Monogenetic volcanoes as windows into transcrustal mush: A case study of Slamet and Loyang volcanoes, Central Java

Abstract

Monogenetic volcanic fields (MVFs) are commonly associated with long-lived polygenetic composite volcanoes in many tectonic settings. The association between polygenetic and monogenetic volcanoes has raised questions as to the source of melts feeding monogenetic volcanoes – specifically, whether they are derived from the transcrustal mush underlying a nearby polygenetic volcano, or from a batch of parental magma derived from a different mantle source. To address this question, we studied a well-constrained suite of scoria samples from Gunung Slamet in Central Java, Indonesia, and its most distal monogenetic scoria cone, Gunung Loyang. Slamet is composed of calc-alkaline basalts, and has an extensive MVF on its eastern flank, similar to other Indonesian volcanoes. We analyzed the textural and chemical features of the olivine cargo in both volcanoes, including olivine- and clinopyroxene-hosted melt inclusions. These melt inclusions are the first such analyzed for volatile element contents (H2O, CO2) in the Slamet-Loyang system. We applied hierarchical clustering and mass balance models to constrain the features of the olivine populations in both systems. The olivines in both volcanoes cluster in five distinct textural groups, defined by the presence or lack of zoning and resorption, and according to the type and degree of zoning they exhibit. Olivines show a range of moderate to evolved Fo%, and they also show significant variation in nickel contents (50–1600 ppm). By estimating saturation pressures of entrapped melt inclusions, we observe that Loyang olivines are drawn from a similar petrological system as Slamet, but from deeper mid-crustal levels (12 km), and more mafic source. Our work suggests that monogenetic volcanoes like Loyang can be used as “petrological windows” into the deeper crustal levels of mush reservoirs at composite stratovolcanoes and their associated MVFs.