Geochemistry of caldera‐forming and resurgent magmas in the Pliocene Hiwada caldera, northeast Japan: An example of a monotonous intermediate system

Abstract

AbstractThe 2.9‐Ma Hotokezawa Ignimbrite, which was ejected from the Aizu caldera cluster in the northeast Japan arc, is a typical monotonous intermediate ignimbrite, with 40–50 vol% crystals and an eruptive volume of >140 km3 dense‐rock equivalent. This ignimbrite filled Hiwada caldera and was deformed by post‐caldera plutonic intrusions that formed a resurgent dome. The Hotokezawa Ignimbrite is a calc‐alkaline, medium‐K dacite to rhyolite with SiO2 contents of 67.9–71.3 wt%, and has homogeneous trace‐element abundances and Sr–Nd isotopic ratios. These geochemical features suggest that the Hotokezawa magma was formed by partial melting of amphibolitic crustal rocks. This crystal‐rich magma did not appear during the post‐caldera stage. Therefore, it is plausible that the chamber of eruptible magma was emptied by the caldera‐forming eruption. In contrast, post‐caldera plutonic rocks exhibit a variety of compositions and have a clear SiO2 gap corresponding to the caldera‐forming magma: the early pluton (tonalite) and later ones (quartz porphyry, granite porphyries, and granite) contain 62.0–66.6 and 71.2–76.5 wt% SiO2, respectively. The tonalite and the Hotokezawa Ignimbrite form a continuous trend in their major‐element variations. The Sr–Nd isotopic ratios of the ignimbrite and tonalite overlap, but those of the porphyries and granite are more enriched. The early tonalite represents the more basic part of the Hiwada caldera system that was held in small pockets separate from the main magma chamber, because its trace‐element abundances are varied and distinct from those of the Hotokezawa Ignimbrite. The distinct compositional change from the Hotokezawa Ignimbrite to the late porphyries and granite indicates that the partial melting crust generating felsic magma was renewed by the subsequent intrusion of the mantle melts. The new felsic magma ascended through subsidence‐related faults into the shallow caldera system and emplaced as laccoliths forming the resurgent dome.