Insights into silicic melt generation using plagioclase, quartz and melt inclusions from the caldera-forming Rotoiti eruption, Taupo volcanic zone, New Zealand

Abstract

The Rotoiti (~120 km3) and Earthquake Flat (~10 km3) eruptions occurred in close succession from the Okataina Volcanic Centre at ~50 ka. While accessory mineral geochronology points to long periods of crystallization prior to eruption (104–105 years) and separate thermal histories for the magmas, little was known about the rates and processes of the final melt production and eruption. Crystal zoning patterns in plagioclase and quartz reveal the thermal and compositional history of the magmatic system leading up to the eruption. The dominant modal phase, plagioclase, displays considerable within-crystal zonation: An37–74, ~40–227 ppm MgO, 45–227 ppm TiO2, 416–910 ppm Sr and 168–1164 ppm Ba. Resorption horizons in the crystals are marked by sharp increases (10–30%) in Sr, MgO and XAn that reflect changes in melt composition and are consistent with open system processes. Melt inclusions display further evidence for open system behaviour, some are depleted in Sr and Ba relative to accompanying matrix glass not consistent with crystallization of modal assemblage. MI also display a wide range in XH2O that is consistent with volatile fluxing. Quartz CL images reveal zoning that is truncated by resorption, and accompanied by abrupt increases in Ti concentration (30–80 ppm) that reflect temperature increases ~50–110°C. Diffusion across these resorption horizons is restricted to zones of <20 μm, suggesting most crystallization within the magma occurred in <2000 years. These episodes are brief compared to the longevity (104–105 year) of the crystal mush zones. All textural and compositional features observed within the quartz and plagioclase crystals are best explained by periodic mafic intrusions repeatedly melting parts of a crystal-rich zone and recharging the system with silicic melt. These periodic influxes of silicic melt would have accumulated to form the large volume of magma that fed the caldera-forming Rotoiti eruption.