Genesis of basalt magmas and their derivatives under the Izu Islands, Japan, inferred from Sr/Ca-Ba/Ca systematics

Abstract

The Sr/Ca-Ba/Ca systematics defined for a series of volcanic rocks provided by volcanoes of the Izu Islands, Japan, have cast a new light on the origin and evolution of basalt magmas and their derivatives: 1. (1) The mantle material in the source region of primary basalt magmas beneath the Izu Islands shows a chondritic value of Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca ratios. 2. (2) Both the tholeiite magma and the high-alumina/calc-alkali basalt magma are primary with higher degrees (15–20% for the former) and lower degrees (8–11% for the latter) of partial melting of a common mantle material. 3. (3) The primary basalt magmas evolve independently via crystal fractionation process in respective magma chambers at shallower depths each providing a series of andesite and dacite magmas corresponding to respective primary basalt magmas. 4. (4) The crystal fractionation process in magma chamber is controlled mainly by plagioclase and clinopyroxene crystallization in terms of the alkaline earth elements. The plagioclase/clinopyroxene ratio decreases during crystal fractionation process. The chemical environments of magma chambers are similar to each other in the tholeiite series and in the high-alumina basalt/calc-alkali rock series. 5. (5) The end products provided by the crystal fractionation process lie within Bowen's petrogeny's residua system, making a thin, silicic crust under the volcanic islands near the Izu Peninsula. The calc-alkali rhyolites in these islands are derived from the thin silicic crust via melting process by the heat of intruded primary basalt magmas. 6. (6) The regional distribution of degree of partial melting indicates variations from 15 to 20% along the volcanic front and from 8 to 11% in the region behind it. The fact suggests that an interaction between the mantle wedge under the Philippine Sea Plate and the subducting slab of the Pacific Plate beneath the Izu Islands is different from place to place, with respect to temperature distribution and/or water supply from the subducting slab.