Geochemical Evidence for a Rift-Related Origin of Bimodal Volcanism at Meseta Rio San Juan, North-Central Mexican Volcanic Belt

Abstract

This study reports new geochemical and Sr and Nd isotope data for 11 samples of hynormative late Miocene (∼6.5 Ma) basalt, basaltic andesite, and rhyolitic volcanic rocks from Meseta Rio San Juan, located in the states of Hidalgo and Queretaro, Mexico, in the north-central part of the Mexican Volcanic Belt (MVB). The in situ growth-corrected initial isotopic ratios of these rocks are as follows: 87Sr/86Sr 0.703400-0.709431 and 143Nd/144Nd 0.512524-0.512835. For comparison, the isotopic ratios of basaltic rocks from this area show very narrow ranges as follows: 87Sr/86Sr 0.703400-0.703540 and 143Nd/144Nd 0.512794-0.512835. The available geological, geochemical, and isotopic evidence does not support the generation of the basic and intermediate magmas by direct (slab melting), nor by indirect (fluid transport to the mantle) participation of the subducted Cocos plate. The basaltic magmas instead could have been generated by partial melting of the upper mantle. The evolved basaltic andesite magmas could have originated from such basaltic magmas through assimilation coupled with fractional crystallization. Rhyolitic magmas might represent partial melting of different parts of the underlying heterogeneous crust. Their formation and eruption probably was facilitated by extensional tectonics and upwelling of the underlying mantle. The different petrogenetic processes proposed here for basaltic and basaltic andesite magmas on one hand and rhyolitic magmas on the other might explain the bimodal nature of Meseta Rio San Juan volcanism. Finally, predictions by the author about the behavior of Sr and Nd isotopic compositions for subduction-related magmas is confirmed by published data for the Central American Volcanic Arc (CAVA).