Extraction of crystal-poor rhyolite from a hornblende-bearing intermediate mush: a case study of the caldera-forming Matahina eruption, Okataina volcanic complex

Abstract

The Matahina Ignimbrite (~160 km3 rhyolite magma, 330 ka) was deposited during a caldera-forming eruption from the Okataina Volcanic Centre, Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ), New Zealand. Juvenile clasts are divided into three groups: Group (1) the dominant crystal-poor rhyolite type, Group (2) a minor coarse-grained, mingled/mixed intermediate type, and Group (3) a rare fine-grained basalt. The ignimbrite consists of the Group 1 type and is divided into three members: a lower and middle member, which is high-silica, crystal-poor (<10 vol.%) rhyolite, and the upper member, which is low-silica and slightly more crystal-rich (up to 21 vol.%). Cognate, crystal-rich (up to 50 vol.%) basalt to intermediate pumice occurs on top of lag breccias and within lithic-rich pyroclastic density current deposits along the caldera margin (Groups 2 and 3). Several lines of evidence indicate that the intermediate clasts represent the cumulate complement to the melt-rich rhyolite: (1) continuity in the compositions of plagioclase, orthopyroxene, hornblende, and oxides and normal zoning of individual phenocrysts; (2) the silicic glass from the intermediate magma (interstitial melt) overlaps compositionally with the bulk rock rhyolite and glass; (3) high Zr and a slight positive Eu anomaly in the intermediate magma relative to quenched enclaves from other intermediate TVZ eruptions indicates zircon and plagioclase accumulation, respectively; (4) an increase in the Cl contents in glass from the least evolved to most evolved is consistent with the concentration of volatiles during magma evolution. Most of the compositional variations in the low- to high-silica rhyolites can be accounted for by continued Rayleigh fractionation (up to 15%), following melt extraction from the underlying mush, under varying fO2–fH2O conditions to form a slightly compositionally zoned rhyolitic cap. This link to the varying fO2–fH2O conditions is evidenced by the strong correlation between key geochemical parameters (e.g. Dy, Y), that qualitatively reflect fH2O conditions (presence or absence of hornblende/biotite), and fO2 estimated from Fe–Ti oxide equilibrium. Magma mingling/mixing between the basalt–andesite and the main slightly compositionally zoned rhyolitic magma occurred during caldera-collapse, modifying the least-evolved rhyolite at the lower portion of the reservoir and effectively destroying any pre-eruptive gradients.