Origin of alkali olivine basalts and hawaiites in the western Mexican arc: Evidence of rapid phenocryst growth and magma mixing during ascent along fractures

Abstract

Abstract A detailed petrological study is presented to constrain the origin of a suite of alkali olivine basalt and hawaiite (>5 wt% MgO) lavas that were erupted in a rift zone within the western Mexican arc (Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt), adjacent to the Sangangüey andesitic stratovolcano, together with more evolved lavas (mugearites and benmoreites; <5 wt% MgO). As previously documented in the literature, the Sangangüey mafic lavas are devoid of any arc geochemical signature, despite their location within an arc. In this study, a new olivine-melt thermometer/hygrometer, based on the partitioning behavior of Ni2+ and Mg2+, was applied to the Sangangüey basalts (SB). The results show that the high-MgO (>9 wt%) SB crystallized at higher temperatures and lower melt-water contents (0–1.3 wt%) compared to high-MgO arc basalts (≤5.7 wt% H2O) erupted in the west-central Mexican arc. The Sangangüey lavas with 5–8 wt% MgO display evidence of mixing between high-MgO alkali olivine basalts and low-MgO mugearites. It is proposed that the unique composition of the mugearites (i.e., low SiO2 contents and elevated FeO and TiO2 contents) is the result of partial melting of mafic lower crust driven by the influx of high-MgO intraplate basalts under relatively hot, dry, and reduced conditions. On the basis of crystal textures and compositional zoning patterns, it is shown that both phenocryst growth and magma mixing occurred rapidly, most likely during ascent along fractures, and not slowly during prolonged storage in a crustal magma chamber.