Magma plumbing system beneath Ontake Volcano, central Japan

Ontake Volcano in central Japan was last active from ~ 100–35 Ka. The eruptions contained rhyodacite pumice and lavas in the first stage (stage O1, > 33 km³), followed by eruptions of andesite lavas and pyroclastics (stages O2 and O3, > 16 km³). Modeling of major and incompatible elements with Sr isotope ratios suggests that the primary magma was a high-alumina basalt. One andesite magma type appears to have evolved from the basalt in a closed system magma chamber, in part by fractional crystallization, and its generation included crustal assimilation. The other andesite magma type is considered to have evolved in an open system magma chamber in which repeated input of primary magma occurred together with wall-rock assimilation and fractional crystallization. The rhyodacite is inferred to have evolved in a closed system magma chamber by fractional crystallization of the second type of andesite. These genetic relationships require that the magma chamber functioned alternately as an open and a closed system. Geobarometry indicates that there may have been multiple magma chambers, located in the upper crust for the rhyodacite, near the upper–lower crust interface for the andesite and in the mid-lower crust for the basalt. These chambers were stacked to form the magma plumbing system of Ontake. Incompatible element compositions of the basalt are considered to have changed during the eruptions, suggesting that two different plumbing systems for stage O1 magma and for stages O2, O3 magmas existed during the 65 Ka of activity. Evolutionary history of the systems implies that the primary magma was introduced into the magma plumbing system each for ~ 17 500 years and that the life span of a magma plumbing system was shorter than 40 Ka.     

Trace elements in ocean ridge basalts

A correlary of sea floor spreading is that the production rate of ocean ridge basalts exceeds that of all other volcanic rocks on the earth combined. Basalts of the ocean ridges bring with them a continuous record in space and time of the chemical characteristics of the underlying mantle. The chemical record is once removed, due to chemical fractionation during partial melting. Chemical fractionations can be evaluated by assuming that peridotite melting has proceeded to an olivine-orthopyroxene stage, in which case the ratios of a number of magmaphile elements in the extracted melt closely match the ratios in the mantle. Comparison of ocean ridge basalts and chondritic meteorites reveals systematic patterns of element fractionation, and what is probably a double depletion in some elements. The first depletion is in volatile elements and is due to high accretion temperatures of a large percentage of the earth from the solar nebula. The second depletion is in the largest, most highly charged lithophile elements (“incompatible elements”), probably because the mantle source of the basalts was melted previously, and the melt, enriched in these elements, was removed. Migration of melt relative to solid under ocean ridges and oceanic plates, element fractionation at subduction zones, and fractional melting of amphibolite in the Precambrian are possible mechanisms for depleting the mantle in incompatible elements. Ratios of transition metals in the mantle source of ocean ridge basalts are close to chondritic, and contrast to the extreme depletion of refractory siderophile elements, the reason for which remains uncertain. Variation of ocean ridge basalt chemistry along the length of the ridge has been correlated with ridge elevation. Thus chemically anomalous ridge segments up to 1000 km long appear to broadly coincide with regions of high magma production (plumes, hot spots). Basalt heterogeneity at a single location indicates mantle heterogeneity on a smaller scale. Variation of ocean ridge basalt chemistry with time has not been established, in fact, criteria for recognizing old oceanic crust in ophiolite terrains are currently under debate. The similarity of rare earth element patterns in basalt from ocean ridges, back-arc basins, some young island arcs, and some continental flood basalts illustrates the dangers of tectonic labeling by rare earth element pattern.     

On the Magma Chambers beneath Klyuchevskoi Volcano,Kamchatka

Numerous summit and parasitic eruptions of moderate potassium magnesian and high-alumina basalts and basaltic andesites, their mineralogic and geochemical features, and the composition of in situ chilled melt inclusions in the olivine of cinder lapilli discharged by Klyuchevskoi Volcano all provide evidence of the presence of magma chambers beneath the volcano. This is also supported by a dualism in the variation of CaO and Al₂O₃ concentrations in olivine and clinopyroxene during crystallization. The mineralogic features in the high-alumina basalts that were discharged by all parasitic eruptions of Klyuchevskoi provide evidence of magnesian magma being emplaced from a deeper chamber into a shallow high-alumina chamber. The distribution of incoherent elements in the volcano’s magnesian and aluminiferous rocks shows that they came from a single mantle source. The geochemical and mineralogic data are in good agreement with the results of geophysical surveys that concern the structure and properties of the lithosphere beneath Klyuchevskoi.     

Magma chambers beneath the Klyuchevskoy volcanic group (Kamchatka)

A 3D velocity model of the Earth’s crust beneath the Klyuchevskoy volcanic group has been constructed using the seismic tomography method. Anomalies of the velocity parameters related to the zones of magma supply to active volcanoes have been distinguished. Petrological data on the composition, temperature, and pressure of generation and crystallization of parental melts of Klyuchevskoy volcano magnesian basalts have been obtained. The parental melt corresponds to picrite (MgO = 13–14 wt %) with an ultimate saturation of SiO₂ (49–50 wt %), a high H₂O content (2.2–2.9%), and incompatible elements (Sr, Rb, Ba). This melt is formed at pressures of 15–20 kbar and temperatures of 1280–1320°C. Its further crystallization proceeds in intermediate magma chambers at two discrete pressure levels (i.e., greater than 6, and 1–2 kbar). The results of the petrological studies are in good agreement with the seismotomographic model.     

The cessation of igneous activity and uplift when an actively spreading ridge is subducted beneath an island arc

Abstract Ridge subduction and the resulting formation of a slab window interrupts volcanic arc-type igneous activity and causes uplift of the arc system. These implied diachronous relationships are examined by comparison of the temporal and spatial positions of ancient migrated trench-trench-ridge triple junctions and the distribution of subduction-related igneous and metamorphic rocks in Japan.     

Cyprus umbers: Chemical precipitates on a Tethyan ocean ridge

Iron-rich mudstones (umbers), directly overlying pillow lavas of the Troodos Massif, Cyprus, are interpreted as precipitates connected with late stages of volcanism on a Cretaceous ocean ridge. Chemical composition of the basal sediments allies them with the basal iron-rich sediments of the East Pacific Rise. Overlying radiolarites and chalks are more comparable to normal pelagic sediments. Sedimentary features and stratigraphic relations suggest rapid deposition of umbers, relative to the overlying sediments.     

日本南海弧前西端之下俯冲的九州—帕劳海岭的地震构造意义

作为菲律宾海板块残余岛弧的九州—帕劳海岭正沿着日本南海海槽的最西端俯冲于欧亚板块之下。沿走向布设的地震反射剖面显示出沿弧前增生楔前缘俯冲的九州—帕劳海岭70km宽的构造影像。地磁异常特征、海底地形特征、广角折射数据和陆地地貌证据等使得我们能够将俯冲海岭在弧前的延伸段一直追踪至九州岛的东部。正在俯冲的九州—帕劳海岭携带有大量冗余物质,可能具有相对较大浮力,因此在深部俯冲时与上覆板块的碰撞具有较大的抗性。有鉴于此,我们推测在俯冲海岭和上覆板块基底的接触区之间存在局部大应力构造。此局部大应力区人们已标出有历史冲断层型中等级别地震(6~7级)。当九州—帕劳海岭俯冲至深部时,漂浮的俯冲海岭其两侧的翼部更容易被撕裂而形成板块破裂。我们认为,俯冲的九州—帕劳海岭在深部不仅起到地震凹凸体的作用,而且产生板块破裂作为地震障碍体抑制邻近的日向段巨大逆冲地震的破裂传播。     

Magma ascent beneath Unzen Volcano, SW Japan, deduced from the electrical resistivity structure

The resistivity structure of Unzen Volcano has been revealed by extensive magnetotelluric surveys since the first eruption on November 17, 1990. This structure comprises a highly resistive surface layer, a low-resistive second layer at several hundred meters depth, interpreted as a water-saturated layer, a resistive third layer, and a low-resistive fourth layer at 10 km depth, possibly related to the deep magmatic activity. The structure has influenced the volcanic activity of Unzen. This activity was characterized by a series of dramatic changes in eruption type: a minor phreatic eruption on November 17, 1990; phreatic eruptions after February 12, 1991, preceded by several weeks of volcanic tremor; phreatomagmatic eruptions after April 9, and dome effusion beginning May 19, 1991. This paper presents a hypothesis in which the top of the magma column rose about 20 m/day, reached the base of the water-saturated layer at the end of January, 1991, and approached the upper boundary of this layer on April 9. Thus, the temporal change of eruption type and associated phenomena are systematically explained by an interaction between magma and groundwater contained in the saturated layer.     

Oxygen isotope evidence for the origin of enriched mantle beneath the mid-Atlantic ridge

Geochemical variations in mid-ocean ridge basalts have been attributed to differing proportions of compositionally distinct mantle components in their sources, some of which may be recycled crust. Oxygen isotopes are strongly fractionated by near-surface interactions of rocks with the hydrosphere, and thus provide a tracer of near-surface materials that have been recycled into the mantle. We present here oxygen isotope analyses of basaltic glasses from the mid-Atlantic ridge south of and across the Azores platform. Variations in δ¹⁸O in these samples are subtle (range of 0.47‰) and may partly reflect shallow fractional crystallization; we present a method to correct for these effects. Relatively high fractionation-corrected δ¹⁸O in these samples is associated with geochemical indices of enrichment, including high La/Sm, Ce/Pb, and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and low ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd. Our results suggest two first-order conclusions about these enriched materials: (1) they are derived (directly or indirectly) from recycled upper oceanic crustal rocks and/or sediments; and (2) these materials are present in the north Atlantic MORB sources in abundances of less than 10% (average 2–5%). Modeling of variations of δ¹⁸O with other geochemical variables further indicates that the enriched component is not derived from incorporation of sediment or bulk altered oceanic crust, from metasomatism of the mantle by hydrous or carbonate-rich fluids, or from partial melting of subducted sediment. Instead, the data appear to require a model in which the enriched component is depleted mantle that has been metasomatized by small-degree partial melts of subducted, dehydrated, altered oceanic crust. The age of this partial melting is broadly constrained to 250 Ma. Reconstructed plate motions suggest that the enriched component in the north Atlantic mantle may have originated by subduction along the western margin of Pangea.     

The structure of thermal convection and geotherms beneath a continent and ocean

The formation of the thermal cross section of the lithosphere and mantle upon the interaction between the mantle convection and the immobile continent surrounded by the oceanic lithosphere is studied by numerical modeling. The convective temperature and velocity fields and then the averaged geotherms for subcontinental and suboceanic regions up to the boundary with the core are calculated from the solution of convection equations with a jump in viscosity in the continental zone. Using the experimental data on the solidus temperature in the rocks of the upper mantle, the average thickness of the continental and oceanic lithosphere is estimated at 190 and 30 km, respectively. The effect of a hot spot formed in the subcontinental upper mantle at a depth of 250–500 km, which has not been previously noted, is revealed. Although the temperature in this zone is typically assumed to be close to adiabatic, the calculations show that it is actually higher than adiabatic by up to 200°C. The physical mechanism responsible for this effect is associated with the accumulation of convective heat beneath the thermally insulating layer of the continental lithosphere. The revealed anomalies can be important in studying the phase and mineral transformations at the base of the lithosphere and in the regional geodynamical reconstructions.     

Magma storage conditions beneath Dabbahu Volcano (Ethiopia) constrained by petrology, seismicity and satellite geodesy

A variety of methods exist to constrain sub-volcanic storage conditions of magmas. Petrological, seismological and satellite geodetic methods are integrated to determine storage conditions of peralkaline magmas beneath Dabbahu Volcano, Afar, Ethiopia. Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) analysis of volatile contents in melt inclusions trapped within phenocrysts of alkali feldspar, clinopyroxene and olivine from pantellerite obsidians representing the youngest eruptive phase (<8?ka) show H₂O contents ≤5.8?wt.% and CO₂ contents generally below 500?ppm, although rarely as high as 1,500 ppm. Volatile saturation pressures (at 679–835°C) are in the range 43–207?MPa, consistent with published experimental data for similar pantellerites, which show that the phenocryst assemblage of alkali feldspar + cpx + aenigmatite ± ilmenite is stable at 100 to 150?MPa. Inferred magma storage depths for these historic eruptions are ~1–5?km below sea-level, consistent with the depths of earthquakes, associated with magma chamber deflation following a dyke intrusion in the period Oct 2005–Apr 2006. Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) data for the same period reveal a broad ~20?km diameter area of uplift. Modelling of different geometries reveals that a series of stacked sills over a 1–5?km depth range best matches the InSAR data. The consistency of depth estimates based on petrological study of ancient eruptions and the seismicity, inflation and deflation of Dabbahu observed in relation to the dyking event of 2005, suggest a small but vertically extensive and potentially long-lived magma storage region.     

Mantle flow and melting beneath oceanic ridge–ridge–ridge triple junctions

Plate boundary geometry likely has an important influence on crustal production at mid-ocean ridges. Many studies have explored the effects of geometrical features such as transform offsets and oblique ridge segments on mantle flow and melting. This study investigates how triple junction (TJ) geometry may influence mantle dynamics. An earlier study [Georgen, J.E., Lin, J., 2002. Three-dimensional passive flow and temperature structure beneath oceanic ridge-ridge-ridge triple junctions. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 204, 115–132.] suggested that the effects of a ridge–ridge–ridge configuration are most pronounced under the branch with the slowest spreading rate. Thus, we create a three-dimensional, finite element, variable viscosity model that focuses on the slowest-diverging ridge of a triple junction with geometry similar to the Rodrigues TJ. This spreading axis may be considered to be analogous to the Southwest Indian Ridge. Within 100 km of the TJ, temperatures at depths within the partial melting zone and crustal thickness are predicted to increase by ~ 40 °C and 1 km, respectively. We also investigate the effects of differential motion of the TJ with respect to the underlying mantle, by imposing bottom model boundary conditions replicating (a) absolute plate motion and (b) a three-dimensional solution for plate-driven and density-driven asthenospheric flow in the African region. Neither of these basal boundary conditions significantly affects the model solutions, suggesting that the system is dominated by the divergence of the surface places. Finally, we explore how varying spreading rate magnitudes affects TJ geodynamics. When ridge divergence rates are all relatively slow (i.e., with plate kinematics similar to the Azores TJ), significant along-axis increases in mantle temperature and crustal thickness are calculated. At depths within the partial melting zone, temperatures are predicted to increase by ~ 150 °C, similar to the excess temperatures associated with mantle plumes. Likewise, crustal thickness is calculated to increase by approximately 6 km over the 200 km of ridge closest to the TJ. These results could imply that some component of the excess volcanism observed in geologic settings such as the Terceira Rift may be attributed to the effects of TJ geometry, although the important influence of features like nearby hotspots (e.g., the Azores hotspot) cannot be evaluated without additional numerical modeling.     

First samples of acoustic basement recovered from the alpha ridge, Arctic ocean: New constraints for the origin of the ridge

The Alpha Ridge is one of three subparallel trending ridges that cut the Arctic Ocean. It is roughly Late Cretaceous to Eocene in age, and seismic refraction records suggest it comprises a thick sequence of oceanic crust. During the 1983 CESAR expedition 20 similar samples of acoustic basement were dredged from the walls of a major graben of the Alpha Ridge, at one site. These are the only basement samples ever recovered from the ridge and provide the first direct evidence for its nature, composition and possible origin.The basement samples are highly altered pyroclastic rocks composed almost entirely of basaltic volcanic clasts with little matrix. Although the rocks are highly altered, most primary textures and structures are preserved. Most clasts are highly amygdaloidal to scoriaceous, fine grained to glassy, and angular to subround with rare vesicle controlled boundaries. Little reworking is suggested because a single clast type predominates, many of the clasts are subangular, and any amount of reworking would result in destruction of the delicate scoriaceous clasts.Rare clinopyroxene phenocrysts comprise the only unaltered portion of the rocks. They are salitic in composition (Wo_49–53, En_32–41, Fs_11–15), with significant amounts of Ca, Al and Ti. Salitic clinopyroxenes are typical of alkalic basalts.Interpretation of the whole rock geochemistry based on relatively immobile elements, (Nb, Zr, Tio₂, and Y), and chondrite-normalized incompatible trace element and REE patterns indicates that the volcanic rock fragments are of alkalic basalt. Geochemical discriminators suggest a within-plate tectonic setting.Textural evidence suggests that the CESAR basement rocks were sampled from a rapidly emplaced submarine fallout deposit that was erupted at a depth at least less than 800 m and likely less than 200 m. High extrusive rates would have been required to build the ridge up to shallow depth prior to the cessation of volcanism. The alkalic affinity of the rocks strongly suggests that the Alpha ridge was not formed by volcanism at an island arc or a mature spreading centre. It is also unlikely that it formed as a “leaky” fracture zone. Alkalic basalts, however, are commonly associated with various types of oceanic aseismic ridges. It is suggested that the Alpha Ridge is an aseismic ridge that formed due to voluminous hotspot volcanism as spreading began in the Canada Basin. Such hotppot activity may have been responsible for initiating the rifting, breakup, and dispersal that eventually formed the Canada Basin.     

Magma dynamics beneath Kameni volcano, Thera, Greece, as revealed by crystal size and shape measurements

Size distributions of plagioclase crystals in series of recent porphyritic dacite lavas from Kameni volcano, Greece, can be modelled by mixing two populations of crystals, each with overlapping linear crystal size distributions (CSD)—termed microlites and megacrysts. The magmas bearing the microlites and megacrysts started to crystallise 6–13 and 24–96 years, respectively, before each eruption. The dates of initiation of crystallisation of the megacrysts indicate that they are left-overs of earlier injections of new magma into a shallow chamber: some magma remains after each eruption and continues to crystallise. New magma with few or no crystals is then introduced and the microlites crystallise from the mixed magma. Eruption followed 6–13 years after mixing. Such a model would suggest that some porphyritic magmas are products of a shallow magma chamber that is never completely emptied, just topped up from time to time.     

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.     

Progress in understanding the age and origin of the alpha ridge, arctic ocean

Multiparameter geophysical measurements and geological samples from CESAR suggest that close to Canada the Alpha Ridge is oceanic in nature and was built in part by volcanic activity. It is unclear whether this part of the ridge formed in an intraplate or a plate margin environment. Estimates from paleontological, heat flow and magnetic data place the construction of a volcanic ridge within the Cretaceous period between about 120 and 80 Ma ago, the interval in which the Canada Basin seafloor formed but clearly before the creation of the Lomonosov Ridge. The place of the Makarov Basin in this chronology remains unclear.     

Simulation of liquefaction beneath an impermeable surface layer

A joint element is proposed, which can simulate the three phases of behaviour of an impermeable layer over a liquefied sand layer. The analysis tracks the post-liquefaction reconsolidation of the sand, the simultaneous development of a water film between the layers and the settlements resulting from the subsequent drainage of the water film. The element is incorporated in a finite element program, which can be used to simulate the behaviour of layered systems. The effectiveness of the program is demonstrated by simulation of the performance of a model soil deposit of two layers in a centrifuge test.     

Origin and compensation of Chagos-Laccadive ridge, Indian ocean, from admittance analysis of gravity and bathymetry data

The Chagos-Laccadive ridge (CLR) is a prominent aseismic, volcanic ridge in the northern Indian ocean. The ridge, together with the Southern Mascarene plateau (SMP), to which it is genetically related, is considered as a volcanic trace of the Reunion hotspot. We have examined the isostatic compensation of the CLR through transfer function analysis of gravity and bathymetry data along seven profiles. The analysis suggests that the CLR is compensated locally, with an Airy crustal thickness (T_c) of 20 km. The rather low elastic plate thickness (T_e) of about 4 km implies that the volcanism of the ridge took place very near a spreading centre. The proximity of the Chagos fracture zone indicates that the emplacement was probably near a spreading centre-transform junction.     

中国东北地区地幔转换带接收函数三维Kirchhoff偏移成像研究

中国东北地区地幔转换带结构对于研究新生代板内火山深部成因及板片俯冲作用具有重要意义.本文利用东北地区密集流动台阵记录提取到的约60, 000接收函数, 采用三维Kirchhoff偏移成像方法得到了研究区410-km和660-km界面埋深以及转换带厚度分布图像.成像结果显示: 长白山火山下方410-km和660-km界面均出现下沉, 且660-km下沉的幅度较410-km更大, 在25km以上, 认为与太平洋俯冲板片在转换带的停滞有关.长白山及龙岗火山以西过渡带厚度呈现小幅度减薄的特征, 暗示俯冲板片在660km深度附近可能发生撕裂.板片撕裂引起的热物质上涌和俯冲板片脱水共同为长白山火山提供了深部热源.五大连池火山下方观测到410-km界面抬升, 而660-km界面下沉的现象, 认为410-km界面的抬升可能与岩石圈拆沉有关, 拆沉引起的局部对流可能为五大连池火山提供热源, 而660-km界面的下沉可能反映存在残留的太平洋俯冲板片.

     

Melt-filled hybrid fractures in the oceanic mantle: Melt enhanced deformation during along-axis flow beneath a propagating spreading ridge axis

Mid-ocean ridges represent important locations for understanding the interactions between deformation and melt production, transport, and emplacement. Melt transport through the mantle beneath mid-ocean ridges is closely associated with deformation. Currently recognized transport and emplacement processes at ridges include: 1) dikes and sills filling stress-controlled fractures, 2) porous flow in a divergent flow field, 3) self-organizing porous dunite channels, and 4) shear zones. Our recent observations from the sub-oceanic mantle beneath a propagating ridge axis in the Oman ophiolite show that gabbronorite and olivine gabbro dikes fill hybrid fractures that show both shear and extensional components of strain. The magnitudes of shear strain recorded by the dikes are significant and comparable to the longitudinal extensions across the dikes. We suggest that the hybrid dikes form from the interactions between shear deformation and pressurized melt in regions of along-axis flow at mid-ocean ridges. The displacement across the dikes is kinematically compatible with high temperature flow recorded by plastic fabrics in host peridotites. Field observations and mechanical considerations indicate that the dikes record conditions of higher stress and lower temperature than those recorded by the plastic flow fabrics. The features of hybrid dikes suggest formation during progressive deformation as conditions changed from penetrative plastic flow to strain localization along melt-filled fractures. The combined dataset indicates that the dikes are formed during along-axis flow away from regions of diapiric upwelling at propagating ridge segments. Hybrid dikes provide a potentially powerful kinematic indicator and strain recorder and define a previously unrecognized mechanism of melt migration. Our calculations show that hybrid dikes require less melt pressure to form than purely tensile dikes and thus may provide a mechanism to tap melt reservoirs that are under-pressurized with respect to lithostatic pressure.