Compositional and Dynamic Controls on Mafic--Silicic Magma Interactions at Continental Arc Volcanoes: Evidence from Cordn El Guadal, Tatara-San Pedro Complex, Chile

Heterogeneous andesitic and dacitic lavas on Cordn El Guadalbear on the general problem of how magmas of differing compositionsand physical properties interact in shallow reservoirs beneathcontinental arc volcanoes. Some of the lavas contain an exceptionallylarge proportion (<40%) of undercooled basaltic andesiticmagma in various states of disaggregation. Under-cooled maficmagma occurs in the silicic lavas as large (<40 cm) basalticandesitic magmatic inclusions, as millimeter-sized crystal-clotsof Mg-rich olivine phenocrysts plus adhering Carich plagioclasemicrophenocrysts (An_50–70), and as uniformly distributed,isolated phenocrysts and microphenocrysts. Compositions andtextures of plagioclase phenocrysts indicate that inclusion-formingmagmas are hybrids formed by mixing basaltic and dacitic melts,whereas textural features and compositions of groundmass phasesindicate that the andesitic and dacitic lavas are largely mechanicalmixtures of dacitic magma and crystallized basaltic andesiticmagma. This latter observation is significant because it indicatesthat mechanical blending of undercooled mafic magma and partiallycrystallized silicic magma is a possible mechanism for producingthe common porphyritic texture of many calc-alkaline volcanicrocks. The style of mafic-silicic magma interaction at CordonEl Guadal was strongly dependent upon the relative proportionsof the endmembers. Equally important in the Guadal system, however,was the manner in which the contrasting magmas were juxtaposed.Textural evidence preserved in the plagioclase phenocrysts indicatesthat the transition from liquid-liquid to solid-liquid mixingwas not continuous, but was partitioned into periods of magmachamber recharge and eruption, respectively. Evidently, duringperiods of recharge, basaltic magmas rapidly entrained smallamounts of dacitic magma along the margins of a turbulent injectionfountain. Conversely, during periods of eruption, dacitic magmagradually incorporated small parcels of basaltic andesitic magma.Thus, the coupled physical-chemical transition from mixed inclusionsto commingled lavas is presumably not coincidental. More likely,it probably provides a partial record of the dynamic processesoccurring in shallow magma chambers beneath continental arevolcanoes. KEY WORDS: Chile; commingling; magma mixing; magmatic inclusions ^*Present address: Department of Earth Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA