An evaluation of the global variations in the major element chemistry of arc basalts

Abstract

Arc volcanoes occur at convergent margins with a wide range in subduction parameters, and variations in these parameters might be expected to lead to variations in the chemistry of magmas parental to arcs. Major element analyses from approximately 100 volcanic centers within 30 arcs, normalized to 6% MgO to minimize the effects of crystal fractionation, display wide variations. Na 2O and CaO at 6% MgO (Na 6.0 and Ca 6.0) correlate remarkably well with the thickness of the overlying crust. These systematics are consistent with two possible models. In the first model, the crust behaves as a chemical filter; where the crust is thick, magmas crystallize at higher pressure and interact more extensively with the arc crust. Modeling of high-pressure crystallization and assimilation, however, does not reproduce the associated variations in Na 6.0 and Ca 6.0 without calling upon complicated combinations of fractionating phases and assimilants. In the second model, crustal thickness determines the height of the mantle column available for melting beneath arc volcanoes. If melting begins beneath arcs at similar depths, then the column of mantle that undergoes decompression melting is much shorter beneath the thickest arc crust. The shorter mantle column for arcs built on thick crust will lead to smaller extents of melting in the mantle, and hence higher Na 6.0 and lower Ca 6.0 in the parental magmas. Modeling shows that variations in the extent of melting in the mantle can easily account for the associated variations in Ca 6.0 and Na 6.0. The abundances of the other major elements at 6% MgO do not correlate well with crustal thickness, or any other subduction parameter. Co-variation of some of these other major elements (e.g., Si 6.0 and Fe 6.0) within individual arcs suggests that they are strongly influenced by local crustal level processes that obscure partial melting systematics. Correction for the crustal processes improves the relationship between Na 6.0 and Ca 6.0 that is so readily explained by partial melting. The extents of melting in the mantle beneath arc volcanoes estimated from the ranges in Na 6.0 and Ca 6.0 are remarkably similar to those estimated beneath mid-ocean ridges. This observation provides further evidence that the mantle wedge, and not the slab, melts beneath arc volcanic fronts.