The geochemistry of volatile species in melt inclusions and sulfide minerals from Izu-Oshima volcano, Japan

Olivine-hosted melt inclusions in the O95 pyroclastic layer of Izu-Oshima volcano, Japan are basaltic to basaltic-andesitic in composition. The negative correlation between SiO₂ and H₂O in melt inclusions and reverse compositional zoning observed in olivine and other mineral phenocrysts is inferred to arise from mixing between a highly evolved and a less evolved magma. The latter is characterized by the highest S (0.15 wt.%) and H₂O (3.4 wt.%) concentrations among those described in reports of previous studies. The S⁶⁺/S_total ratios in melt inclusions were 0.64?–?0.73, suggesting a relatively high oxidation state (NNO + 0.87 at 1150°C). The presence of pyrrhotites, which are found only in titanomagnetite microlites, suggests that sulfide saturation occurred during microlite growth under at a sulfur fugacity (log fS₂) value of around + 0.5 for T = 1060°C. The groundmass glass compositions are more evolved (andesitic composition) than any melt inclusions containing high amounts of Cl (0.13 wt.%) but negligible H₂O (0.20 wt.%) and S (< 70 ppm), suggesting that Cl was retained in the magma, in contrast to S and H₂O, which degassed strongly during magma effusion.     

Composition and evolution of the melts erupted in 1996 at Karymskoe Lake, Eastern Kamchatka: Evidence from inclusions in minerals

The powerful eruption in the Akademii Nauk caldera on January 2, 1996, marked a new activity phase of Karymsky volcano and became a noticeable event in the history of modern volcanism in Kamchatka. The paper reports data obtained by studying more than 200 glassy melt inclusions in phenocrysts of olivine (Fo _82-72), plagioclase (An _92-73), and clinopyroxene (Mg#_83-70) in basalts of the 1996 eruption. The data were utilized to estimate the composition of the parental melt and the physicochemical parameters of the magma evolution. According to our data, the parental melt corresponded to low magnesian, highly aluminous basalt (SiO₂ = 50.2 wt %, MgO = 5.6 wt %, Al₂O₃ = 17 wt %) of the mildly potassic type (K₂O = 0.56 wt %) and contained much dissolved volatile components (H₂O = 2.8 wt %, S = 0.17 wt %, and Cl = 0.11 wt %). Melt inclusions in the minerals are similar in chemical composition, a fact testifying that the minerals crystallized simultaneously with one another. Their crystallization started at a pressure of approximately 1.5 kbar, proceeded within a narrow temperature range of 1040 ± 20°C, and continued until a near-surface pressure of approximately 100 bar was reached. The degree of crystallization of the parental melt during its eruption was close to 55%. Massive crystallization was triggered by H₂O degassing under a pressure of less than 1 kbar. Magma degassing in an open system resulted in the escape of 82% H₂O, 93% S, and 24% Cl (of their initial contents in the parental melt) to the fluid phase. The release of volatile compounds to the atmosphere during the eruption that lasted for 18 h was estimated at 1.7 × 10⁶ t H₂O, 1.4 × 10⁵ t S, and 1.5 × 10⁴ t Cl. The concentrations of most incompatible trace elements in the melt inclusions are close to those in the rocks and to the expected fractional differentiation trend. Melt inclusions in the plagioclase were found to be selectively enriched in Li. The Li-enriched plagioclase with melt inclusions thought to originate from cumulate layers in the feeding system beneath Karymsky volcano, in which plagioclase interacted with Li-rich melts/brines and was subsequently entrapped and entrained by the magma during the 1996 eruption.     

Volatiles contents, degassing and crystallisation of intermediate magmas at Volcan de Colima, Mexico, inferred from melt inclusions

In volatile-saturated magmas, degassing and crystallisation are interrelated processes which influence the eruption style. Melt inclusions provide critical information on volatile and melt evolution, but this information can be compromised significantly by post-entrapment modification of the inclusions. We assess the reliability and significance of pyroxene-hosted melt inclusion analyses to document the volatile contents (particularly H₂O) and evolution of intermediate arc magmas at Volcán de Colima, Mexico. The melt inclusions have maximal H₂O contents (≤4 wt%) consistent with petrological estimates and the constraint that the magmas crystallised outside the amphibole stability field, demonstrating that pyroxene-hosted melt inclusions can preserve H₂O contents close to their entrapment values even in effusive eruptions with low effusion rates (0.6 m³ s^?1). The absence of noticeable H₂O loss in some of the inclusions requires post-entrapment diffusion coefficients (≤1 × 10^?13 m² s^?1) at least several order of magnitude smaller than experimentally determined H⁺ diffusion coefficient in pyroxenes. The H₂O content distribution is, however, not uniform, and several peaks in the data, interpreted to result from diffusive H₂O reequilibration, are observed around 1 and 0.2 wt%. H₂O diffusive loss is also consistent with the manifest lack of correlations between H₂O and CO₂ or S contents. The absence of textural evidence supporting post-entrapment H₂O loss suggests that diffusion most likely occurred via melt channels prior to sealing of the inclusions, rather than through the host crystals. Good correlation between the melt inclusion sealing and volcano-tectonic seismic swarm depths further indicate that, taken as a whole, the melt inclusion population accurately records the pre-eruptive conditions of the magmatic system. Our data demonstrate that H₂O diffusive loss is a second-order process and that pyroxene-hosted melt inclusions can effectively record the volatile contents and decompression-induced crystallisation paths of vapour-saturated magmas.     

Xenoliths of dunites, wehrlites and clinopyroxenites in the basanites from Batoke volcanic cone (Mount Cameroon, Central Africa): petrogenetic implications

The lavas of the Mount Cameroon, a Plio-Quaternary stratovolcano and the most important volcano along the Cameroon Volcanic Line (CVL), constitute a weakly differentiated alkaline series: mainly comprising basanites as well as alkaline basalts, hawaiites and mugearites. Ultramafic xenoliths (1–5?×?0.5–4 cm) of dunites, wehrlites and clinopyroxenites have been discovered in the basanites of a strombolian cone, located near Batoke on the South flank of the massif at an elevation of 500 m. K-Ar whole rock dating of the basanitic host rock has yielded an age of 0.73?±?0.08 Ma. This result falls within the range of the seven new K-Ar age determinations of mafic lavas, between 2.83 Ma and the Present. These are the first K-Ar data on this massif. The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of basic lavas are low (0.703198–0.703344), and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd ratios are intermediate (0.512851–0.512773). These ratios are typical of a mantle origin. The main characteristics of the xenoliths are: (a) total FeO contents are 15.1 to 19.1 wt.% in olivines (chrysolite, Mg# ranging from 79 to 84) of xenoliths, and 4.7 to 6.9 wt.% in diopsides of xenoliths, (b) diopsides of the clinopyroxenites have up to 7.2 wt.% Al₂O₃ and 2.3 wt.% TiO₂, (c) spinels occur as interstitial grains between chrysolite and diopside grains, i.e. Cr₂O₃-rich magnetites (19 to 21 wt.% Cr₂O₃) in the dunites as well as (22 to 25 wt.% Cr₂O₃) in the wehrlites and titanomagnetites (14 to 15 wt.% TiO₂) in the clinopyroxenites. Mineralogical analyses show an important re-equilibration between the chrysolite xenocrysts and the host basanitic magma. We observed a decrease in Mg and Ni towards the rim, and an enrichment in all others cations like Fe, Mn, Ca, Si. The changes of Fe²⁺ / Mg²⁺ are the most important. The xenoliths are interpreted as cumulates: clinopyroxenite xenoliths have probably crystallized and fractionated at an early stage from the mafic (host basanitic) magma, while dunite and wehrlite xenoliths seem to have crystallized from a previous more primitive batch of magma. These alkaline liquids could have been derived from partial melting of a garnet- rich lherzolite in the upper mantle beneath the Cameroon Volcanic Line. The Al^IV/Al^VI ratios remain high (1.2 to 4.9) in the clinopyroxenes of the xenoliths. This suggests crystallization under a lower pressure than that of equilibration of the clinopyroxenes (ratios 0.6 to 0.8) found in typical mantle xenoliths from the CVL.     

Deep pre-eruptive storage of silicic magmas feeding Plinian and dome-forming eruptions of central and northern Dominica (Lesser Antilles) inferred from volatile contents of melt inclusions

Volatiles contribute to magma ascent through the sub-volcanic plumbing system. Here, we investigate melt inclusion compositions in terms of major and trace elements, as well as volatiles (H₂O, CO₂, SO₂, F, Cl, Br, S) for Quaternary Plinian and dome-forming dacite and andesite eruptions in the central and the northern part of Dominica (Lesser Antilles arc). Melt inclusions, hosted in orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene and plagioclase are consistently rhyolitic. Post-entrapment crystallisation effects are limited, and negligible in orthopyroxene-hosted inclusions. Melt inclusions are among the most water-rich yet recorded (≤?8 wt% H₂O). CO₂ contents are generally low (<?650 ppm), although in general the highest pressure melt inclusion contain the highest CO₂. Some low-pressure (<?3 kbars) inclusions have elevated CO₂ (up to 1100–1150 ppm), suggestive of fluxing of shallow magmas with CO₂-rich fluids. CO₂-trace element systematics indicate that melts were volatile-saturated at the time of entrapment and can be used for volatile-saturation barometry. The calculated pressure range (0.8–7.5 kbars) indicates that magmas originate from a vertically-extensive (3–27 km depth) storage zone within the crust that may extend to the sub-Dominica Moho (28 km). The vertically-extensive crustal system is consistent with mush models for sub-volcanic arc crust wherein mantle-derived mafic magmas undergo differentiation over a range of crustal depths. The other volatile range of composition for melt inclusions from the central part is F (75–557 ppm), Cl (1525–3137 ppm), Br (6.1–15.4 ppm) and SO₂ (<?140 ppm), and for the northern part it’s F (92–798 ppm), Cl (1506–4428 ppm), Br (not determined) and SO₂ (<?569; one value at 1015 ppm). All MIs, regardless of provenance, describe the same Cl/F correlation (8.3?±?2.7), indicating that the magma source at depth is similar. The high H₂O content of Dominica magmas has implications for hazard assessment.     

A new metallogenic model of the Panzhihua giant V–Ti–iron oxide deposit (Emeishan Large Igneous Province) based on high-Mg olivine-bearing wehrlite and new field evidence

The Panzhihua layered intrusion hosts a giant V–Ti–iron oxide deposit with ore reserves estimated at 1333 Mt. Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA–ICP–MS) U–Pb zircon dating of comagmatic anorthosite yields a crystallization age of 259.77 ± 0.79 million years, coeval with the Emeishan flood basalts. Recently, we identified a small wehrlite dike in microgabbroic rocks and marbles. The wehrlite consists of high-Mg olivine phenocrysts with up to 90.44 wt.% Fo. Incompatible element-normalized patterns between bulk wehrlite and clinopyroxenes in gabbro suggest that they are cogenetic. The Panzhihua parental magma is estimated to have been picritic (～10 wt.% FeO and ～16 wt.% MgO), produced by partial fusion of garnet peridotite. Much of the melting occurred in garnet-facies mantle at an initial melting temperature of about 1530°C and pressure of ～3.4 GPa, suggesting involvement of a mantle plume. The degree of partial melting was rather modest and could have been generated by plume–lithosphere interaction or ascending plume-derived melting contaminated by lithospheric mantle. Field relationships show sharp contacts between the massive ores and gabbro, between wehrlite and fine-grained gabbro, and between disseminated ores and gabbro. Considering the entire intrusion, which is locally cut by dikes or veins of anorthosite, together with the occurrence of a breccia made up of gabbro clasts cemented by disseminated ores, we suggest that different types of magmas were generated by liquid differentiation in a deeper-level chamber. This differentiation could have resulted from double-diffusive convection cells, with melt later intruding into a higher-level chamber, rather than by crystal settling or in situ growth on the floor of the intrusion. However, rhythmic layering produced by in situ crystallization only occurs in the middle of the Panzhihua intrusion and was caused by periodic fluctuation in water pressure.     

Compositions of magmatic melts and evolution of mineral-forming fluids in the banska Stiavnica epithermal Au-Ag-Pb-Zn deposit, Slovakia: A study of inclusions in minerals

Melt and fluid inclusions were investigated in minerals from igneous rocks and ore (Au-Ag-Pb-Zn) veins of the Stiavnica ore field in Central Slovakia. High H₂O (7.1–12.0 wt %) and Cl (0.32–0.46 wt %) contents were found in silicate melt inclusions (65–69 wt % SiO₂ and 5.2–5.6 wt % K₂O) in plagioclase phenocrysts (An 68–36) from biotite-homblende andesites of the eastern part of the caldera. Similar high water contents are characteristic of magmatic melts (71–76 wt % SiO₂ and 3.7–5.1 wt % K₂O) forming the sanidine rhyolites of the Vyhne extrusive dome in the northwestern part of the Stiavnica caldera (up to 7.1 wt %) and the rhyolites of the Klotilda dike in the eastern part of the ore field (up to 11.5 wt %). The examination of primary inclusions in quartz and sanidine from the Vyhne rhyolites revealed high concentrations of N₂ and CO₂ in magmatic fluid (8.6 g/kg H₂O and 59 g/kg H₂O, respectively). Fluid pressure was estimated as 5.0 kbar on the basis of primary CO₂ fluid inclusions in plagioclase phenocrysts from the Kalvari basanites. This value corresponds to a depth of 18 km and may be indicative of a deep CO₂ source. Quartz from the granodiorites of the central part of the Stiavnica-Hodrusa complex crystallized from a melt with 4.2–6.1 wt % H₂O and 0.24–0.80 wt % Cl. Magmatic fluid cogenetic with this silicate melt was represented by a chloride brine with a salinity of no less than 77–80 wt % NaCl equiv. Secondary inclusions in quartz of the igneous rocks recorded a continuous trend of temperature, pressure, and solution salinity, from the parameters of magmatic fluids to the conditions of formation of ore veins. The gold mineralization of the Svyatozar vein system was formed from boiling low-salinity fluids (0.3–8.0 wt % NaCl equv.) at temperatures of 365–160°C and pressures of 160–60 bar. The Terezia, Bieber, Viliam, Spitaler, and Rozalia epithermal gold-silver-base metal veins were also formed from heterogeneous low-salinity fluids (0.3–12.1 wt %) at temperatures of 380–58°C and pressures of 240–10 bar. It was found that the salt components of the solutions were dominated by chlorides (high content of fluorine, up to 0.45 mol/kg H₂O, was also detected), and sulfate solutions appeared in the upper levels. The dissolved gas of ore-forming solutions was dominated by CO₂ (0.1–8.4 mol %, averaging 1.3 wt %) and contained minor nitrogen (0.00–0.85 mol %, averaging 0.05 mol %) and negligible methane admixtures (0.00–0.05 mol %, averaging 0.004 mol %). These data allowed us to conclude that the magmatic melts could be sources of H₂O, Cl, CO₂, and N₂. The formation of the epithermal mineralization of the Stiavnica ore field was associated with the mixing of magmatic fluid with low-concentration meteoric waters, and the fluid was in a heterogeneous state.     

Immiscibilty between silicate magma and aqueous fluids in Egyptian rare-metal granites: melt and fluid inclusions study

Rare-metal granites of Nuweibi and Abu Dabbab, central Eastern Desert of Egypt, have mineralogical and geochemical specialization. These granites are acidic, slightly peraluminous to metaaluminous, Li–F–Na-rich, and Sn–Nb–Ta-mineralized. Snowball textures, homogenous distribution of rock-forming accessory minerals, disseminated mineralization, and melt inclusions in quartz phenocrysts are typical features indicative of their petrographic specialization. Geochemical characterizations are consistent with low-P-rare metal granite derived from highly evolved I-type magma in the late stage of crystallization. Melt and fluid inclusions were studied in granites, mineralized veins, and greisen. The study revealed that at least two stages of liquid immiscibility played an important role in the evolution of magma–hydrothermal transition as well as mineral deposition. The early stage is melt/fluid case. This stage is represented by the coexistence of type-B melt and aqueous-CO₂ inclusions in association with topaz, columbite–tantalite, as well as cassiterite mineral inclusions. This stage seems to have taken place at the late magmatic stage at temperatures between 450 °C and 550 °C. The late magmatic to early hydrothermal stage is represented by vapor-rich H₂O and CO₂ inclusions, sometimes with small crystallized silicic melt in greisen and the outer margins of the mineralized veins. These inclusions are associated with beryl, topaz, and cassiterite mineralization and probably trapped at 400 °C. The last stage of immiscibility is fluid–fluid and represented by the coexisting H₂O-rich and CO₂-rich inclusions. Cassiterite, wolframite ± chalcopyrite, and fluorite are the main mineral assemblage in this stage. The trapping temperature was estimated between 200 °C and 350 °C. The latest phase of fluid is low-saline, low-temperature (100–180 °C), and liquid-rich aqueous fluid.     

Diabasic intrusion and lavas,segregation veins,and magma differentiation at Kahoolawe volcano,Hawaii

A mafic sill-like intrusion, ~5?×?30 m, exposed along the eastern shoreline of Kahoolawe Island, Hawaii, represents tholeiitic magma emplaced as diabase among caldera-filling lavas. It differentiated from ~7.8 wt.% MgO to yield low-MgO (2.9 wt.%) vesicular segregation veins. We examined the intrusion for whole-rock and mineral compositions for comparison to Kahoolawe caldera-fill lavas (some also diabasic), to the Uwekahuna laccolith (Kilauea), and to gabbros, diabases, and segregations and oozes of other tholeiitic shield volcanoes (e.g., Mauna Loa and Kilauea lava lakes). We also evaluate this extreme differentiation in terms of MELTS modeling, using parameters appropriate for Hawaiian crystallization environments. Kahoolawe intrusion diabase samples have major and trace element abundances and plagioclase, pyroxene, and olivine compositions in agreement with those in gabbros and diabases of other volcanoes. However, the intrusion samples are at the low-MgO end of the large MgO range formed by the collective comparative samples, as many of those have between 8 and 20 wt.% MgO. The intrusion’s segregation vein has SiO₂ 53.4 wt.%, TiO₂ 3.2 wt.%, FeO 13.5 wt.%, Zr 350 ppm, and La 16 ppm. It plots in compositional fields formed by other Hawaiian segregations and oozes that have MgO <5 wt.%—fields that show large variances, such as factor of ~2 differences for incompatible element abundances accompanying SiO₂ from ~49 to 59 wt.%. Our MELTS modeling assesses the Kahoolawe intrusion as differentiating from ~8 wt.% MgO parent magma beginning along oxygen buffers equivalent to FMQ and FMQ-2, having magmatic H₂O of 0.15 and 0.7 wt.% (plus traces of CO₂ and S), and under 100 and 500 bars pressure. Within these parameters, MELTS calculates that <3 wt.% MgO occurs at ~1,086 to 1,060 °C after ~48 to 63 % crystallization, whereby the lesser crystallization percentages and lower temperatures equate to higher magmatic H₂O, leading to high SiO₂, ~56–58 wt.%. To contrast, greater crystallization is calculated for lower H₂O, for which it achieves less SiO₂, <55 wt.%. While MELTS reliably predicts SiO₂ approaching 58 wt.% for differentiation beyond <4 wt.% MgO, and shows that Kahoolawe intrusion’s segregations and those of Kilauea and Mauna Loa are all reasonably accommodated by the modeled parameters and SiO₂ differentiation curves, MELTS fails where it predicts that Fe enrichment is more robust under FMQ than FMQ-2 buffers. That failure not withstanding, MELTS differentiation from liquidus temperatures ~1,205–1,185 °C (depending on the various parameters) gradually increases fO₂ (up to ~0.4 log units, as normalized to FMQ) until magnetite crystallizes at ~1,090–1,085 °C, which reduces absolute fO₂ ~1 to 1.5 log units. The modeled Kahoolawe intrusion, then, exemplifies how tholeiitic magma differentiation can produce extreme SiO₂ and incompatible element compositions, and how Hawaiian segregations from shallow intrusions and lava lakes can be generally modeled under compositional and physical parameters appropriate for Hawaiian tholeiitic magmatism.     

Hydrogen content in clinopyroxene phenocrysts from Salina mafic lavas (Aeolian arc,Italy)

Clinopyroxene phenocrysts from the mafic calc-alkaline lavas of Salina (Aeolian arc, southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy) have been analysed to determine the hydrogen content and iron oxidation state of this early crystallized phase. The volcanic activity of Salina, starting at 168 ka and developed in several centres up to 24 ka, was dominated by calc-alkaline and high-K calc-alkaline basalts and andesites, with minor dacites and rhyolites. The presence of OH vibrational bands was detected in the IR spectra of clinopyroxenes phenocrysts from Corvo, Rivi-Capo (168–87 ka), Fossa delle Felci (108–59 ka) and Monte dei Porri (57 ka) eruptions. Corvo-Rivi-Capo basalts have clinopyroxenes with the lowest water contents 75–97 ppm H₂O by weight, whereas an increase in the hydrogen contents of clinopyroxenes from Fossa delle Felci centre, with 171–286 ppm H₂O by weight, and Monte dei Porri with 343–390 ppm H₂O by weight, was observed. Mössbauer spectroscopy showed only a limited variation on the Fe³⁺/Fe_tot ratio of the studied samples, and a very similar atomic Fe³⁺ content (0.042–0.047 a.p.f.u.) suggesting that only minor variation on fO₂ occurred during the crystallization of these clinopyroxenes. The water content of parental melts, calculated by applying an ^IVAl-dependent partition coefficient to the measured hydrogen contents of clinopyroxenes, is 0.4–0.8 wt% of water in melt for the Rivi-Capo-Corvo basalts, 0.5–3.7 wt% water in melt for Fossa delle Felci lavas and 1.6–2.6 wt% of water in melt for Monte dei Porri lavas. An increase in the maximum hydrogen contents of clinopyroxenes can be recognized during the evolution of the Salina volcano, with the highest hydrogen content measured in clinopyroxenes from Monte dei Porri where the eruptions were characterized by a high degree of explosivity, suggesting a key role of volatiles.     

Silicate-iron fluid media in rhyolitic magma: Data on rhyolites from the Nilginskaya depression,Central Mongolia

Relicts of silicate-iron fluid media were found in the Early Cretaceous rhyolites of the Nilginskaya depression, Central Mongolia. They are localized in matrix cavities and in the inclusions in quartz and sanidine phenocrysts. The mineral composition of rhyolites and aggregates of silicate-iron phases has been studied. Calculations showed that crystallization of ilmenite and magnetite in a matrix occurred within a temperature range of 593–700°C and oxygen fugacity $\Delta \log f_{O_2 }$ NNO from ?2.29 to 1.68. The average compositions of the rhyolites and residual glasses in melt inclusions (MI) have A/CNK index of 1.03–1.05. The compositions of MI glasses define a trend from agpaitic to plumasitic types (A/NK and A/CNK change from 0.8–0.9 to 1.1–1.2). According to calculations, the rhyolitic melt was solidified at 640–750°C. Based on cathodoluminescent study, inclusions with silicate-iron phases are observed separately or together with MI in the early and intermediate growth zones of quartz and sanidine crystals. Aggregates found in the inclusions are represented by loose matter consisting of silica with small admixture of Al, Na, K, and Cl; silicate-iron aggregates with wide variations of Fe and Si; essentially Fe-rich micaceous and mica-silicate-iron aggregates. They usually have variable composition (wt %): 30–60 SiO₂, 10–25 Al₂O₃, 10–30 FeO, up to 3 TiO₂, 1.5–4 MgO, up to 3 CaO, up to 3 Na₂O, up to 3 K₂O, and up to 4 P₂O₅. They presumably contain up to 10–15 wt % H₂O. Some inclusions comprise large segregations of siderophyllite enriched in F (3–10 wt %) and Cl (0.1–3.3 wt %). Evolution of the rhyolitic melt from magmatic chamber to its vitrification after ejection led to the decrease of F content. The highest F content (1–1.8 wt %) is typical of MI glasses, while the lowest content (0.05–0.1 wt %) was found in the glassy matrix and rhyolitic samples. The melt degassing was accompanied by the release of F-rich fluid containing up to 1.3 wt % F (based on partition coefficient ^fluid/meltD_F) or 0.2–0.8 mol/dm³ HF (based on composition of micas from matrix and inclusions). Segregations of silicate-iron media existed in the rhyolitic magma. During formation of rhyolitic pile, these media were in a liquid state. The silicate-iron fluid media captured in MI could not be true fluids or silicate melts. They were likely formed during fluid-magmatic interaction and transformation of fluid phases of different density (vapor and liquid true solutions) that existed in a F-rich melt. The high concentrations of F and Cl and elevated alkalinity of fluids contribute their enrichment in silica and other elements, which could lead to the formation of hydrosilicate liquids. It is suggested that such liquids (gels) in dispersed (colloidal) state extracted F and many trace elements (P, Ti, Mg, Ca, REE, As, Nb, Th, and V) from surrounding rhyolitic magma.     

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.     

Chemical composition and crystallization conditions of trachybasalts from the Dzhida field, Southern Baikal volcanic area: Evidence from melt and fluid inclusions

Melt and fluid inclusions have been studied in olivine phenocrysts (Fo 81–79) from trachybasalts of the Southern Baikal volcanic area, Dzhida field. The melt inclusions were homogenized, quenched, and analyzed on an electron and ion microprobe. The study of homogenized glasses of nine inclusions showed that basaltic melts (SiO₂ = 47.1–50.3 wt %, MgO = 5.0–7.7 wt %, CaO = 7.1–11.1 wt %) have high contents of Al₂O₃ (17.1–19.6 wt %), Na₂O (4.1–6.2 wt %), K₂O (2.2–3.3 wt %), and P₂O₅ (0.6–1.1 wt %). The volatile contents are low (in wt %): 0.24–0.31 H₂O, 0.08 F, 0.03 Cl, and 0.02 S. Primary fluid inclusions in olivines from four trachybasalt samples contain high-density CO₂ (0.73–0.87 g/cm³), indicating a CO₂ fluid pressure of 4.3–6.6 kbar at 1200–1300°C and olivine crystallization depths of 16–24 km. Ion microprobe analyses of 20 glasses from melt inclusions for trace elements showed that the magmas of the Baikal rift were enriched in incompatible elements, thus differing from oceanic rift basalts and resembling oceanic island basalts. A comparison of our data on melt and fluid inclusions in olivine from trachybasalts of the Dzhida field with preexisting data on the Eastern Tuva volcanic highland in the Southern Baikal volcanic area showed that they had similar contents of volatiles, major, and trace elements.     

Fluid inclusions in quartz from deep-seated granitic intrusions,south Norway

H₂O, CO₂, and H₂OCO₂ inclusions were observed in quatz from deep-seated granitic intrusions belonging to the Precambrian Farsund plutonic complex, south Norway. These inclusions represent solidus and/or sub-solidus fluids that were present in these rocks at some period between the initial melt and the present. Early CO₂ and H₂OCO₂ inclusions with about 20 mole% CO₂ contain up to 10 mole% CH₄ in the CO₂ phase and have densities from 0.96 to 0.85 g/cc. These inclusions are considered to most nearly approximate solidus vapour phases and suggest conditions of final solidification of the magma at 5 to 6 Kb and 700°C to 800°C. The H₂O inclusions have salinities between 2 and 60 wt%; the majority contain 5 to 20 equivalent wt.% NaCl and have densities from 1.05 to 0.85 g/cc. Microthermometry indicates that other cations such as K⁺, Ca²⁺ and / or Mg²⁺ are present in these aqueous fluids. The H₂O inclusions primarily represent fluids present at a post-magmatic stage of fracturing and healing of these rocks during uplift.     

Chemical evolution of basalts from 23°N along the mid-Atlantic ridge: evidence from melt inclusions

The chemical compositions of melt inclusions in a primitive and an evolved basalt recovered from the mid-Atlantic ridge south of the Kane Fracture Zone (23°–24°N) are determined. The melt inclusions are primitive in composition (0.633–0.747 molar Mg/(Mg+Fe²⁺), 1.01–0.68 wt% TiO₂) and are comparable to other proposed parental magmas except in having higher Al₂O₃ and lower CaO. The primitive melt inclusion compositions indicate that the most primitive magmas erupted in this region are not near primary magma compositions. Olivine and plagioclase microphenocrysts are close to exchange equilibrium with their respective basalt glasses, whose compositions are displaced toward olivine from 1 atm three phase saturation. The most primitive melt inclusion compositions are close to exchange equilibrium with the anorthitic cores of zoned plagioclases (An_78.3-An_83.1; the hosts for the melt inclusions in plagioclase) and with olivines more forsteritic (Fo₈₉-Fo₉₁) than the olivine microphenocrysts (the hosts for the melt inclusions in olivine). Xenocrystic olivine analyzed is Fo₈₉ but contains no melt inclusions. These observations indicate that olivines have exchanged components with the melt after melt inclusion entrapment, whereas plagioclase compositions have remained the same since melt inclusion entrapment. Common denominator element ratio diagrams and oxide versus oxide variation diagrams show that the melt inclusion compositions, which represent liquids higher along the liquid line of descent, are related to the glass compositions by the fractionation of olivine, plagioclase and clinopyroxene (absent from the mincral assemblage), probably occurring at elevated pressures. A model is proposed whereby clinopyroxene segregates from the melt at elevated pressures (to account for its absence in the erupted lavas that have the chemical imprint of clinopyroxene fractionation). Zoned plagioclases in the erupted lavas are thought to be survivors of decompressional melting during magma ascent. Since similar primitive melt inclusions occur in olivine microphenocrysts and in the cores of zoned plagioclases, any model must account for all phases present.     

Volatiles H2O,CO2, and Cl in a subduction related basalt

The products of the 1974 eruption of Fuego, a subduction zone volcano in Guatemala, have been investigated through study of silicate melt inclusions in olivine. The melt inclusions sampled liquids in regions where olivine, plagioclase, magnetite, and augite were precipitating. Comparisons of the erupted ash, groundmass, and melt inclusion compositions suggest that the inclusions represent samples of liquids present in a thermal boundary layer of the magma body. The concentrations of H₂O and CO₂ in glass inclusions were determined by a vacuum fusion manometric technique using individual olivine crystals (Fo77 to Fo71) with glass inclusion compositions that ranged from high-alumina basalt to basaltic andesite. Water, Cl, and K₂O concentrations increased by a factor of two as the olivine crystals became more iron-rich (Fo77 to Fo71) and as the glass inclusions increased in SiO₂ from 51 to 54 wt.% SiO₂. The concentration of H₂O in the melt increased from 1.6 wt.% in the least differentiated liquid to about 3.5% in a more differentiated liquid. Carbon dioxide is about an order of magnitude less abundant than H₂O in these inclusions. The gas saturation pressures for pure H₂O in equilibrium with the melt inclusions, which were calculated from the glass inclusion compositions using the solubility model of Burnham (1979), are given approximately by P(H₂O)(Pa)=(SiO₂−48.5 wt.%) × 1.45 × 10⁷. The concentrations of water in the melt and the gas saturation pressures increased from about 1.5% to 3.5% and from 300 to 850 bars, respectively, during pre-eruption crystallization.     

Pyroxenites of the Krestovskaya alkaline-ultramafic intrusion: Composition of parental magmas and their sources

The main rock-forming minerals of pyroxenites in the Krestovskaya intrusion in the Maimecha-Kotui alkaline-ultramafic province are Al- and Ti-fassaite and low-Al high-Mg diopside. Both clinopyroxene varieties bear primary inclusions of alkaline-ultramafic melts enriched in incompatible elements, F (up to 0.3–0.4 wt %), and probably also CO₂. The homogenization temperatures of the inclusions are approximately equal and lie within the range of 1200–1300° C. However, the melts preserved in the diopside are undersaturated in Si and Al and richer in Fe, Ba, Sr, Na, and incompatible elements than melt inclusions in the fassaite; they are free in H₂O (no more than 0.003 wt %); and are close in composition to katungite-mafurite. Melt inclusions in the fassaite are richer in Si, Mg, and Al; contain up to 0.435 wt % H₂O; and compositionally approach alkaline picritoids. Melts of such composition cannot be produced by the differentiation of a single parental magma and were most probably derived from different mantle sources. Judging from the high concentrations of incompatible elements and their distribution in the melt inclusions, these sources were localized in the undepleted mantle at various depths (the picritoid melts were derived from a deeper source) and underwent different degrees of partial melting, with garnet and plagioclase remaining in the residue. The coexistence of diopside and fassaite in a single rock can be explained by the concurrent development of magmatic chambers at different depths during rifting, when this process was repeatedly reactivated and it facilitated the arrival of primitive melts derived from different mantle sources into the same magmatic chambers, in which these melts mixed and evolved. These processes probably predetermined the origin of the alkaline-ultramafic carbonatite intrusions and perhaps also the potassic series in the East African Rift.     

Meimechites, porphyritic alkaline picrites, and melanephelinites of Siberia: Conditions of crystallization, parental magmas, and sources

The investigation of rocks, minerals, and melt inclusions showed that porphyritic alkaline picrites and meimechites crystallized from different parental magmas. At a similar ultrabasic composition, the alkaline picrite melts were enriched in K₂O relative to Na₂O, and contained up to 0.12–0.13 wt % F and less Cr, Ni, and H₂O (only 0.01–0.16 wt % H₂O, versus 0.6–1.6 wt % in the meimechite melts) compared with the meimechite magmas. The crystallization of alkaline picrite melts occurred under stable conditions at relatively low temperatures without abrupt changes: olivine and clinopyroxene crystallized at 1340–1285 and 1230–1200°C, respectively, as compared with 1600–1450 and 1230–1200°C in the meimechites. The alkaline picrite melts evolved toward melanephelinite, nephelinite, tephrite, and trachydolerite; whereas the meimechite magmas gave rise to subalkaline picritic rocks. The partitioning of vanadium between olivine and melt suggests that the meimechite magma crystallized under more oxidizing conditions compared with the alkaline picrite melts: the K_DV values for the meimechite melts (0.011–0.016) were three times lower than those for the alkaline picrite melts (0.045–0.052). The parental magmas of the alkaline picrites and meimechites were enriched in trace elements relative to mantle levels by factors of tens to hundreds. The alkaline picrite magma showed lower LILE and LREE contents compared with the meimechite magma. The magmas had also different indicator ratios of incompatible elements, including those immobile in aqueous fluids. It was concluded that the meimechite and alkaline picrite melts were derived from different mantle sources. The former were generated at lower degrees of melting of an undepleted mantle source, and the meimechite melts were produced by high-degree melting of a probably lherzolite-harzburgite source.     

Experimental phase relations of a low MgO Aleutian basaltic andesite at XH2O = 0.7–1

We conducted melting experiments on a low MgO (3.29 wt.%) basaltic andesite (54.63 wt.% SiO₂) from Westdahl volcano, Alaska, at XH₂O = 0.7–1 and fO₂ ~ Ni–NiO, at pressures = 0.1–180 MPa and temperatures = 900–1,200 °C. We examine the evolution of the melt along a liquid line of descent during equilibrium crystallization at high H₂O and fO₂ conditions, starting from a high FeOt/MgO, low MgO basaltic andesite. Ti-magnetite formed on the liquidus regardless of XH₂O, followed by clinopyroxene, plagioclase, amphibole, and orthopyroxene. We observe slight but significant differences in the phase stability curves between the XH₂O = 1 and 0.7 experiments. Early crystallization of Ti-magnetite and suppression of plagioclase at higher pressures and temperatures resulted in strongly decreasing melt FeOt/MgO with increasing SiO₂, consistent with a “calc-alkaline” compositional trend, in agreement with prior phase equilibria studies on basalt at similar H₂O and fO₂. Our study helps quantify the impact of small amounts of CO₂ and high fO₂ on the evolution of melts formed during crystallization of a low MgO basaltic andesite magma stored at mid- to shallow crustal conditions. Like the prior studies, we conclude that H₂O strongly influences melt evolution trends, through stabilization of Ti-magnetite on the liquidus and suppression of plagioclase at high P–T conditions.     

High-pressure minerals in mafic microgranular enclaves: evidences for co-mingling between lamprophyric and syenitic magmas at mantle conditions

Mafic microgranular enclaves, composed of diopside and rare magnesium biotite phenocrysts in a groundmass of diopside, biotite, apatite, Fe-Ti-oxides, and alkali feldspar, are associated with Neoproterozoic Piquiri potassic syenite in southern Brazil. Co-genetic mica and clinopyroxene cumulates present inclusions of pyrope-rich garnet in diopside phenocrysts. Textural evidence, as well as the chemical and mineralogical composition, suggest that enclaves crystallized from a lamprophyric magma and co-mingled with the host syenitic magma. The contrasting temperature between both magmas and the consequent chilling was important for the preservation of some early-crystallized minerals in the mafic magma. Diopside groundmass grains contain micro-inclusions of K-rich augite and phlogopite, and some clinopyroxene phenocrysts and elongate groundmass crystals have potassium-rich cores. The pyrope-rich garnet have high #mg number (67–68), with appreciable amounts of Na₂O and K₂O comparable to pyrope synthesized at 5 GPa. The extremely high K₂O contents of K-rich augite micro-inclusions suggest non-equilibrium with the parental magma, whereas the other K-rich clinopyroxenes are similar to K-clinopyroxenes produced at 5–6 GPa. K-clinopyroxene and garnet in mafic microgranular enclaves suggest that lamprophyric magma started its crystallization at upper mantle conditions, and chilled clinopyroxenes with measurable amounts of K₂O are taken as evidence that co-mingling began still at mantle pressures.