Petrology of the zoned calcalkaline magma chamber of Mount Mazama,Crater Lake,Oregon

Evolution of the magma chamber at Mount Mazama involved repeated recharge by two types of andesite (high-Sr and low-Sr), crystal fractionation, crystal accumulation, assimilation, and magma mixing (Bacon and Druitt 1988). This paper addresses the modal compositions, textures, mineral chemistry and magmatic temperatures of (i) products of the 6845±50 BP climactic eruption, (ii) blocks of partially fused granitoid wallrock found in the ejecta, and (iii) preclimactic rhyodacitic lavas leaked from the chamber in late Pleistocene and early Holocene time. Immediately prior to the climactic eruption the chamber contained ≳ 40 km³ of rhyodacite (10 vol% plag + opx + aug + hb + mt + ilm, ∼880° C) overlying high-Sr andesite and cumulus-crystal mush (28–51 vol% plag + hb ± opx ± aug + mt ± ilm, 880° to ≥950° C), which in turn overlay low-Sr crystal mush (50–66 vol% plag + opx + aug ± hb ± ol + mt + ilm, 890° to ≥950† C). Despite the well known compositional gap in the ejecta, no thermal discontinuity existed in the chamber. Pre-eruptive water contents of pore liquids in most high-Sr and low-Sr mushes were 4–6 wt%, but on average the high-Sr mushes were slightly richer in water. Although parental magmas of the crystal mushes were andesitic, xenocrysts of bytownite and Ni-rich magnesian olivine in some scoriae record the one-time injection of basalt into the chamber. Textures in ol-bearing scoriae preserve evidence for the reactions ol + liq = opx and ol + aug + liq(+ plag?) = hb, which occurred in andesitic liquids at Mount Mazama. Strontium abundances in plagioclase phenocrysts constrain the petrogenesis of preclimactic and climactic rhyodacites. Phenocryst cores derived from high-Sr and low-Sr magmas have different Sr contents which can be resolved by microprobe. Partition coefficients for plagioclase in andesitic to rhyolitic glasses range from 2 to 7, and increase as glass %SiO₂ increases. Evolved Pleistocene rhyodacites (∼30–25,000 BP) and rhyodacites of the Holocene Llao Rock center (7015±45 BP) contain Sr-poor plagioclase and are derivatives from low-Sr magma. Rhyodacites of the Pleistocene Sharp Peak domes, Holocene Cleetwood flow (∼6850 BP), and climactic ejecta contain discrete Sr-rich and Sr-poor plagioclase phenocryst populations and are hybrids produced by mixing low-Sr rhyodacite (containing Sr-poor plag + opx + aug) with a more mafic high-Sr magma (with Sr-rich plag [ + hb?]). The data reinforce the conclusions of crystal-liquid mixing calculations (Bacon and Druitt 1988), and suggest some important refinements to the magma chamber model.     

Compositional evolution of the zoned calcalkaline magma chamber of Mount Mazama,Crater Lake,Oregon

The climactic eruption of Mount Mazama has long been recognized as a classic example of rapid eruption of a substantial fraction of a zoned magma body. Increased knowledge of eruptive history and new chemical analyses of 350 wholerock and glass samples of the climactic ejecta, preclimactic rhyodacite flows and their inclusions, postcaldera lavas, and lavas of nearby monogenetic vents are used here to infer processes of chemical evolution of this late Pleistocene — Holocene magmatic system. The 6845±50 BP climactic eruption vented 50 km³ of magma to form: (1) rhyodacite fall deposit; (2) welded rhyodacite ignimbrite; and (3) lithic breccia and zoned ignimbrite, these during collapse of Crater Lake caldera. Climactic ejecta were dominantly homogeneous rhyodacite (70.4±0.3% SiO₂), followed by subordinate andesite and cumulate scoriae (48–61% SiO₂). The gap in wholerock composition reflects mainly a step in crystal content because glass compositions are virtually continuous. Two types of scoriae are distinguished by different LREE, Rb, Th, and Zr, but principally by a twofold contrast in Sr content: High-Sr (HSr) and low-Sr (LSr) scoriae. HSr scoriae were erupted first. Trace element abundances indicate that HSr and LSr scoriae had different calcalkaline andesite parents; basalt was parental to some mafic cumulate scoriae. Parental magma compositions reconstructed from scoria wholerock and glass data are similar to those of inclusions in preclimactic rhyodacites and of aphyric lavas of nearby monogenetic vents.Preclimactic rhyodacite flows and their magmatic inclusions give insight into evolution of the climactic chamber. Evolved rhyodacite flows containing LSr andesite inclusions were emplaced between 30000 and 25000 BP. At 7015±45 BP, the Llao Rock vent produced a zoned rhyodacite pumice fall, then rhyodacite lava with HSr andesite inclusions. The Cleetwood rhyodacite flow, emplaced immediately before the climactic eruption and compositionally identical to climactic rhyodacite (volatile-free), contains different HSr inclusions from Llao Rock. The change from LSr to HSr inclusions indicates replenishment of the chamber with andesite magma, perhaps several times, in the latest Pleistocene to early Holocene.Modeling calculations and wholerock-glass relations suggest than: (1) magmas were derived mainly by crystallization differentiation of andesite liquid; (2) evolved preclimactic rhyodacite probably was derived from LSr andesite; (3) rhyodacites contain a minor component of partial melt from wall rocks, and (4) climactic and compositionally similar rhyodacites probably formed by mixing of evolved rhyodacite with HSr derivative liquid(s) after replenishment of the chamber with HSr andesite magma. Density considerations permit a model for growth and evolution of the chamber in which andesite recharge magma ponded repeatedly between cumulates and rhyodacite magma. Convective cooling of this andesite resulted in rapid crystallization and upward escape of buoyant derivative liquid which mixed with overlying, convecting rhyodacite. The evolved rhyodacites were erupted early in the chamber's history and(or) near its margins. Postcaldera andesite lavas may be hybrids composed of LSr cumulates mixed with remnant climactic rhyodacite. Younger postcaldera rhyodacite probably formed by fractionation of similar andesite and assimilation of partial melts of wallrocks.Uniformity of climactic rhyodacite suggests homogeneous silicic ejecta from other volcanoes resulted from similar replenishment-driven convective mixing. Calcalkaline pluton compositions and their internal zonation can be interpreted in terms of the Mazama system frozen at various times in its history.     

Stable isotope and petrologic evidence for open-system degassing during the climactic and pre-climactic eruptions of Mt. Mazama, Crater Lake, Oregon

Evaluation of the extent of volatile element recycling in convergent margin volcanism requires delineating likely source(s) of magmatic volatiles through stable isotopic characterization of sulfur, hydrogen and oxygen in erupted tephra with appropriate assessment of modification by degassing. The climactic eruption of Mt. Mazama ejected approximately 50 km³ of rhyodacitic magma into the atmosphere and resulted in formation of a 10-km diameter caldera now occupied by Crater Lake, Oregon (lat. 43°N, long. 122°W). Isotopic compositions of whole-rocks, matrix glasses and minerals from Mt. Mazama climactic, pre-climactic and postcaldera tephra were determined to identify the likely source(s) of H₂O and S. Integration of stable isotopic data with petrologic data from melt inclusions has allowed for estimation of pre-eruptive dissolved volatile concentrations and placed constraints on the extent, conditions and style of degassing.Sulfur isotope analyses of climactic rhyodacitic whole rocks yield δ³⁴S values of 2.8-14.8‰ with corresponding matrix glass values of 2.4-13.2‰. δ³⁴S tends to increase with stratigraphic height through climactic eruptive units, consistent with open-system degassing. Dissolved sulfur concentrations in melt inclusions (MIs) from pre-climactic and climactic rhyodacitic pumices varies from 80 to 330 ppm, with highest concentrations in inclusions with 4.8-5.2 wt% H₂O (by FTIR). Up to 50% of the initial S may have been lost through pre-eruptive degassing at depths of 4-5 km. Ion microprobe analyses of pyrrhotite in climactic rhyodacitic tephra and andesitic scoria indicate a range in δ³⁴S from −0.4‰ to 5.8‰ and from −0.1‰ to 3.5‰, respectively. Initial δ³⁴S values of rhyodacitic and andesitic magmas were likely near the mantle value of 0‰. Hydrogen isotope (δD) and total H₂O analyses of rhyodacitic obsidian (and vitrophyre) from the climactic fall deposit yielded values οf −103 to −53‰ and 0.23-1.74 wt%, respectively. Values of δD and wt% H₂O of obsidian decrease towards the top of the fall deposit. Samples with depleted δD, and mantle δ¹⁸O values, have elevated δ³⁴S values consistent with open-system degassing. These results imply that more mantle-derived sulfur is degassed to the Earth’s atmosphere/hydrosphere through convergent margin volcanism than previously attributed. Magmatic degassing can modify initial isotopic compositions of sulfur by >14‰ (to δ³⁴S values of 14‰ or more here) and hydrogen isotopic compositions by 90‰ (to δD values of −127‰ in this case).     

Origin of Phenocrysts and Compositional Diversity in Pre-Mazama Rhyodacite Lavas, Crater Lake, Oregon

Phenocrysts in porphyritic volcanic rocks may originate in avariety of ways in addition to nucleation and growth in thematrix in which they are found. Porphyritic rhyodacite lavasthat underlie the eastern half of Mount Mazama, the High Cascadeandesite/dacite volcano that contains Crater Lake caldera, containevidence that bears on the general problem of phenocryst origin.Phenocrysts in these lavas apparently formed by crystallizationnear the margins of a magma chamber and were admixed into convectingmagma before eruption. About 20 km³ of pre-Mazama rhyodacite magma erupted during arelatively short period between400 and 500 ka; exposed pre-Mazamadacites are older and less voluminous. The rhyodacites formedas many as 40 lava domes and flows that can be assigned to threeeruptive groups on the basis of composition and phenocryst content.Phenocryst abundance decreases (from 32 to 8 vol.%) and SiO₂content increases (from 68 to 73 wt.%) in the apparent orderof eruption. Phenocrysts (plagioclase, orthopyroxene, augite,and Fe-Ti oxides) are commonly fragmental or form polycrystallineaggregates with interstitial glass. Discrete phenocrysts withcomplete euhedral outlines are rare except for small elongatedcrystals. The abundance of discrete phenocrysts increases withthat of aggregates. The grain-size of minerals in the aggregatescovers the range of discrete phenocrysts (0.2–4.2 mm).Rim compositions of phenocrysts and the range of chemical zoningare almost uniform among the three rhyodacite groups, regardlessof whether crystals are discrete or in aggregates. However,a small fraction of phenocrysts, especially small elongatedcrystals, have different compositions: plagioclase with Fe-richcores and augite with Wo-poor cores, both of which are characteristicof crystals in undercooled andesite enclaves in the rhyodacites.The majority of phenocrysts were derived by disintegration ofpolycrystalline aggregates; rare, small phenocrysts crystallizedin andesitic magma similar to that represented by the andesiteenclaves. The modal and chemical compositions of the rhyodacites can beexplained by different degrees of admixing of crystals, representedby the aggregates, into magma having 4 vol.% ‘true’phenocrysts, mainly plagioclase. The aggregates may be partsof the rind formed by in situ crystallization near the walland roof of the magma chamber. The rind was disrupted duringor just before eruption, and pieces were variably disaggregatedand incorporated into erupting magma. The amount of rind incorporateddeclined during the sequence of eruptions. Owing to vesiculationof interstitial liquid and shearing during flow, crystals inthe aggregates were separated and became phenocrysts. Pre-Mazamarhyodacite was erupted dominantly as lava, as opposed to thecompositionally similar rhyodacite pumice of the Holocene caldera-formingeruption of Mount Mazama, apparently because its source chamberwas crystallizing inward rather than actively growing.     

Multiple Isotopic Components in Quaternary Volcanic Rocks of the Cascade Arc near Crater Lake, Oregon

Quaternary lavas and pyroclastic rocks of Mount Mazama, CraterLake caldera, and the surrounding area have variable Sr, Nd,and Pb isotopic compositions. High-alumina olivine tholeiites(HAOT) have ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of 0.70346–0.70364; basalticandesite, 0–70349–0.70372; shoshonitic basalticandesite, 0.70374–0.70388; and andesite, 0.70324–0.70383.Dacites of Mount Mazama have ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of 0.70348–0.70373.Most rhyodacites converge on 0.7037. However, rhyodacite ofthe caldera-forming, climactic eruption has ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.70354because of an admixed low-⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr component. Andesitic tomafic-cumulate scoriae of the climactic eruption, and enclavesin preclimactic rhyodacites, cluster in two groups but shownearly the entire ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr range of the data set, confirmingpreviously suggested introduction of diverse parental magmasinto the growing climactic chamber. Pb and Nd isotope ratiosdisplay less variation (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb= 18.838–18.967, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb=15.556–15.616,²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb=38.405–38.619; _Nd= +3.9 to +6.1) and generallycovary with ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶ Sr ratios. Radiogenic isotope data fromCrater Lake plot with published data for other Cascade volcanoeson isotope ratio correlation diagrams. The isotopic data for the Crater Lake area require sources ofprimitive magmas to consist of depleted mantle and a subductioncomponent, introduced in variable quantity to the depleted mantlewedge. Variable degrees of melting of this heterogeneous mantle,possibly at different depths, produced the diversity of isotopiccompositions and large-ion lithophile element (LILE) abundancesin primitive magmas. Trace element ratios do not indicate presenceof an ocean island basalt (OIB) source component that has beenreported in lavas of some other Cascade volcanoes. Crustal contamination may have affected isotope ratios and LILEconcentrations in evolved HAOT, where initial LILE concentrationswere low. Contamination is more difficult to detect in the calcalkalinelavas because of their higher LILE concentrations and the smallisotopic contrast with likely contaminants, such as mid- tolower-crustal rocks thought to be equivalents of igneous rocksof the Klamath Mountains and associated lower crust. Crustalassimilation appears to be required for calcalkaline rocks onlyby ¹⁸O values, which vary from lows of +5.6 to + 6.0% in HAOTand primitive basaltic andesites to a high of +7.0% in dacite,a range that is too high to be explained by plagioclase-dominatedclosed-system fractional crystallization. Elevated ¹⁸O valuesof differentiated lavas may be attributed to interaction withrelatively ¹⁸O-rich, ⁸⁷Sr-poor crustal rocks. Variably fused granitoid blocks ejected in the climactic eruption,and rarely in late Pleistocene eruptive units, have ¹⁸Opl of–3.4 to +6.5% and ¹⁸O_qz of –2.2 to +8.0% but haveSr, Nd, and Pb isotope ratios similar to volcanic rocks (e.g.⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr0.7037). Rb and Sr data for glass separates from granodioritessuggest that the source pluton is Miocene. Glass from granodioritehas ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios as high as 0.70617. Oxygen isotope fractionationbetween quartz, plagioclase, and glass indicates requilibrationof O isotopes at magmatic temperatures, after ¹⁸O/¹⁶O had beenlowered by exchange with meteoric hydrothermal fluids. Unmeltedgranodiorite xenoliths from pre-climactic eruptive units have¹⁸O values that are consistent with onset of hydrothermal exchangeearly during growth of the climactic magma chamber. Assimilationof such upper-crustal granodiorite apparently lowered ¹⁸O valuesof rhyodacites without significantly affecting their magmaticcompositions in other ways.     

Petrogenesis of the magmatic complex at Mount Ascutney,Vermont, USA

The Ascutney Mountain igneous complex in eastern Vermont, USA, is composed of three principal units with compositions ranging from gabbro to granite. Sr and O isotopic and major element relationships for mafic rocks, granites, and nearby gneissic and schistose country rock have been investigated in order to describe the petrogenesis of the mafic suite which ranges from gabbro to diorite. The entire complex appears to have been formed within a short interval 122.2±1.2 m.y. ago. The granites with ¹⁸O near +7.8 had an initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr of 0.70395(±6) which is indistinguishable from the initial ratio of the most primitive gabbro. Initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios and ¹⁸O values for the mafic rocks range from 0.7039 to 0.7057 and +6.1 to +8.6, respectively. The isotopic ratios are highly correlated with major element trends and reflect considerable crustal contamination of a mantle-derived basaltic parent magma. The likely contaminant was Precambrian gneiss similar to exposed bedrock into which the basic rocks were emplaced. A new approach to modelling of assimilation during the formation of a cogenetic igneous rock suite is illustrated. Chemical and isotopic modelling indicate that the mafic rocks were produced by simultaneous assimilation and fractional crystallization. The relative amounts of fractionation and assimilation varied considerably. The mafic suite was not produced by a single batch of magma undergoing progressive contamination; rather, the various rocks probably were derived from separate batches of magma each of which followed a separate course of evolution. The late stage granite was apparently derived from basaltic magma by fractionation with little or no crustal assimilation. The early intrusive phases are much more highly contaminated than the final one. The observed relationships have important implications for the formation of comagmatic complexes and for isotopic modelling of crustal contamination.     

Petrogenesis of the magmatic complex at Mount Ascutney,Vermont, USA

The Ascutney Mountain complex of eastern Vermont, USA, is a composite epizonal pluton of genetically related gabbro to granite intrusives. Nd isotopic data are reported for mafic rocks, granites, and nearby country rock. The parental mafic magma producing the complex 122 m.y. ago had ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.7039, ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd=0.512678 ( _Nd=+3.8) and ¹⁸O=6.1, indicating a mantle source with time-integrated lithophile element depletion. Uniform initial radiogenic isotope ratios for granites, which are undistinguishable from those for the most primitive gabbro, suggest that the granite magma evolved from the mafic magma without crustal contamination and that the increase in ¹⁸O, to about 7.8, is the result of fractional crystallization. Mafic rocks show a large range in initial ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd ratio, from about 0.51267 to 0.51236 ( _Nd= +3.7 to –2.5), which is correlated with elevated ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios and ¹⁸O. These data substantiate the production of mafic lithologies by fractional crystallization of the parental magma accompanied by assimilation of up to about 50% crust. The local country rocks include gneiss and schist and assimilation involved representatives of both rock types. The isotopic and chemical relationships preclude derivation from a single batch of magma undergoing contamination and indicate that a large magma body at depth evolved largely by fractionation with batches of melt issued from this chamber being variably contaminated at higher levels or at the level of emplacement.The Precambrian gneisses of the Chester dome and overlying lower Paleozoic schists have essentially identical Nd isotope systematics which suggest a crustal formation age of about 1.6. b.y. The parental sediments for the schists were apparently derived from a protolith similar to the gneissic basement without appreciable Sm/Nd fractionation.     

Amphibole as an archivist of magmatic crystallization conditions: problems,potential, and implications for inferring magma storage prior to the paroxysmal 2010 eruption of Mount Merapi,Indonesia

Amphibole is widely employed to calculate crystallization temperature and pressure, although its potential as a geobarometer has always been debated. Recently, Ridolfi et al. (Contrib Mineral Petrol 160:45–66, 2010) and Ridolfi and Renzulli (Contrib Mineral Petrol 163:877–895, 2012) have presented calibrations for calculating temperature, pressure, fO₂, melt H₂O, and melt major and minor oxide composition from amphibole with a large compositional range. Using their calibrations, we have (i) calculated crystallization conditions for amphibole from eleven published experimental studies to examine the problems and the potential of the new calibrations; and (ii) calculated crystallization conditions for amphibole from basaltic–andesitic pyroclasts erupted during the paroxysmal 2010 eruption of Mount Merapi in Java, Indonesia, to infer pre-eruptive conditions. Our comparison of experimental and calculated values shows that calculated crystallization temperatures are reasonable estimates. Calculated fO₂ and melt SiO₂ content yields potentially useful estimates at moderately reduced to moderately oxidized conditions and intermediate to felsic melt compositions. However, calculated crystallization pressure and melt H₂O content are untenable estimates that largely reflect compositional variation in the crystallizing magmas and crystallization temperature and not the calculated parameters. Amphibole from Merapi’s pyroclasts yields calculated conditions of ~200–800 MPa, ~900–1,050 °C, ~NNO + 0.3–NNO + 1.1, ~3.7–7.2 wt% melt H₂O, and ~58–71 wt% melt SiO₂. We interpret the variations in calculated temperature, fO₂, and melt SiO₂ content as reasonable estimates, but conclude that the large calculated pressure variation for amphibole from Merapi and many other arc volcanoes is evidence for thorough mixing of mafic to felsic magmas and not necessarily evidence for crystallization over a large depth range. In contrast, bimodal pressure estimates obtained for other arc magmas reflect amphibole crystallization from mafic and more evolved magmas, respectively, and should not necessarily be taken as evidence for crystallization in two reservoirs at variable depth.     

High-temperature emplacement and liquefaction of shallow-water caldera-forming eruption products: Early Miocene Tateyamazaki Dacite in the Oga Peninsula, NE Japan

The Early Miocene Tateyamazaki Dacite infills a 3.2 km diameter caldera. It comprises poorly sorted, massive, biotite-bearing dacite pumice lapilli tuff, in which huge blocks of densely welded dacite lapilli tuff, basaltic andesite lava, and other lithologies are commonly set. Dense blocks are variably cracked and intruded by the host lapilli tuff. Sparse blocks of bedded lapilli tuff and tuff are variably disaggregated to intermingle with the host rocks or are plastically deformed into irregular shapes. Rootless tuff veins millimeters to 30 cm thick are developed within the host rocks, mainly dipping at 10–30°, and are locally branched and mutually cut to form a network. Where thicker, they are stratified and locally carry accidental fragments. Accidental lapilli up to 2 or 3 cm wide and 30 cm long are locally set in near-vertical and variably sinuous arrays. Although poorly defined they are reminiscent of fluid escape structures. The host pumice lapilli tuff, however, retains in part a thermal remnant magnetization (TRM) vector stable at temperatures above 280 °C. Blocks in the caldera fill also retain TRM but the vectors are rotated significantly from those of the host pumice lapilli tuff and the adjacent volcanic rocks. Tateyamazaki Dacite is thus likely to have been emplaced at high temperatures, and intermingled with shattered basement rocks and ambient water to be partly liquefied within the caldera immediately after or during the caldera-forming eruption.     

Petrology of iron-rich magmatic segregations associated with strongly peraluminous trondhjemite in the Cornucopia stock, northeastern Oregon

The Middle Cretaceous Cornucopia stock in the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon is a small composite intrusion consisting of hornblende biotite tonalite, biotite trondhjemite, and three cordierite two mica trondhjemite units. Unusual magnetite + biotite-rich tonalitic rocks are associated with the Crater Lake cordierite trondhjemite, the youngest of the intrusions. Oxide-rich tonalites are characterized by high Fe (~47-68 wt% total Fe as FeO), low SiO₂ (<36 wt%), and enrichments in HFSE and REE (La_(N)=361-903). Oxide-rich tonalites appear in a variety of forms, including composite dikes and sheets, in which they are associated with leucocratic tonalite. Leucotonalite is lower in SiO₂ (60-72 wt%) than Crater Lake trondhjemite, and generally has DREE contents and Eu anomalies intermediate between the oxide-rich tonalite and Crater Lake compositions. Oxide-rich tonalites crosscut, and are crosscut by, shear zones in the host trondhjemite, indicating their emplacement late in the pluton's crystallization history. Granitic dikes crosscut the composite dikes in all localities. Geochemical considerations and sedimentary-like structures, such as load casts and bedding of magnetite-rich assemblages in the composite dikes and sheets, are suggestive of crystal settling from an Fe-rich parental magma. The Fe-rich liquid parental to the oxide-rich tonalite-leucotonalite pairs formed by extensive, in-situ, plagioclase + quartz-dominated crystallization of strongly peraluminous trondhjemite. Early magnetite saturation in the trondhjemite was suppressed, either because the parental trondhjemitic magma had a lower initial total Fe content or because it had a lower ferric-ferrous ratio, possibly reflecting a lower oxygen fugacity. Accumulation of magnetite from Fe-rich residual magma is a viable mechanism for the concentration of iron, and the subsequent formation of Fe-rich rocks, in calcic siliceous intrusions. Apparently, Fe-enrichment can occur locally in calcic magmas, and is not restricted to rocks of mafic tholeiitic or anorthositic affinity.     

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.     

Postglacial vegetation, fire, and climate history of the Siskiyou Mountains, Oregon, USA

The forests of the Siskiyou Mountains are among the most diverse in North America, yet the long-term relationship among climate, diversity, and natural disturbance is not well known. Pollen, plant macrofossils, and high-resolution charcoal data from Bolan Lake, Oregon, were analyzed to reconstruct a 17,000-yr-long environmental history of high-elevation forests in the region. In the late-glacial period, the presence of a subalpine parkland of Artemisia, Poaceae, Pinus, and Tsuga with infrequent fires suggests cool dry conditions. After 14,500 cal yr B.P., a closed forest of Abies, Pseudotsuga, Tsuga, and Alnus rubra with more frequent fires developed which indicates more mesic conditions than before. An open woodland of Pinus, Quercus, and Cupressaceae, with higher fire activity than before, characterized the early Holocene and implies warmer and drier conditions than at present. In the late Holocene, Abies and Picea were more prevalent in the forest, suggesting a return to cool wet conditions, although fire-episode frequency remained relatively high. The modern forest of Abies and Pseudotsuga and the present-day fire regime developed ca. 2100 cal yr B.P. and indicates that conditions had become slightly drier than before. Sub-millennial-scale fluctuations in vegetation and fire activity suggest climatic variations during the Younger Dryas interval and within the early Holocene period. The timing of vegetation changes in the Bolan Lake record is similar to that of other sites in the Pacific Northwest and Klamath region, and indicates that local vegetation communities were responding to regional-scale climate changes. The record implies that climate-driven millennial- to centennial-scale vegetation and fire change should be considered when explaining the high floristic diversity observed at present in the Siskiyou Mountains.     

Tracing the source of mercury contamination in the Dorena Lake watershed, Western Oregon

Although fish in Dorena Lake are contaminated with mercury, the source of pollution in the watershed was unconfirmed until the present study. To trace the mercury to its source, fine-grained sediment samples were collected from the major streams of the watershed. A few samples of mine waste/tailings were also obtained from the Bohemia Mining District where mercury was historically used in processing gold and silver ore. Mercury concentrations in sediment from streams that do not drain the central mining district average 0.066 ppm, whereas samples taken downstream of the district contain 0.140-1.339 ppm. Mine waste/tailings contain 13.441 to >50 ppm mercury. The source of mercury contamination in the Dorena Lake watershed is thus the Bohemia Mining District. Historical and geological evidence strongly suggests that the mercury problem in the district resulted from gold-mercury amalgamation practices, but naturally high mercury content in mineralized areas cannot be ruled out with the data presented here.     

The magmatic history of the Vetas-California mining district,Santander Massif,Eastern Cordillera,Colombia

The Vetas-California Mining District (VCMD), located in the central part of the Santander Massif (Colombian Eastern Cordillera), based on U–Pb dating of zircons, records the following principal tectono-magmatic events: (1) the Grenville Orogenic event and high grade metamorphism and migmatitization between ∼1240 and 957 Ma; (2) early Ordovician calc–alkalic magmatism, which was synchronous with the Caparonensis–Famatinian Orogeny (∼477 Ma); (3) middle to late Ordovician post-collisional calc–alkalic magmatism (∼466–436 Ma); (4) late Triassic to early Jurassic magmatism between ∼204 and 196 Ma, characterized by both S- and I-type calc–alkalic intrusions and; (5) a late Miocene shallowly emplaced intermediate calc–alkaline intrusions (10.9 ± 0.2 and 8.4 ± 0.2 Ma). The presence of even younger igneous rocks is possible, given the widespread magmatic–hydrothermal alteration affecting all rock units in the area.The igneous rocks from the late Triassic–early Jurassic magmatic episodes are the volumetrically most important igneous rocks in the study area and in the Colombian Eastern Cordillera. They can be divided into three groups based on their field relationships, whole rock geochemistry and geochronology. These are early leucogranites herein termed Alaskites-I (204–199 Ma), Intermediate rocks (199–198 Ma), and late leucogranites, herein referred to as Alaskites-II (198–196 Ma). This Mesozoic magmatism is reflecting subtle changes in the crustal stress in a setting above an oblique subduction of the Panthalassa plate beneath Pangea.The lower Cretaceous siliciclastic Tambor Formation has detrital zircons of the same age populations as the metamorphic and igneous rocks present in the study area, suggesting that the provenance is related to the erosion of these local rocks during the late Jurassic or early Cretaceous, implying a local supply of sediments to the local depositional basins.     

Four thousand years of environmental change and human activity in the Cochabamba Basin, Bolivia

The Cochabamba Basin (Bolivia) is on the ancient road network connecting Andean and lowland areas. Little is known about the longevity of this trade route or how people responded to past environmental changes. The eastern end of the Cochabamba valley system constricts at the Vacas Lake District, constraining the road network and providing an ideal location in which to examine past human-environmental interactions. Multi-proxy analysis of sediment from Lake Challacaba has allowed a c. 4000 year environmental history to be reconstructed. Fluctuations in drought tolerant pollen taxa and calcium carbonate indicate two periods of reduced moisture availability (c. 4000-3370 and c. 2190-1020 cal yr BP) compared to adjacent wetter episodes (c. 3370-2190 and c. 1020 cal yr BP-present). The moisture fluctuations broadly correlate to El Niño/Southern Oscillation variations reported elsewhere. High charcoal abundance from c. 4000 to 2000 yr ago indicates continuous use of the ancient road network. A decline in charcoal and an increase in dung fungus (Sporormiella) c. 1340-1210 cal yr BP, suggests that cultural changes were a major factor in shaping the modern landscape. Despite undisputable impacts of human populations on the Polylepis woodlands today, we see no evidence of woodland clearance in the Challacaba record.     

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.     

Geochemical and isotopic insights into the assembly,evolution and disruption of a magmatic plumbing system before and after a cataclysmic caldera-collapse eruption at Ischia volcano (Italy)

New geochemical and isotopic data on volcanic rocks spanning the period ~75–50 ka BP on Ischia volcano, Italy, shed light on the evolution of the magmatic system before and after the catastrophic, caldera-forming Monte Epomeo Green Tuff (MEGT) eruption. Volcanic activity during this period was influenced by a large, composite and differentiating magmatic system, replenished several times with isotopically distinct magmas of deep provenance. Chemical and isotopic variations highlight that the pre-MEGT eruptions were fed by trachytic/phonolitic magmas from an isotopically zoned reservoir that were poorly enriched in radiogenic Sr and became progressively less radiogenic with time. Just prior to the MEGT eruption, the magmatic system was recharged by an isotopically distinct magma, relatively more enriched in radiogenic Sr with respect to the previously erupted magmas. This second magma initially fed several SubPlinian explosive eruptions and later supplied the climactic, phonolitic-to-trachytic MEGT eruption(s). Isotopic data, together with erupted volume estimations obtained for MEGT eruption(s), indicate that >5–10 km³ of this relatively enriched magma had accumulated in the Ischia plumbing system. Geochemical modelling indicates that it accumulated at shallow depths (4–6 km), over a period of ca. 20 ka. After the MEGT eruption, volcanic activity was fed by a new batch of less differentiated (trachyte-latite) magma that was slightly less enriched in radiogenic Sr. The geochemical and Sr–Nd-isotopic variations through time reflect the upward flux of isotopically distinct magma batches, variably contaminated by Hercynian crust at 8–12 km depth. The deep-sourced latitic to trachytic magmas stalled at shallow depths (4–6 km depth), differentiated to phonolite through crystal fractionation and assimilation of a feldspar-rich mush, or ascended directly to the surface and erupted.     

Aminostratigraphy and sea-level history of the Pleistocene Bridgewater Formation,Mount Gambier region,southern Australia

A geochronological framework based on amino acid racemisation (AAR) and constrained by previously reported optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages is presented for the evolution and paleosea-level record of the Pleistocene Bridgewater Formation of the Mount Gambier region, of southern Australia. Within the study area, the Bridgewater Formation is represented by late early Pleistocene [Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 23 at 933 ka] to Holocene barrier shoreline successions deposited during sea-level highstands. Regional monotonic uplift (0.13 mm yr^–1) and pervasive calcrete development during the Pleistocene have preserved the sequence of calcarenite (mixed quartz-skeletal carbonate sand) shoreline complexes from denudation. AAR analyses confirm that the barriers generally increase in age landwards and correlate with sea-level highstands associated with interglacials as defined by the marine oxygen isotope record. AAR analyses on the benthic foraminifer Elphidium crispum have proved more reliable than the whole-rock method in extending the age range of AAR dating of these relict shoreline successions. Paleosea-levels from the coastal plain are as follows: MIS 7, –9 ± 2 m; MIS 9, 4 ± 1 m; and a minimum sea-level of 2 ± 2 m is derived for MIS 11. Paleosea-level could not be determined for MIS 15, 19 or 23 as diagnostic sea-level indicators were not identified within these sedimentary successions. Dismal Range, dated at 933 ± 145 ka (MIS 23), represents a correlative feature to the East Naracoorte Range but is some 25 km seaward of the Kanawinka Fault compared with the same barrier at Naracoorte. Mingbool Range (788 ± 18 ka) is of similar age to the West Naracoorte Range (MIS 19) and formed as an arcuate shoreline complex that became attached to the higher relief of the area represented by the Mount Burr Volcanic Province. The higher topographical relief resulted from crustal doming of the Oligo-Miocene Gambier Limestone caused by the intrusion of magma associated with the volcanic province. The AAR age of 788 ± 118 ka for Mingbool Range indicates that the Mount Burr volcanics predate the deposition of this shoreline complex.