Evolution of Bishop Tuff Rhyolitic Magma Based on Melt and Magnetite Inclusions and Zoned Phenocrysts

The evolution of large bodies of silicic magma is an importantaspect of planetary differentiation. Melt and mineral inclusionsin phenocrysts and zoned phenocrysts can help reveal the processesof differentiation such as magma mixing and crystal settling,because they record a history of changing environmental conditions.Similar major element compositions and unusually low concentrationsof compatible elements (e.g. 0·45–4·6 ppmBa) in early-erupted melt inclusions, matrix glasses and bulkpumice from the Bishop Tuff, California, USA, suggest eutectoidfractional crystallization. On the other hand, late-eruptedsanidine phenocrysts have rims rich in Ba, and late-eruptedquartz phenocrysts have CO₂-rich melt inclusions closest tocrystal rims. Both features are the reverse of in situ crystallizationdifferentiation, and they might be explained by magma mixingor crystal sinking. Log(Ba/Rb) correlates linearly with log(Sr/Rb)in melt inclusions, and this is inconsistent with magma mixing.Melt inclusion gas-saturation pressure increases with CO₂ fromphenocryst core to rim and suggests crystal sinking. Some inclusionsof magnetite in late-erupted quartz are similar to early-eruptedmagnetite phenocrysts, and this too is consistent with crystalsinking. We argue that some large phenocrysts of late-eruptedquartz and sanidine continued to crystallize as they sank severalkilometers through progressively less differentiated melts.Probable diffusive modification of Sr in sanidine phenocrystsand the duration of crystal sinking are consistent with an evolutionaryinterval of some 100 ky or more. Crystal sinking enhanced thedegree of differentiation of the early-erupted magma and pointsto the importance of H₂O (to diminish viscosity and enhancethe rate of crystal sinking) in the evolution of silicic magmas. KEY WORDS: crystal settling; differentiation; melt inclusions; rhyolite; trace elements