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

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

Extraction of crystal-poor rhyolite from a hornblende-bearing intermediate mush: a case study of the caldera-forming Matahina eruption,Okataina volcanic complex

The Matahina Ignimbrite (~160 km³ rhyolite magma, 330 ka) was deposited during a caldera-forming eruption from the Okataina Volcanic Centre, Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ), New Zealand. Juvenile clasts are divided into three groups: Group (1) the dominant crystal-poor rhyolite type, Group (2) a minor coarse-grained, mingled/mixed intermediate type, and Group (3) a rare fine-grained basalt. The ignimbrite consists of the Group 1 type and is divided into three members: a lower and middle member, which is high-silica, crystal-poor (<10 vol.%) rhyolite, and the upper member, which is low-silica and slightly more crystal-rich (up to 21 vol.%). Cognate, crystal-rich (up to 50 vol.%) basalt to intermediate pumice occurs on top of lag breccias and within lithic-rich pyroclastic density current deposits along the caldera margin (Groups 2 and 3). Several lines of evidence indicate that the intermediate clasts represent the cumulate complement to the melt-rich rhyolite: (1) continuity in the compositions of plagioclase, orthopyroxene, hornblende, and oxides and normal zoning of individual phenocrysts; (2) the silicic glass from the intermediate magma (interstitial melt) overlaps compositionally with the bulk rock rhyolite and glass; (3) high Zr and a slight positive Eu anomaly in the intermediate magma relative to quenched enclaves from other intermediate TVZ eruptions indicates zircon and plagioclase accumulation, respectively; (4) an increase in the Cl contents in glass from the least evolved to most evolved is consistent with the concentration of volatiles during magma evolution. Most of the compositional variations in the low- to high-silica rhyolites can be accounted for by continued Rayleigh fractionation (up to 15%), following melt extraction from the underlying mush, under varying fO₂–fH₂O conditions to form a slightly compositionally zoned rhyolitic cap. This link to the varying fO₂–fH₂O conditions is evidenced by the strong correlation between key geochemical parameters (e.g. Dy, Y), that qualitatively reflect fH₂O conditions (presence or absence of hornblende/biotite), and fO₂ estimated from Fe–Ti oxide equilibrium. Magma mingling/mixing between the basalt–andesite and the main slightly compositionally zoned rhyolitic magma occurred during caldera-collapse, modifying the least-evolved rhyolite at the lower portion of the reservoir and effectively destroying any pre-eruptive gradients.     

Magmatic Evolution of the La Pacana Caldera System, Central Andes, Chile: Compositional Variation of Two Cogenetic, Large-Volume Felsic Ignimbrites

La Pacana is one of the largest known calderas on Earth, andis the source of at least two major ignimbrite eruptions witha combined volume of some 2700 km³. These ignimbrites have stronglycontrasting compositions, raising the question of whether theyare genetically related. The Toconao ignimbrite is crystal poor,and contains rhyolitic (76–77 wt % SiO₂) tube pumices.The overlying Atana ignimbrite is a homogeneous tuff whose pumiceis dacitic (66–70 wt % SiO₂), dense (40–60% vesicularity)and crystal rich (30–40 % crystals). Phase equilibriaindicate that the Atana magma equilibrated at temperatures of770–790°C with melt water contents of 3·1–4·4wt %. The pre-eruptive Toconao magma was cooler (730–750°C)and its melt more water rich (6·3–6·8 wt% H₂O). A pressure of 200 MPa is inferred from mineral barometryfor the Atana magma chamber. Isotope compositions are variablebut overlapping for both units (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr_i 0·7094–0·7131;¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd 0·51222–0·51230) and are consistentwith a dominantly crustal origin. Glass analyses from Atanapumices are similar in composition to those in Toconao tubepumices, demonstrating that the Toconao magma could representa differentiated melt of the Atana magma. Fractional crystallizationmodelling suggests that the Toconao magma can be produced by30% crystallization of the observed Atana mineral phases. Toconaomelt characteristics and intensive parameters are consistentwith a volatile oversaturation-driven eruption. However, thelow H₂O content, high viscosity and high crystal content ofthe Atana magma imply an external eruption trigger. KEY WORDS: Central Andes; crystal-rich dacite; eruption trigger; high-silica rhyolite; zoned magma chamber     

Mixing and differentiation in the Oruanui rhyolitic magma, Taupo, New Zealand: evidence from volatiles and trace elements in melt inclusions

Large pyroclastic rhyolites are snapshots of evolving magma bodies, and preserved in their eruptive pyroclasts is a record of evolution up to the time of eruption. Here we focus on the conditions and processes in the Oruanui magma that erupted at 26.5 ka from Taupo Volcano, New Zealand. The 530 km³ (void-free) of material erupted in the Oruanui event is comparable in size to the Bishop Tuff in California, but differs in that rhyolitic pumice and glass compositions, although variable, did not change systematically with eruption order. We measured the concentrations of H₂O, CO₂ and major and trace elements in zoned phenocrysts and melt inclusions from individual pumice clasts covering the range from early to late erupted units. We also used cathodoluminescence imaging to infer growth histories of quartz phenocrysts. For quartz-hosted inclusions, we studied both fully enclosed melt inclusions and reentrants (connecting to host melt through a small opening). The textures and compositions of inclusions and phenocrysts reflect complex pre-eruptive processes of incomplete assimilation/partial melting, crystallization differentiation, magma mixing and gas saturation. ‘Restitic’ quartz occurs in seven of eight pumice clasts studied. Variations in dissolved H₂O and CO₂ in quartz-hosted melt inclusions reflect gas saturation in the Oruanui magma and crystallization depths of ∼3.5–7 km. Based on variations of dissolved H₂O and CO₂ in reentrants, the amount of exsolved gas at the beginning of eruption increased with depth, corresponding to decreasing density with depth. Pre-eruptive mixing of magma with varying gas content implies variations in magma bulk density that would have driven convective mixing. Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article at and is accessible for authorized users.     

Quartz zoning and the pre-eruptive evolution of the ~340-ka Whakamaru magma systems,New Zealand

Cathodoluminescence (CL) zoning in quartz crystals from rhyolitic pumices in two ignimbrite members of the ~340-ka Whakamaru super-eruption deposits, Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand, is investigated in conjunction with the analysis of Ti concentration in quartz to reconstruct the history of changing magma chamber conditions and to elucidate the eruption-triggering processes. CL intensity images are taken as a proxy for Ti concentration and thus temperature and/or pressure and/or compositional variations during crystal growth history. Estimates of the maximum temperature changes (i.e., assuming other factors influencing Ti uptake remain constant) are made using the TitaniQ geothermometer based on the Ti concentration in quartz. These results are reviewed in comparison with Fe–Ti oxide, feldspar-melt and amphibole geothermometry. Core-to-rim quartz Ti profiles record a marked change in conditions (temperature increase and/or pressure decrease and/or change in melt composition) causing and then following a significant resorption horizon in the outer parts of the crystals. Two alternative models that could explain the quartz Ti zonation invoke a temperature increase caused by mafic recharge and/or a pressure decrease due to magma ponding and re-equilibration at shallow crustal levels. Concomitant changes in melt composition and Ti activity may, however, also have strongly influenced Ti uptake into the quartz. Some crystals also show other marked increases in CL brightness internally, but any accompanying magmatic changes did not result in eruption. Diffusion modelling indicates that this significant change in conditions occurred over ~10–85 years prior to caldera-forming eruption. This rapid thermal pulse or pressure change is interpreted as evidence for open-system processes, and appears to record a magma chamber recharge event that rejuvenated the Whakamaru magma system (melt-dominant magma plus crystal mush), and potentially acted as a trigger for processes that led to eruption.     

Melt inclusions and crystal-liquid separation in rhyolitic magma of the Bishop Tuff

Melt inclusions in quartz phenocrysts from a single clast of pumice near the base of the plinian pumice fall of the Bishop Tuff were studied to test ideas concerning separation of melt and crystals in silicic magmas. Ten analyzed inclusions from the pumice clast are of high silica rhyolite composition with very low contents of the highly compatible elements Ba, Sr, and Eu, consistent with extensive fractionation. The concentrations of U, La, Ce, Mg, and Ca of these ten melt inclusions vary considerably as determined by ion microprobe. Petrologic considerations indicate that uranium is an incompatible element with a maximum bulk partition coefficient D of about 0.2 and that the evolution of the uranium content of the melt was controlled by crystallization of the magma. A minimum of 33 wt% perfect fractional crystallization is required to explain the observed range in uranium. However, only 17 wt% crystals occurred in the pumice clast. The greater calculated fraction of crystals requires significant separation of crystals and melt before the eruption of the plinian pumice fall in spite of the fact that crystal mixing (settling, etc.) did not occur in the Bishop magma.     

Zircon-scale insights into the history of a Supervolcano,Bishop Tuff,Long Valley,California, with implications for the Ti-in-zircon geothermometer

Zircon has the outstanding capacity to record chronological, thermal, and chemical information, including the storage history of zoned silicic magma reservoirs like the one responsible for the Bishop Tuff of eastern California, USA. Our novel ion microprobe approach reveals that Bishop zircon rims with diverse chemical characteristics surround intermediate domains with broadly similar compositions. The highest Y, REE, U, and Th concentrations tend to accompany the largest excesses in Y + REE³⁺:P beyond what can be explained by xenotime substitution in zircon. Apparent Ti-in-zircon temperatures of <720°C for zircon rims are distinctly lower than most of the range in eruption temperatures, as estimated from FeTi-oxide equilibria and zircon solubility at quench. While permissive of crystallization of zircon at near-solidus conditions, the low Ti-in-zircon temperatures are probably better explained by sources of inaccuracy in the temperature estimates. After apparently nucleating from different melts, zircons from across the Bishop Tuff compositional spectrum may have evolved to broadly similar chemical and thermal conditions and therefore it is possible that there was no significant thermal gradient in the magma reservoir at some stage in its evolution. There is also no compelling evidence for punctuated heat ± chemical influxes during the intermediate stages of zircon growth. Judging by the zircon record, the main volume of the erupted magma evolved normally by secular cooling but the latest erupted portion is characterized by a reversal in chemistry that appears to indicate perfusion of the magma reservoir by—or zircon entrainment in—a less evolved melt from the one in which the zircons had previously resided.     

The petrologic evolution and pre-eruptive conditions of the rhyolitic Kos Plateau Tuff (Aegean arc)

The Kos Plateau Tuff is a large (>60 km³) and young (160 k.y.) calc-alkaline, high-SiO₂ rhyolitic ignimbrite from the active Kos-Nisyros volcanic center in the Aegean arc (Greece). Combined textural, petrological and geochemical information suggest that (1) the system evolved dominantly by crystal fractionation from (mostly unerupted) more mafic parents, (2) the magma chamber grew over ≥ 250 000 years at shallow depth (～1.5-2.5 kb) and was stored as a H₂O-rich crystalline mush close to its solidus (～670-750°C), (3) the eruption occurred after a reheating event triggered by the intrusion of hydrous mafic magma at the base of the rhyolitic mush. Rare banded pumices indicate that the mafic magma only mingled with a trivial portion of resident crystal-rich rhyolite; most of the mush was remobilized following partial melting of quartz and feldspars induced by advection of heat and volatiles from the underplated, hotter mafic influx.     

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

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

A cascade of magmatic events during the assembly and eruption of a super-sized magma body

We use comprehensive geochemical and petrological records from whole-rock samples, crystals, matrix glasses and melt inclusions to derive an integrated picture of the generation, accumulation and evacuation of 530 km³ of crystal-poor rhyolite in the 25.4 ka Oruanui supereruption (New Zealand). New data from plagioclase, orthopyroxene, amphibole, quartz, Fe–Ti oxides, matrix glasses, and plagioclase- and quartz-hosted melt inclusions, in samples spanning different phases of the eruption, are integrated with existing data to build a history of the magma system prior to and during eruption. A thermally and compositionally zoned, parental crystal-rich (mush) body was developed during two periods of intensive crystallisation, 70 and 10–15 kyr before the eruption. The mush top was quartz-bearing and as shallow as ~3.5 km deep, and the roots quartz-free and extending to >10 km depth. Less than 600 year prior to the eruption, extraction of large volumes of ~840 °C low-silica rhyolite melt with some crystal cargo (between 1 and 10%), began from this mush to form a melt-dominant (eruptible) body that eventually extended from 3.5 to 6 km depth. Crystals from all levels of the mush were entrained into the eruptible magma, as seen in mineral zonation and amphibole model pressures. Rapid translation of crystals from the mush to the eruptible magma is reflected in textural and compositional diversity in crystal cores and melt inclusion compositions, versus uniformity in the outermost rims. Prior to eruption the assembled eruptible magma body was not thermally or compositionally zoned and at temperatures of ~790 °C, reflecting rapid cooling from the ~840 °C low-silica rhyolite feedstock magma. A subordinate but significant volume (3–5 km³) of contrasting tholeiitic and calc-alkaline mafic material was co-erupted with the dominant rhyolite. These mafic clasts host crystals with compositions which demonstrate that there was some limited pre-eruptive physical interaction of mafic magmas with the mush and melt-dominant body. However, the mafic magmas do not appear to have triggered the eruption or controlled magmatic temperatures in the erupted rhyolite. Integration of textural and compositional data from all available crystal types, across all dominant and subordinate magmatic components, allow the history of the Oruanui magma body to be reconstructed over a wide range of temporal scales using multiple techniques. This history spans the tens of millennia required to grow the parental magma system (U–Th disequilibrium dating in zircon), through the centuries and decades required to assemble the eruptible magma body (textural and diffusion modelling in orthopyroxene), to the months, days, hours and minutes over which individual phases of the eruption occurred, identified through field observations tied to diffusion modelling in magnetite, olivine, quartz and feldspar. Tectonic processes, rather than any inherent characteristics of the magmatic system, were a principal factor acting to drive the rapid accumulation of magma and control its release episodically during the eruption. This work highlights the richness of information that can be gained by integrating multiple lines of petrologic evidence into a holistic timeline of field-verifiable processes.     

The Cougar Point Tuff: Implications for Thermochemical Zonation and Longevity of High-Temperature, Large-Volume Silicic Magmas of the Miocene Yellowstone Hotspot

The 12·7–10·5 Ma Cougar Point Tuff in southernIdaho, USA, consists of 10 large-volume (>10²–10³ km³each), high-temperature (800–1000°C), rhyolitic ash-flowtuffs erupted from the Bruneau–Jarbidge volcanic centerof the Yellowstone hotspot. These tuffs provide evidence forcompositional and thermal zonation in pre-eruptive rhyolitemagma, and suggest the presence of a long-lived reservoir thatwas tapped by numerous large explosive eruptions. Pyroxene compositionsexhibit discrete compositional modes with respect to Fe andMg that define a linear spectrum punctuated by conspicuous gaps.Airfall glass compositions also cluster into modes, and thepresence of multiple modes indicates tapping of different magmavolumes during early phases of eruption. Equilibrium assemblagesof pigeonite and augite are used to reconstruct compositionaland thermal gradients in the pre-eruptive reservoir. The recurrenceof identical compositional modes and of mineral pairs equilibratedat high temperatures in successive eruptive units is consistentwith the persistence of their respective liquids in the magmareservoir. Recurrence intervals of identical modes range from0·3 to 0·9 Myr and suggest possible magma residencetimes of similar duration. Eruption ages, magma temperatures,Nd isotopes, and pyroxene and glass compositions are consistentwith a long-lived, dynamically evolving magma reservoir thatwas chemically and thermally zoned and composed of multiplediscrete magma volumes. KEY WORDS: ash-flow tuff; Bruneau–Jarbidge; rhyolite; Yellowstone hotspot; residence time     

Rapid extraction of discrete magma batches from a large differentiating magma chamber: the Central Plateau Member rhyolites, Yellowstone Caldera, Wyoming

The Central Plateau Member rhyolites have been erupted between 173 and 70 ka and are the youngest Yellowstone intracaldera rhyolites. They mostly comprise very voluminous lava flows totaling ~600 km³ in volume. Their eruptive vents define two NNW-trending lineaments which are aligned with regional faults. We present new whole rock, glass, and mineral analyses and propose a petrogenetic and volcano-tectonic model for these rhyolites. At a caldera-wide scale, there is a temporal enrichment in elements such as Nb, Y and HREE, and a depletion in Sr, Ba, and Ce/Yb. Simultaneously, clinopyroxene becomes less magnesian while Ti contents in quartz decrease. By contrast, quartz in all rhyolites is rounded and bears long glass re-entrants, suggesting heating. Based on these data and observations, we propose that the Central Plateau Member rhyolites have been generated as follows. A hydrothermally altered low-δ¹⁸O rhyolitic protolith beneath the Mallard Lake Resurgent Dome in the southwestern part of the caldera started to melt at ~250 ka. Repeated heating pulses caused the melting front to expand radially, and a large crystal mush formed beneath much of the caldera. The mush was able to differentiate but not erupt due to its high crystallinity and viscosity. Further inputs of heat and silicic magma in this mush increased the degree of melting, forming crystal-poor magma batches which erupted a few hundred to a few thousand years later through regional faults to form the Central Plateau Member rhyolites.     

Evacuation of multiple magma bodies and the onset of caldera collapse in a supereruption,captured in glass and mineral compositions

Complexities in the nature of large-scale silicic eruptions and their magmatic systems can be discerned through micro-analytical geochemical studies. We present high-resolution, stratigraphically constrained compositional data on glassy matrix material and feldspar crystals from the initial fall deposits and earliest ignimbrite (base of member A) of the 2.08 Ma, ~?2500 km³ Huckleberry Ridge Tuff (HRT), Yellowstone. We use these data to document the nature of the magmatic system and compositional changes related to the transition from fall to widespread ignimbrite deposition, inferred to mark the onset of caldera collapse. Although major element glass compositions are relatively uniform, trace elements span a large range (e.g. Ba 10–900 ppm, Sr/Rb?=?0.005–0.09), with highly evolved glasses dominating in the fall deposits. Several trace elements (e.g. Ba and light rare earth elements) in the glass samples serve to define statistically significant compositional clustering in the fall deposits and basal ignimbrite. These clusters are inferred to reflect melt compositions controlled by fractional crystallisation processes and are interpreted to represent multiple, discrete melt-dominant domains that were tapped by multiple vents. The onset of widespread ignimbrite deposition is marked by an increase in the number of erupted melt compositional clusters from four in the fall deposits to eight, representing nine melt-dominant domains. There is an absence of geographical variation of glass compositions within the basal ignimbrite, with samples from proximal to distal localities north, west and south of the HRT caldera exhibiting similar variability. Pairing of glass analyses with sanidine major and minor element compositional data suggests that the nine melt compositional domains converged at depth into two compositionally distinct upper-crustal magmatic lineages that were both active during these early stages of the eruption. Our data collectively indicate the evacuation of an exceptionally complex and heterogeneous magma system. The onset of widespread ignimbrite deposition, inferred to relate to caldera collapse, occurred after ~ 50 km³ of magma had been discharged. Although external controls were important as an eruption trigger, depressurisation of the system led to caldera collapse with the eruption of numerous discrete melt-dominant domains.     

Petrology of Rhyolitic and Mixed Magma Ejecta from the 1875 Eruption of Askja, Iceland

Volcanic activity in Askja central volcano and its fissure swarmin 1875 occurred in response to a crustal rifting episode inIceland, resulting in up to 70 km lateral flow of magma withinthe crust, caldera collapse and a plinian eruption of acid magma(0·2 km³ dense-rock equivalent). Petrologic studies ofthe predominantly rhyolitic and crystal-poor ejecta reveal thata complex array of other liquid compositions was also present,including icelandite (0.75 per cent) and basalt (1.9 per cent),as well as leucocratic xenoliths of trondhjemite type. Mineralgeothermometers indicate that the rhyolite evolved at 990 to1010 °C and 0·5 Kb P_H2O, the icelandite at 1005 to1020 °C and at f_O2 10^–10 atm. and the basalt at 1140to 1170 °C. A petrologic model of Askja in 1875 consists of a density-stratifiedmagma chamber with a rhyolitic upper part and a lower part offerrobasalt, with an intervening layer of icelandite. The modelcalculations show that the icelandite can be derived from ferrobasaltby 50 per cent fractional crystallization, but one-stage fractionalcrystallization models cannot account for generation of theacid magma. Simple partial or complete fusion of the field-associatedtrondhjemite xenoliths cannot produce the acid magma. Instead,a more complex fusion, hybridization and fractional crystallizationmodel is presented, which is consistent with the available petrologicevidence. This model involves large-scale fusion of pre-existingtrondhjemite intrusions or reactivation of previously consolidatedroof-rock in the magma chamber followed by hybridization ofthe acid magma with 7 to 14 per cent basaltic magma. Finally,10 to 11 per cent fractional crystallization of the dacite hybridis required to produce the observed compositional range withinthe rhyolite ejecta. The 1875 explosive eruption was causedby the ascent of tholeiitic basalt magma from depth during crustalrifting. Influx of new basalt magma in 1874–75 triggeredconvective mixing and hybridization in the compositionally zonedmagma chamber.     

Magnetite scavenging and the buoyancy of bubbles in magmas. Part 1: Discovery of a pre-eruptive bubble in Bishop rhyolite

Little is known about the presence, distribution and size of bubbles in rhyolitic magmas prior to eruption. Using X-ray tomography to study pumice from early-erupted Bishop rhyolite, we discovered a large vesicle with abundant magnetite crystals attached to its walls. Attachment of magnetite crystals to bubble walls under pre-eruptive conditions can explain the cluster of magnetite crystals as a result of bubbles rising and collecting magnetite crystals. Alternatively, bubbles may have nucleated on magnetite crystals and then coalesced to form one large bubble with multiple magnetite crystals attached to it. We argue that the clusters of magnetite crystals could not have formed during or after eruptive decompression, and conclude that this vesicle corresponds to a bubble present prior to eruptive decompression. The inferred presence of pre-eruptive bubbles in the Bishop magma confirms the interpretation that the magma was volatile-saturated prior to eruption. The pre-eruptive size of this bubble is estimated based on three independent approaches: (1) the current size of the vesicle, (2) the total cross-sectional area of the magnetite crystals, and (3) the bubble size required for the aggregate to be neutrally buoyant. These approaches suggest a pre-eruptive bubble 300–850 μm in diameter, with a preferred value of 600–750 μm. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Development of the Long Valley,California, magma chamber recorded in precaldera rhyolite lavas of Glass Mountain

Glass Mountain, California, consists of >50 km³ of high-silica rhyolite lavas and associated pyroclastic deposits that erupted over a period of >1 my preceding explosive eruption of the Bishop Tuff and formation of the Long Valley caldera at 0.73 Ma. These “minimum-melt” rhyolites yield Fe-Ti-oxide temperatures of 695–718°C and contain sparse phenocrysts of plagioclase+quartz+magnetite+apatite±sanidine, biotite, ilmenite, allanite, and zircon. Incompatible trace elements show similar or larger ranges within the Glass Mountain suite than within the Bishop Tuff, despite a much smaller range of major-element concentrations, largely due to variability among the older lavas (erupted between 2.1 and 1.2 Ma). Ratios of the most incompatible elements have larger ranges in the older lavas than in the younger lavas (1.2–0.79 Ma), and concentrations of incompatible elements span wide ranges at nearly constant Ce/Yb, suggesting that the highest concentrations of these elements are not the result of extensive fractional crystallization alone; rather, they are inherited from parental magmas with a larger proportion of crustal partial melt. Evidence for the nature of this crustal component comes from the presence of scarce, tiny xenocrysts derived from granitic and greenschist-grade metamorphic rocks. The wider range of chemical and isotopic compositions in the older lavas, the larger range in phenocryst modes, the eruption of magmas with different compositions at nearly the same time in different parts of the field, and the smaller volume of individual lavas suggest either that more than one magma body was tapped during eruption of the older lavas or that a single chamber tapped by all lavas was small enough that the composition of its upper reaches easily affected by new additions of crustal melts. We interpret the relative chemical, mineralogical, and isotopic homogeneity of the younger Glass Mountain lavas as reflecting eruptions from a large, integrated magma chamber. The small number of cruptions between 1.4 and 1.2 ma may have allowed time for a large magma body to coalesce, and, as the chamber grew, its upper reaches became less affected by new inputs of crustal melts, so that trace-element trends in magmas erupted after 1.2 Ma are largely controlled by fractional crystallization. The extremely low Sr concentrations of Glass Mountain lavas imply extensive crystallization in chambers at least hundreds of cubic kilometers in volume. The close similarity in Sr, Nd, and Pb isotopic ratios between the younger Glass Mountain lavas and unaltered Bishop Tuff indicates that they tapped the same body of magma, which had become isotopically homogenous by 1.2 Ma but continued to differentiate after that time. From 1.2 to 0.79 Ma, volumetric eruptive rates may have exceeded rates of differentiation, as younger Glass Mountain lavas become slightly less evolved with time. Early-erupted Bishop Tuff is more evolved than the youngest of the Glass Mountain lavas and is characterized by slightly different trace element ratios. This suggests that although magma had been present for 0.5 my, the composiional gradient exhibited by the Bishop Tuff had not been a long-term, steady-state condition in the Long Valley magma chamber, but developed at least in part during the 0.06-my hiatus between extrusion of the last Glass Mountain lava and the climactic eruption.     

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

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

Reconstruction of an Evolving Magma Chamber beneath Usu Volcano since the 1663 Eruption

Usu volcano, located in northern Japan, has erupted seven timessince AD 1663. Before these seven eruptions, the volcano hada long repose period ( 5000 yr). The 1663 eruption was thefirstand by far the largest among the seven, producing nearlyaphyric rhyolitic pumice. Small mafic inclusions (‘micro-clots’J,consisting of glass, quenched crystals and abundant vesiclesoccur in the pumice. On the basis of petrological studies ofthe microclots, it is concluded that these are quenched meltsof a mafic magma injected into the rhyolite. The products ofthe 1769 eruption (and those of the following five eruptions)were dacites with abundant (10–15 vol %) microphenocrysts.According to crystal size distribution (CSD) analysis, the newmicrophenocrysts appear to have crystallized at a considerablyhigher cooling rate ( 300 times) than the phenocrysts in the1663 eruptive products. The contrasting petrologic featuresof the aphyric rhyolite and the following microphenocryst-richdacites can be explained by mixing and rapid cooling of a maficmagma injected during the 1663 eruption. We estimate the sizeof the magma chamber beneath Usu volcano just after the 1663eruption, using numerical calculations for a cooling magma chamber.If the magma chamber was sill-like, its thickness is estimatedto have been several hundreds of meters. KEY WORDS: Usu volcano; Japan; magma chamber evolution ^*Corresponding author. Present address: Geomechanics, Earthquake Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, I-I-I Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113, Japan     

The 26{middle dot}5 ka Oruanui Eruption, Taupo Volcano, New Zealand: Development, Characteristics and Evacuation of a Large Rhyolitic Magma Body

The caldera-forming 26·5 ka Oruanui eruption (Taupo,New Zealand) erupted 530 km³ of magma, >99% rhyolitic, <1%mafic. The rhyolite varies from 71·8 to 76·7 wt% SiO₂ and 76 to 112 ppm Rb but is dominantly 74–76 wt% SiO₂. Average rhyolite compositions at each stratigraphiclevel do not change significantly through the eruption sequence.Oxide geothermometry, phase equilibria and volatile contentsimply magma storage at 830–760°C, and 100–200MPa. Most rhyolite compositional variations are explicable by28% crystal fractionation involving the phenocryst and accessoryphases (plagioclase, orthopyroxene, hornblende, quartz, magnetite,ilmenite, apatite and zircon). However, scatter in some elementconcentrations and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios, and the presence of non-equilibriumcrystal compositions imply that mixing of liquids, phenocrystsand inherited crystals was also important in assembling thecompositional spectrum of rhyolite. Mafic compositions comprisea tholeiitic group (52·3–63·3 wt % SiO₂)formed by fractionation and crustal contamination of a contaminatedtholeiitic basalt, and a calc-alkaline group (56·7–60·5wt % SiO₂) formed by mixing of a primitive olivine–plagioclasebasalt with rhyolitic and tholeiitic mafic magmas. Both maficgroups are distinct from other Taupo Volcanic Zone eruptivesof comparable SiO₂ content. Development and destruction by eruptionof the Oruanui magma body occurred within 40 kyr and Oruanuicompositions have not been replicated in vigorous younger activity.The Oruanui rhyolite did not form in a single stage of evolutionfrom a more primitive forerunner but by rapid rejuvenation ofa longer-lived polygenetic, multi-age ‘stockpile’of silicic plutonic components in the Taupo magmatic system. KEY WORDS: Taupo Volcanic Zone; Taupo volcano; Oruanui eruption; rhyolite, zoned magma chamber; juvenile mafic compositions; eruption withdrawal systematics     

Mantle derived crystal-poor rhyolitic ignimbrites: Eruptive mechanism from geochemical and geochronological data of the Piedra Parada caldera,Southern Argentina

Trace elements, isotopic modeling and U-Th-Pb SHRIMP zircon age constraints are used to reconstruct the eruption history and magmatic processes of the Piedra Parada Caldera. In the early Eocene, the crystal-poor Barda Colorada ignimbrite(BCI), having 15% micro-porphyritic crystals with respect to magmatic components, erupted a volume estimated in more than 300 km~3. The Piedra Parada caldera is located in the Patagonian Andes foreland, at the southern end of the calderas field of the Pilcaniyeu Volcanic Belt(PVB). This belt is related to an extensional tectonic setting as a result of the collision of the Farallon-Aluk ridge with South America, which enabled the development of a transform ocean/continental plate margin followed by the detachment of the Aluk plate and the opening of a slab window. The BCI extra-caldera Plateau is a 100 m thick deposit, having a lower unit with high silica(Si O_2 76 wt.%),potassium poor rhyolitic composition(trondhjemitic like magma), and an upper unit with normal to high potassium rhyolitic composition(granitic like magma). A trace elements modeling of the BCI units shows that the BCI lower and upper units did not evolve from fractionation or immiscibility in the shallow magma reservoir. The BCI also have a primitive isotopic signature(initial87 Sr/86 Sr =0.7031-0.7049 and ε_(Nd)= +3.4 to +3.65). Thus, tectonic, compositional and isotopic constraints suggest the fast ascent of high silica magmas to a shallow reservoir, and point to an upper mantle origin for these rhyolitic magmas in a transitional(Orogenic-Anorogenic) tectono-magmatic setting. U-Th-Pb SHRIMP zircon crystallization ages of the Syn-caldera stage BCI units(56 -51.5 Ma) show a protracted life of 5 Ma for this caldera reservoir. The age of 52.9 ± 0.3 Ma is considered the best fit for the possible maximum age for the caldera collapse. The Late-caldera magmatism has trachyandesitic and rhyolitic compositions.The trace element modeling suggests that these rhyolites evolve from the trachyandesites and do not evolve from the BCI residual magma. The trachyandesites have U-Th-Pb SHRIMP zircon crystallization ages of 52 ± 1 Ma, suggesting that the caldera eruption was triggered by the arrival of the trachyandesitic magma.