Hydrous Basaltic Andesites Associated with Minette and Related Lavas in Western Mexico

The convergent margin of western Mexico is uniquely characterizedby a volcanic front of lamprophyric and related lavas located{small tilde}70 km closer to the Middle America trench thanthe main axis of andesitic volcanism. This front, defined bysmall volcanic centers ranging in age from {small tilde}1 kato 3 Ma, contains several lava types: minette, absarokite, leucitite,spessartite, and kersantite, all without feldspar phenocrysts.Many of the lavas contain hydrous phenocrysts; they are enrichedin potassium and other incompatible elements, and they are moreoxidized relative to the andesitic suite of the main axis. Intimatelyassociated are flows of basaltic andesite of comparable volume.They range in composition from 53 to 58 wt.%SiO₂, have 5–9wt.%MgO and contain phenocrysts of olivine, sparse augite, andvarying amounts of plagioclase. Their alkali contents are typicalof calc-alkaline varieties, with average Na₂O and K₂O concentrationsof 4?2 and 1?1 wt.% respectively. The basaltic andesites oftencontain olivine of unusually high forsterite content, reflectingcrystallization under oxidizing conditions, and they have oxygenfugacities up to 3?3 log units above the Ni-NiO buffer. Manifestationsof high water contents are (1) the ubiquitous occurrence ofgroundmass olivine rather than orthopyroxene, and (2) the suppressionof plagioclase as an early crystallizing phase. Both featuresreflect the role of water in reducing the activity of silicain the melt. The progressive influence of water during crystallizationis also seen in the continuum between the two intermediate lavatypes, basaltic andesite and kersantite, as plagioclase is suppressedand hornblende is stabilized in the phenocryst assemblage. Thus,despite the absence of hydrous minerals in the basaltic andesites,their phenocryst assemblages reveal the influence of substantialamounts of water, and thereby show a genetic link to the variouslamprophyric lavas.