An evaluation of the effect of degassing on the oxidation state of hydrous andesite and dacite magmas: a comparison of pre- and post-eruptive Fe2+ concentrations

The bulk (post-eruptive) wt% FeO concentration in each of 11 phenocryst-poor (<5%) andesite and dacite (60–69 wt% SiO₂) lavas from different monogenetic vents in the Mexican arc has been measured by titration, in duplicate. The results match, within analytical error, the wt% FeO content of the magmas during phenocryst growth (pre-euptive), which were calculated on the basis of oxygen fugacity and temperature results from Fe–Ti two-oxide oxygen barometry. The average deviation between the pre- and post-eruptive FeO concentrations is ±0.15 wt%. Application of the plagioclase-liquid hygrometer shows that at the time of phenocryst growth, these 11 magmas contained from ~3–8 wt% H₂O, which was extensively degassed upon eruption. There is no evidence that degassing of ≤8 wt% H₂O changed the oxidation state of these magmas. Calculations of pre-eruptive and post-eruptive oxygen fugacity values relative to the Ni-NiO buffer (in terms of log₁₀ units) for the 11 samples span a similar range; pre-eruptive ∆NNO = −0.9 to +0.7 and post-eruptive ∆NNO = −0.4 to +0.8. The data further show that extensive groundmass (closed-system) crystallization had no affect on bulk Fe³⁺/Fe²⁺ ratios. Finally, there is no systematic variation in the range of pre-eruptive Fe³⁺/Fe^T values of the samples as a function of SiO₂ concentration (i.e., differentiation). Therefore, the results of this study indicate that the elevated Fe³⁺/Fe^T ratios of arc andesites and dacites, compared with magmas erupted in other tectonic settings, cannot be attributed to the effects of (1) degassing of H₂O, (2) closed-system crystallization, and/or (3) differentiation effects, but instead must be inherited from their parental source rocks (i.e., mantle-derived arc basalts).