populations of disequilibrium plagioclase compositions, xenocrystic quartz, and sanidine with ternary composition reaction rims indicate that the dacite is a hybrid. The central cores of the composite domes are rhyolitic and contain up to 48 vol.% phenocrysts of plagioclase, quartz, sanidine, biotite, and amphibole. This is separated from the dacitic flanks by a banded zone of mingled lava. Macroscopic, microscopic, and petrologic evidence suggest scavenging of phenocrysts from the silicic lava. Mineral equilibria yield temperatures of 625–727  °C and log ƒO₂ of –16 for the rhyolite and 926–1000  °C and log ƒO₂ of –9.5 for the dacite. The rhyolite is zoned from 73 to 76% SiO₂, and fractionation within the rhyolite composition produced this variation. Most of the 63–73% SiO₂ compositional range of the lava in this group is the result of mixing between the hybrid dacite and the rhyolite. Eruption of both groups of lavas apparently was triggered by mafic recharge. A paucity of explosive activity suggests that volatile and thermal exchanges between reservoir and recharge magmas were less important than volume increase and the lubricating effects of recharge by mafic magmas. For the Runtu Jarita group, the eruption is best explained by intrusion of a dike of dacite into a chamber of crystal-rich rhyolite close to its solidus. The rhyolite was encapsulated and transported to the surface by the less-viscous dacite magma, which also acted as a lubricant. Simultaneous effusion of the lavas produced the composite domes, and their zonation reflects the subsurface zonation. The role of recharge by hotter, more fluid mafic magma appears to be critical to the eruption of some highly viscous silicic magmas. Received: 23 August 1998 / Accepted: 10 March 1999     

Erratum to Compositional variations and magma mixing in the 1991 eruptions of Hudson volcano,Chile

The August 1991 eruptions of Hudson volcano produced ~2.7 km³ (dense rock equivalent, DRE) of basaltic to trachyandesitic pyroclastic deposits, making it one of the largest historical eruptions in South America. Phase 1 of the eruption (P1, April 8) involved both lava flows and a phreatomagmatic eruption from a fissure located in the NW corner of the caldera. The paroxysmal phase (P2) began several days later (April 12) with a Plinian-style eruption from a different vent 4 km to the south-southeast. Tephra from the 1991 eruption ranges in composition from basalt (phase 1) to trachyandesite (phase 2), with a distinct gap between the two erupted phases from 54–60 wt% SiO₂. A trend of decreasing SiO₂ is evident from the earliest part of the phase 2 eruption (unit A, 63–65 wt% SiO₂) to the end (unit D, 60–63 wt% SiO₂). Melt inclusion data and textures suggest that mixing occurred in magmas from both eruptive phases. The basaltic and trachyandesitic magmas can be genetically related through both magma mixing and fractional crystallization processes. A combination of observed phase assemblages, inferred water content, crystallinity, and geothermometry estimates suggest pre-eruptive storage of the phase 2 trachyandesite at pressures between ~50–100 megapascal (MPa) at 972 ± 26°C under water-saturated conditions (log fO₂ –10.33 (±0.2)). It is proposed that rising P1 basaltic magma intersected the lower part of the P2 magma storage region between 2 and 3 km depth. Subsequent mixing between the two magmas preferentially hybridized the lower part of the chamber. Basaltic magma continued advancing towards the surface as a dyke to eventually be erupted in the northwestern part of the Hudson caldera. The presence of tachylite in the P1 products suggests that some of the magma was stalled close to the surface (<0.5 km) prior to eruption. Seismicity related to magma movement and the P1 eruption, combined with chamber overpressure associated with basalt injection, may have created a pathway to the surface for the trachyandesite magma and subsequent P2 eruption at a different vent 4 km to the south-southeast. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Role of precursory less-viscous mixed magma in the eruption of phenocryst-rich magma: evidence from the Hokkaido-Komagatake 1929 eruption

During the 1929 activity of Hokkaido-Komagatake volcano, the Plinian eruption of a phenocryst-rich andesite was preceded by a small eruption of more mafic magma formed by magma mixing. A similar eruption sequence has been reported for some other eruptions (Pallister et al. 1996; Venezky and Rutherford 1997), suggesting that eruption of a mixed magma is a precursor of phenocryst-rich magmas. For the purpose of understanding the tapping processes of the phenocryst-rich magma chamber, we investigated the temporal variation in the erupted magma and estimated the viscosity and density of the end-member and mixed magmas with constraints drawn from petrography. For the precursory mixed magma we estimate 33dž vol.% phenocrysts, andesitic-dacitic melt composition, 3 wt.% H₂O content, and temperature of 1040°C. In comparison, for the climactic, silicic end-member magma we estimate 48Dž vol.% phenocryst, high-silica rhyolitic melt, 3 wt.% H₂O, and temperature of 950°C, respectively. The mafic end-member magma, which was not erupted, is thought to be an almost aphyric basaltic-andesitic magma, based on mass balance calculation of the phenocryst content. The proportion of the mafic end-member magma component in the mixed magma was calculated to be 20-40 wt.%. On the basis of these data, we estimate magma viscosities of 10^3.9, 10^6.9, and 10^2.0 Pa s for the mixed, silicic end-member, and mafic end-member magmas, respectively. The calculated density differences among these magmas are inconsequential when possible errors are considered. We calculate the minimum excess pressure required for dike propagation to be 31 MPa for the silicic end-member magma and 8 MPa for the mixed magma, using the estimated viscosity and dike propagation model of Rubin (1995). If we assume that excess pressure is limited by the wall rock strength of the magma chamber, excess pressure retainable in the magma chamber is less than ca. 20 MPa. This suggests that the mixed magma was able to ascend to the surface without freezing, whereas the viscous silicic end-member magma could not. The formation and precursory eruption of the mixed magma are, therefore, effective and necessary initiation processes for the phenocryst-rich, viscous magma eruption.     

Magma mixing and magma plumbing systems in island arcs

Petrographic features of mixed rocks in island arcs, especially those originating by the mixing of magmas with a large compositional and temperature difference, such as basalt and dacite, suggest that the whole mixing process from their first contact to the final cooling (= eruption) has occurred continuously and in a relatively short time period. This period is probably less than several months, considerably shorter than the whole volcanic history. There may also be a prolonged quiescent interval, lasting longer than several days, between the magmas' contact and the mechanical mixing. This interval will allow the basic magma to cool and produce a semi-solidified boundary which is later disrupted by flow movements to produce basic inclusions.Mixing of magmas of contrasting chemical composition need not be the inevitable consequence of the contact of the magmas. It is, however, made more probable by forced convection caused by motive force such as the injection of a basic magma into an acidic magma chamber. A short interval between their initial contact and the final eruption requires that the acid magma chamber has a small volume, of the same order or less than that the introduced basic magma.The volcanic activity of Myoko volcano, central Japan, of the last 100,000 years shows alternate eruptions of hybrid andesite by mixing of basaltic and dacitic magmas, and non-mixed basalt to basaltic andesite. There was a repose period of 20,000 to 30,000 years between eruptions. The acidic chamber, eventually producing the mixed andesite activity, is formed during the repose period by the « in situ » solidification of the original basic magma against its wall. The volume of the chamber is very small, probably about 10^–2 km³. Basaltic magma with constant chemical composition is supplied to the shallow chamber from another deep seated basaltic chamber. The volume of the shallow magma chamber may be critical to the characteristics of volcanic activity and its products.     

Silicic magma entering a basaltic magma chamber: eruptive dynamics and magma mixing — an example from Salina (Aeolian islands,Southern Tyrrhenian Sea)

The Pollara tuff-ring resulted from two explosive eruptions whose deposits are separated by a paleosol 13 Ka old. The oldest deposits (LPP, about 0.2 km³) consist of three main fall units (A, B, C) deposited from a subplinian column whose height (7–14 km) increased with time from A to C, as a consequence of the increased magma discharge rate during the eruption (1–8x10⁶ kg/s). A highly variable juvenile population characterizes the eruption. Black, dense, highly porphyritic, mafic ejecta (SiO₂=50–55%) almost exclusively form A deposits, whereas grey, mildly vesiculated, mildly porphyritic pumice (SiO₂=56–67%) and white, highly vesiculated, nearly aphyric pumice (SiO₂=66–71%) predominate in B and C respectively. Mafic cumulates are abundant in A, while crystalline lithic ejecta first appear in B and increase upward. The LPP result from the emptying of an unusual and unstable, compositionally zoned, shallow magma chamber in which high density mafic melts capped low density salic ones. Evidence of the existence of a short crystal fractionation series is found in the mafic rocks; the andesitic pumice results from complete blending between rhyolitic and variously fractionated mafic melts (salic component up to 60 wt%), whereas bulk dacitic compositions mainly result from the presence of mafic xenocrysts within rhyolitic glasses. Viscosity and composition-mixing diagrams show that blended liquids formed when the visosities of the two end members had close values. The following model is suggested: 1. A rhyolitic magma rising through the metamorphic basement enterrd a mafic magma chamber whose souter portions were occupied by a highly viscous, mafic crystal mush. 2. Under the pressure of the rhyolitic body the nearly rigid mush was pushed upwards and mafic melts were squeezed against the walls of the chamber, beginning roof fracturing and mingling with silicic melts. 3. When the equilibrium temperature was reached between mafic and silicic melts, blended liquids rapidly formed. 4. When fractures reached the surface, the eruption began by the ejection of the mafic melts and crystal mush (A), followed by the emission of variously mingled and blended magmas (B) and ended by the ejection of nearly unmixed rhyolitic magma (C).     

Life-time of a stratified magma chamber recorded in ultramafic xenoliths from Ichinomegata volcano,northeastern Japan

Variations in major-element chemistry and modal compositions of the mantle xenolith-bearing calc-alkalic ejecta from Ichinomegata volcano are inferred to be due to mixing of three magmatic end members: Basalt I (SiO₂ 51 wt% , MgO 8.5 wt%), Basalt II (SiO₂ 54 wt%, MgO 5 wt%), and Dacite (SiO₂ 65 wt%, MgO₂ wt%). Ultramafic xenoliths are found in mafic mixtures of Dacite-Basalt I and Dacite-Basalt II. The thermal histories of the xenoliths in both mixtures are compared with each other. Chemical compositions of olivine and orthopyroxene in xenoliths suggest that xenoliths in Basalt I were equilibrated at about 800 °C, while those in Basalt II were also equilibrated originally at about 800 °C but were subsequently annealed at about 1000 °C for more than 10^2–3 years prior to the eruption.The chemical composition of Basalt I indicates that it can coexist with upper mantle peridotite and it is an appropriate candidate for a carrier of ultramafic xenoliths from the upper mantle. On the other hand, Basalt II is fractionated and it cannot be directly derived from the upper mantle. Two pulses of xenolith-bearing basalt injection into a dacite magma chamber are inferred to have occurred. The first injection did not lead to eruption and subsequently formed a dacite/basalt stratified magma chamber. In the lower layer, the basalt was slightly differentiated to become Basalt II and ultramafic xenoliths carried by the first pulse were annealed at the bottom of the layer. The duration of the annealing of the xenoliths implies a minimum life-time of the Dacite-Basalt II stratification in the magma chamber beneath Ichinomegata of 10^2–3 years. The second injection of the xenolith-bearing basalt (Basalt I) was immediately followed by eruption, and all the magmas were effused with mixing in a conduit. Consequently, the ultramafic xenoliths carried by the second pulse are not annealed.     

Geochemical trends of sequential lava flows from Meseta volcano, Guatemala

The Meseta and Fuego volcanoes closely overlap and collectively are known as the Fuego Volcanic Complex. Historic activity occurs exclusively at Fuego, the southern center, and consists of high-Al basalts. Meseta, the inactive northern center, is predominantly composed of basaltic andesites with minor basalt and andesite. A thick sequence of lava flows and dikes is exposed by a steep collapse escarpment on the east flank of Meseta. The upper 75% of the sequence was sampled from three interfingering stratigraphic sections consisting of 27, 10 and 4 lavas, respectively. Temporal geochemical trends of each section indicates a complex evolutionary history. A major trend toward more evolved compositions upward in the section is consistent with crystal fractionation. This trend is sharply interrupted by the youngest lavas which become distinctly more mafic in composition. Magma mixing is apparently the dominant magmatic evolution process that generated these lavas. The two trends have distinct Sr signatures that suggest a change in parental magma compositions. This abrupt change in composition is interpreted to signal high input rates of mafic magma into the subvolcanic magma chamber. These changes eventually led to sector collapse of Meseta volcano and deposition of the Escuintla debris avalanche. Eruptive activity then migrated to the Fuego volcano where historic activity is similar to that of Meseta immediately prior to its collapse.     

Variation of volatile concentration in a magma system of Satsuma-Iwojima volcano deduced from melt inclusion analyses

Chemical analyses of 30 melt inclusions from Satsuma-Iwojima volcano, Japan, were carried out to investigate volatile evolution in a magma chamber beneath the volcano from about 6300 yr BP to the present. Large variations in volatile concentrations of melts were observed. (1) Water concentration of rhyolitic melts decreases with time; 3–4.6 wt.% at the time of latest caldera-forming eruption of Takeshima pyroclastic flow deposit (ca. 6300 yr BP), 3 wt.% for small pyroclastic flow (ca. 1300 yr BP) of Iwodake, post-caldera rhyolitic dome, and 0.7–1.4 wt.% for submarine lava eruption (Showa-Iwojima) in 1934. (2) Rhyolitic melts of the Takeshima and Iwodake eruptions contained CO₂ of less than 40 ppm, while the Showa-Iwojima melt has higher CO₂ concentration of up to 140 ppm. (3) Water and CO₂ concentrations of basaltic to andesitic melt of Inamuradake, a post-caldera basaltic scoria cone, are 1.2–2.8 wt.% and ≤290 ppm, respectively.Volatile evolution in the magma chamber is interpreted as follows: (1) the rhyolitic magma at the time of the latest caldera-forming eruption (ca. 6300 yr BP) was gas-saturated due to pressure variation in the magma chamber because the large variation in water concentration of the melt was attributed to exsolution of volatile in the magma prior to the eruption. Iwodake eruption (ca. 1300 yr BP) was caused by a remnant of the caldera-forming rhyolitic magma, suggested from the similarity of major element composition between these magmas. (2) Volatile composition of the Showa-Iwojima rhyolitic melt agrees with that of magmatic gases presently discharging from a summit of Iwodake, indicating the low pressure degassing condition. (3) The degassing of the magma chamber by magma convection in a conduit of Iwodake during non-eruptive but active degassing period for longer than 800 years decreased water concentration of the rhyolitic magma. (4) Geological and petrological observations indicate that a stratified magma chamber, which consists of a lower basaltic layer and an upper rhyolitic layer, might have existed during the post-caldera stage. Addition of CO₂ from the underlying basaltic magma to the upper gas-undersaturated (degassed) rhyolitic magma increased CO₂ concentration of the rhyolitic magma.     

A geochemical model of mid-ocean ridge magma chambers

A computer model of mid-ocean ridge basalt generation using trace element geochemistry has been developed. The model simulates a periodically replenished, continually cooled and fractionated magma chamber, with periodic lava extrusion. Primitive basalts from the ocean floor are used to generate likely evolution paths for the magma chamber. The steady state variant of this model has led to the isolation of several variables which critically affect the basalt composition. Although the fraction of cumulates is an important parameter, other variables such as the volume of incoming magma batches, their frequency, and the volume of the mixing cell, play a critical part especially on slow-spreading ridges. The growing magma chamber model uses random number generators to simulate the initiation and growth of a chamber. This model predicts a rapid increase in incompatible element concentrations, immediately after chamber initiation on a fast-spreading ridge. This would occur in situations such as propagating rifts and may help in the understanding of ferrobasalt generation.     

The petrology and geochemistry of the Handkerchief Mesa mixed magma complex, San Juan Mountains, Colorado

The Handkerchief Mesa mixed magma complex is one of several late Cenozoic volcanic complexes in the southeastern San Juan Mountains characterized by mingling and limited mixing of basalt and rhyodacite. Stratigraphy in the dissected vent complex at Handkerchief Mesa records three phases of volcanism, the first and third displaying evidence for coeruption of mafic and silicic magmas. Phases 1 and 2 erupted silicic pyroclastics and basaltic lava flows, respectively. Phase-3 eruptions were dominated by rhyodacite lava flows, rhyodacite dikes, and abundant mingled and mixed hybrid lavas.Pre- and syneruptive basalt-rhyodacite mixing of phase-3 eruptions is shown by: (1) inclusions of quenched basalt in rhyodacite; (2) partially disaggregated basalt inclusions in mixed hybrids and rhyodacites; (3) interfingering lenses of mixed hybrid lavas and rhyodacite. Whole-rock major- and trace-element analyses support a two-component mixing model whereby intermediate hybrids are produced by mixing of basalt and rhyodacite (up to 30% basalt: 70% rhyodacite). Disequilibrium phenocryst textures and mineral compositions are consistent with multistage mixing culminating in an eruptive mixing event. Protracted mixing along a boundary zone at the base of a rhyodacite magma chamber may be responsible for stabilizing Fe-rich olivine phenocrysts in some hybrids.Basalt-rhyodacite mixing is inhibited by rapid crystallization in the basalt shortly after inclusion within the lower temperature melt. The degree to which mechanical dispersion and blending ensues is a critical function of the initial temperature contrast (ΔT_i) between the two magmas. Thermal models, simulating the conductive cooling histories for basalt spheres in rhyodacite reservoirs, suggest that at large ΔT_i's (> 200°) rapid cooling of the inclusion leads to disequilibrium crystallization with concomitant depression of equilibrium solidi, grain boundary wetting by residual liquids, and limited disaggregation of the inclusion imposed by movement of the host. For small ΔT_i's (< 100°) temperatures within the inclusion can be maintained above the solidus for prolonged time periods, enhancing the possibility of producing homogeneous mixed hybrids through mechanical blending and diffusion. Both mechanisms operated at Handkerchief Mesa and contributed to the range of observed textures and compositions.     

Experimental constraints on pre-eruptive water contents and changing magma storage prior to explosive eruptions of Mount St Helens volcano

Compositionally diverse dacitic magmas have erupted from Mount St Helens over the last 4000 years. Phase assemblages and their compositions in these dacites provide information about the composition of the pre-eruptive melt, the phases in equilibrium with that melt and the magmatic temperature. From this information pre-eruptive pressures and water fugacities of many of the dacites have been inferred. This was done by conducting hydrothermal experiments at 850°C and a range of pressures and water fugacities and combining the results with those from experiments at temperatures of 780 and 920°C, to cover the likely range in equilibration conditions of the dacites. Natural phase assemblages and compositions were compared with the experimental results to infer the most likely conditions for the magmas prior to eruption. Water contents disolved in the melts of the dacites were then estimated from the inferred conditions. Water contents in the dacites have varied greatly, from 3.7 to 6.5 wt.%, in the last 4000 years. Between 4000 and about 3000 years ago the dacites tended to be water saturated and contained 5.5 to 6.5 wt.% water. Since then, however, the dacites have been significantly water-undersaturated and contained less than 5.0 wt.% water. These dacites have tended to be hotter and more mafic, and andesitic and basaltic magmas have erupted. These changes can be explained by variable amounts of mixing between felsic dacite and basalt, to produce hotter, drier and more mafic dacites and andesites. The magma storage region of the dacitic magmas has also varied significantly during the 4000 years, with shifts to shallower levels in the crust occurring within very short time periods, possibly even two years. These shifts may be related to fracturing of overlying roof rock as a result of magma with-drawal during larger volume eruptions.     

Eruptive history of Mount Mazama and Crater Lake Caldera, Cascade Range, U.S.A.

New investigations of the geology of Crater Lake National Park necessitate a reinterpretation of the eruptive history of Mount Mazama and of the formation of Crater Lake caldera. Mount Mazama consisted of a glaciated complex of overlapping shields and stratovolcanoes, each of which was probably active for a comparatively short interval. All the Mazama magmas apparently evolved within thermally and compositionally zoned crustal magma reservoirs, which reached their maximum volume and degree of differentiation in the climactic magma chamber 7000 yr B.P.The history displayed in the caldera walls begins with construction of the andesitic Phantom Cone 400,000 yr B.P. Subsequently, at least 6 major centers erupted combinations of mafic andesite, andesite, or dacite before initiation of the Wisconsin Glaciation 75,000 yr B.P. Eruption of andesitic and dacitic lavas from 5 or more discrete centers, as well as an episode of dacitic pyroclastic activity, occurred until 50,000 yr B.P.; by that time, intermediate lava had been erupted at several short-lived vents. Concurrently, and probably during much of the Pleistocene, basaltic to mafic andesitic monogenetic vents built cinder cones and erupted local lava flows low on the flanks of Mount Mazama. Basaltic magma from one of these vents, Forgotten Crater, intercepted the margin of the zoned intermediate to silicic magmatic system and caused eruption of commingled andesitic and dacitic lava along a radial trend sometime between 22,000 and 30,000 yr B.P. Dacitic deposits between 22,000 and 50,000 yr old appear to record emplacement of domes high on the south slope. A line of silicic domes that may be between 22,000 and 30,000 yr old, northeast of and radial to the caldera, and a single dome on the north wall were probably fed by the same developing magma chamber as the dacitic lavas of the Forgotten Crater complex. The dacitic Palisade flow on the northeast wall is 25,000 yr old. These relatively silicic lavas commonly contain traces of hornblende and record early stages in the development of the climatic magma chamber.Some 15,000 to 40,000 yr were apparently needed for development of the climactic magma chamber, which had begun to leak rhyodacitic magma by 7015 ± 45 yr B.P. Four rhyodacitic lava flows and associated tephras were emplaced from an arcuate array of vents north of the summit of Mount Mazama, during a period of 200 yr before the climactic eruption. The climactic eruption began 6845 ± 50 yr B.P. with voluminous airfall deposition from a high column, perhaps because ejection of 4−12 km³ of magma to form the lava flows and tephras depressurized the top of the system to the point where vesiculation at depth could sustain a Plinian column. Ejecta of this phase issued from a single vent north of the main Mazama edifice but within the area in which the caldera later formed. The Wineglass Welded Tuff of Williams (1942) is the proximal featheredge of thicker ash-flow deposits downslope to the north, northeast, and east of Mount Mazama and was deposited during the single-vent phase, after collapse of the high column, by ash flows that followed topographic depressions. Approximately 30 km³ of rhyodacitic magma were expelled before collapse of the roof of the magma chamber and inception of caldera formation ended the single-vent phase. Ash flows of the ensuing ring-vent phase erupted from multiple vents as the caldera collapsed. These ash flows surmounted virtually all topographic barriers, caused significant erosion, and produced voluminous deposits zoned from rhyodacite to mafic andesite. The entire climactic eruption and caldera formation were over before the youngest rhyodacitic lava flow had cooled completely, because all the climactic deposits are cut by fumaroles that originated within the underlying lava, and part of the flow oozed down the caldera wall.A total of 51−59 km³ of magma was ejected in the precursory and climactic eruptions, and 40−52 km³ of Mount Mazama was lost by caldera formation. The spectacular compositional zonation shown by the climactic ejecta — rhyodacite followed by subordinate andesite and mafic andesite — reflects partial emptying of a zoned system, halted when the crystal-rich magma became too viscous for explosive fragmentation. This zonation was probably brought about by convective separation of low-density, evolved magma from underlying mafic magma. Confinement of postclimactic eruptive activity to the caldera attests to continuing existence of the Mazama magmatic system.     

Changes in magma composition at Arenal volcano,Costa Rica, 1968–1985: Real-time monitoring of open-system differentiation

Arenal volcano in Costa Rica has been erupting nearly continuously, but at a diminishing rate, since 1968, producing approximately 0.35 km³ of lavas and tephras that have shown consistent variations in chemistry and mineralogy. From the beginning of the eruption in July 1968 to early 1970 (stage 1, vol.=0.12 km³) tephras and lavas became richer in Ca, Mg, Ni, Cr, Fe, Ti, V, and Sc and poorer in Al₂O₃ and SiO₂. Concentrations of incompatible trace elements (including Sr) decreased by 5%–20%. Phenocryst contents increased 20–50 vol%. During stage 2 (1970–1973, vol. = 0.13 km³) concentrations of compatible trace elements rose, and concentrations of incompatible trace elements either remained constant or also rose. Al₂O₃ contents decreased by 1 wt%. Phenocryst content increased slightly, principally due to increased orthopyroxene. During stage 3 (mid-1974 to the present, vol.= 0.10 km³) concentrations of SiO₂ increased by 1 wt%, compatible trace elements decreased slightly, and incompatible trace element concentrations increased by 5% to 10%. Although crystals increased in size during stage 3, their overall abundance stayed roughly constant.Our modeling suggests that early stage-1 magmas were produced by boundary layer fractionation under high-p H₂O conditions of an unseen basaltic andesitic magma that intruded into the Arenal system after approximately 500 B.P. Changes in composition during stage 2 resulted from mixing of this more mafic original magma with new magma that had a similar SiO₂ content, but higher compatible and incompatible element concentrations. The changes during stage 3 resulted from continued influx of the same magma plus crystal removal.We conclude that the eruption proceeded in the following way. Before 1968 zoned stage-1 magma resided in the deep crust below Arenal. A new magma intruded into this chamber in July 1968 causing ejection of the stage-1 magmas. The intruding magma mixed with mafic portions of the original chamber producing the mixed lavas of stage 2. Continued mixing plus crystal fractionation along the chamber and conduit walls produced stage-3 lavas. The time scales of crustal level magmatic processes at Arenal range 10⁰–10³ years, which are 3–6 orders of magnitude shorter than those of larger, more silicic systems.     

Intracrustal origin of Arenal basaltic andesite in the light of solid–melt interactions and related compositional buffering

The origin of Arenal basaltic andesite can be explained in terms of fractional crystallization of a parental high-alumina basalt (HAB), which assimilates crustal rocks during its storage, ascent and evolution. Contamination of this melt by Tertiary calc-alkalic intrusives (quartz–diorite and granite, with ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios ranging 0.70381–0.70397, nearly identical with those of the Arenal lavas) occurs at upper crustal levels, following the interaction of ascending basaltic magma masses with gabbroic–anorthositic layers. Fragments of these layers are found as inclusions within Arenal lavas and tephra and may show reaction rims (1–5 mm thick, consisting of augite, hypersthene, bytownitic–anorthitic plagioclase, and granular titanomagnetite) at the gabbro–lava interface. These reaction rims indicate that complete `assimilation' was prevented since the temperature of the host basaltic magma was not high enough to melt the gabbroic materials (whose mineral phases are nearly identical to the early formed liquidus phases in the differentiating HAB). Olivine gabbros crystallized at pressure of about 5–6 kbar and equilibrated with the parental HAB at pressures of 3–6 kbar (both under anhydrous and hydrous conditions), and temperatures ranging 1000–1100°C. In particular, `deeper' interactions between the mafic inclusions and the hydrous basaltic melt (i.e., with about 3.5 wt.% H₂O) are likely to occur at 5.4 (±0.4) kbar and temperatures approaching 1100°C. The olivine gabbros are thus interpreted as cumulates which represent crystallized portions of earlier Arenal-type basalts. Some of the gabbros have been `mildly' tectonized and recrystallized to give mafic granulites that may exhibit a distinct foliation. Below Arenal volcano a zoned magma chamber evolved prior the last eruptive cycle: three distinct andesitic magma layers were produced by simple AFC of a high-alumina basalt (HAB) with assimilation of Tertiary quartz–dioritic and granitic rocks. Early erupted 1968 tephra and 1969 lavas (which represent the first two layers of the upper part of a zoned magma chamber) were produced by simple AFC, with fractionation of plagioclase, pyroxene and magnetite and concomitant assimilation of quartz–dioritic rocks. Assimilation rates were constant (r<sub>1</sub>=0.33) for a relative mass of magma remaining of 0.77–0.80, respectively. Lavas erupted around 1974 are less differentiated and represent the `primitive andesitic magma type' residing within the middle–lower part of the chamber. These lavas were also produced by simple AFC: assimilation rates and the relative mass of magma remaining increased of about 10%, respectively (r₁=0.36, and F=0.89). Ba enrichment of the above lavas is related to selective assimilation of Ba from Tertiary granitic rocks. Lava eruption occurred as a dynamic response to the intrusion of a new magma into the old reservoir. This process caused the instability of the zoned magma column inducing syneruptive mixing between portions of two contiguous magma layers (both within the column itself and at lower levels where the new basalt was intruded into the reservoir). Syneruptive mixing (mingling) within the middle–upper part of the chamber involved fractions of earlier gabbroic cumulitic materials (lavas erupted around 1970). On the contrary, within the lower part of the chamber, mixing between the intruded HAB and the residing andesitic melt was followed by simple fractional crystallization (FC) of the hybrid magma layer (lavas erupted in 1978–1980). By that time the original magma chamber was completely evacuated. Lavas erupted in 1982/1984 were thus modelled by means of `open system' AFCRE (i.e., AFC with continuous recharge of a fractionating magma batch during eruption): in this case assimilation rates were r₁=0.33 and F=0.86. Recharge rates are slightly higher than extrusion rates and may reflect differences in density (between extruded and injected magmas), together with dynamic fluctuations of these parameters during eruption. Ba and LREE (La, Ce) enrichments of these lavas can be related to selective assimilation of Tertiary granitic and quartz–dioritic rocks. Calculated contents for Zr, Y and other REE are in acceptable agreement with the observed values. It is concluded that simple AFC occurs between two distinct eruption cycles and is typical of a period of repose or mild and decreasing volcanic activity. On the contrary, magma mixing, eventually followed by fractional crystallization (FC) of the hybrid magma layer, occurs during an ongoing eruption. Open-system AFCRE is only operative when the original magma chamber has been totally replenished by the new basaltic magma, and seems a prelude to the progressive ceasing of a major eruptive cycle.     

Phenocryst crystallization during ascent of alkali basalt magma at Rishiri Volcano, northern Japan

Phenocrysts in volcanic rocks are commonly used to deduce crystallization processes in magma chambers. A fundamental assumption is that the phenocrysts crystallized in the magma chambers at isobaric and nearly equilibrium conditions, on the basis of their large sizes. However, this assumption is not always true as demonstrated here for a porphyritic alkali basalt (Kutsugata lava) from Rishiri Volcano, northern Japan. All phenocryst phases in the Kutsugata lava, plagioclase, olivine, and augite, have macroscopically homogeneous distribution of textures showing features characteristic of rapid growth throughout the crystals. Rarely, a core region with distinct composition is present in all phenocryst phases. Phenocrysts, excluding this core, are occasionally in direct contact with each other, forming crystal aggregates. The equilibrium liquidus temperature of plagioclase, the dominant phase (35 vol%) in the Kutsugata lava, can never exceed the estimated magmatic temperature, unless the liquidus temperature increases significantly due to vesiculation of the magma during ascent. This suggests that most phenocrysts in the Kutsugata lava were formed by decompression of the magma during ascent in a conduit, rather than by cooling during residence in a magma reservoir. In the magma chamber before eruption, probably located at depth of more than 7 km, only cores of the phenocrysts were present and the magma was nearly aphyric (<5 vol% crystals), though the observed rock is highly porphyritic with up to 40 vol% crystals. The Kutsugata magma is inferred to have been rich in dissolved H₂O (>4 wt.%) in the magma chamber, and liquidus temperatures of phenocryst phases were significantly suppressed. Large undercooling caused by decompression and degassing of the magma was the driving force for significant crystallization during ascent because of the increase in liquidus temperature due to vapor exsolution. Low ascent rate of the Kutsugata magma, which is suggested by pahoehoe lava morphology and no association of pyroclastics, gave sufficient time for crystallization. Furthermore, the large degree of superheating of plagioclase in the magma chamber caused plagioclase crystallization with low population density and large crystal size, which characterizes the porphyritic nature of the Kutsugata lava. Alkali basalt is likely to satisfy these conditions and similar phenomena are suggested to occur in other volcanic systems.     

Petrology and Fe–Ti oxide reequilibration of the 1991 Mount Unzen mixed magma

A dacitic magma (64.5 wt.% SiO₂), a mixture of phenocryst-rich rhyodacite and an aphyric mafic magma, was erupted during the recent 1991–1995 Mount Unzen eruptive cycle. The experimental and analytical results of this study reveal additional details about conditions in the premixing and postmixing magmas, and the nature of the mixing process. The preeruption rhyodacitic magma was at a temperature of 790±20°C according to Fe–Ti oxide phenocryst cores, and at a depth of 6 to 7 km (160 MPa) according to Al-in-hornblende geobarometry. The mafic magma that mixed with the rhyodacite is found as andesitic (54 to 62 wt.% SiO₂) enclaves in the erupted magma and was essentially aphyric when intruded. Phase equilibria indicate that an aphyric andesite at 160 MPa is >1030°C (H₂O-saturated) and possibly as high as 1130°C (2 wt.% H₂O). The composition of the rhyodacite which was mixed with the andesite is estimated to lie between 67 and 69 wt.% SiO₂. Using these compositions and temperatures, the temperature of the Unzen magma after mixing is estimated to be at least 850° to 870°C. The groundmass Fe–Ti oxide microphenocrysts and those in pargasite-bearing reaction zones around biotite phenocrysts both give 890±20°C temperatures; the oxide–oxide contacts give temperatures of 910±20°C. The 900±30°C postmixing temperatures are consistent with phase-equilibria experiments which show that the magma was not above 930°C at 160 MPa. Our Fe–Ti oxide reequilibration experiments suggest that the mixing of the two magmas began within a few weeks of the eruption, which is a shorter time than is calculated using available diffusion data. There is also evidence that some mixing took place much closer to the time of extrusion based on the presence of unrimmed biotite phenocrysts in the magma.