Comment on ' ... Magmatic Conditions of the Fish Canyon Tuff, Central San Juan Volcanic Field, Colorado ' by Whitney & Stormer (1985)

Magmatic conditi ons inferred from the composition of the FishCanyon Tuff by Whitney &Stormer (J. Petrology, 26, 726–62(1985)) and Stormer & Whitney (Am. Miner. 70, 52–64(1985)) differ from studies of other ash-flow tuff and calderasystems, in that they consider the magma to have been unzonedand to have resided at {small tilde}9 kb pressure just priorto eruption. We find these conclusions unconvincing becauseof incomplete sampling of the Fish Canyon Tuff, alteration ofthe tuff after emplacement, and, in particular, serious limitationsof coupled Fe-Ti oxide and two-feldspar geothermobarometry.     

Physical and Chemical Models of Zoned Silicic Magmas: The Loma Seca Tuff and Calabozos Caldera, Southern Andes

The late Pleistocene Calabozos ash-flow and caldera complexlies in central Chile in a section of the Andean cordillerathat is transitional between dominantly andesitic-to-rhyoliticvolcanism to the north and mafic andesitic and high-aluminabasaltic volcanism to the south. The Calabozos rocks range incomposition from basaltic andesite to rhyodacite and definea high-K calcalkalic suite. They contain 2–25% phenocrystsof plagioclase, clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, Fe-Ti oxides,and apatite, ? minor biotite or amphibole. More than 1000km³ of rhyodacitic to dacitic magma erupted atthe Calabozos caldera complex as three major compositionallyzoned ash-flow sheets, Unit L (0?8 Ma), Unit V (0? 30Ma), andUnit S (0?15 Ma) of the Loma Seca Tuff. Phenocryst modes, trace-elementcontents, inferred magmatic volatile contents, and oxygen fugacitiesvary systematically with major-element composition in the tuffs.In the cases of Units V and S, it is possible to reconstructcompositional, thermal, and volatile gradients that existedin density-stratified magma chambers shortly prior to theireruption. The magma graded from crystal-poor, water-rich, andbiotite-bearing rhyodacite in the upper reaches of the chamberto more crystal-rich, water-poor, and amphibole-bearing daciteat deeper levels. Fe-Ti oxide equilibration temperatures are800 to 900?C for rhyodacite and 900 to 950?C for dacite. Magmathat erupted as Unit S was slightly hotter and more oxidizedthan magma that gave rise to Unit V. More mafic magmas wereassociated with the voluminous rhyodacitic to dacitic magmareservoir, as indicated by the presence of andesite and basalticandesite lava flows and by scoria inclusions in Unit V. The compositional suite from basaltic andesite to rhyodacitecan be simulated satisfactorily by crystal-fractionation calculationsbased on major-element phenocryst and rock compositions, andis consistent with modes of the Calabozos rocks. Rhyodacitesof Units V and S, however, are enriched in elements such asRb, Ba, and Zr relative to trace-element contents predictedby crystal-fractionation models. The enrichment can be achievedby assimilation of wall rock or a partial melt of the wall rock.The latter requires that the ratio of assimilation rates tocrystallization rates be between 0?1 and 0?3. Rates of assimilationversus crystallization were greater for Unit S than for UnitV, which is consistent with the lower Fe-Ti oxide temperaturesand less oxidized state of the latter. The Loma Seca Tuff is similar in bulk composition to sanidine-bearingash-flow sheets erupted on ‘mature’ continentalcrust, but it is mineralogically akin to ash-flow tuffs eruptedon ‘immature’ crust. The difference is attributed,in part, to the effect of the density of the crust on the rateof magma ascent at shallow levels. The ascent of large bodiesof silicic magma is slower in silicic (less dense) crust thanin mafic crust, causing the magmas to be erupted at a laterpoint in the crystallization history.