The Sr, Nd and O isotopic studies of the 1991–1995 eruption at Unzen, Japan

Abstract

The magma generation at Unzen volcano may be considered as the product of crustal material mixed with mantle magma accompanied by fractional crystallization (AFC). The magma in the Unzen volcano is estimated to consist of about 50–80% of residual magma ( F) and about 30–70% assimilated crustal material ( A) relative to the original magma. Concerning the 1991–1995 eruption, it is estimated that the magma formed as the result of mixing of about 50–60% crustal material and about 55–65% of residual magma. An alternative magma eruption model for the 1991–1995 eruption is proposed here. In the early stage, the isotopic characteristics of 1991 eruption are defined by AFC process in the deeper magma chamber. Later, the magma ascended through the conduit and quiescently stayed for a long time in a shallow reservoir before eruption. The minerals continuously crystallized as phenocrysts especially at the chilled top and outer margin in the shallow chamber. The crystallized phenocryst mush was reworked into the central part of the magma chamber by means of magma convection and rapid magma ascent. Therefore, the reaction between phenocrysts and melt occurs only in internal chemical disequilibrium in the magma chamber. In contrast, the isotopic compositions of the original magma shall be little influenced by the above processes throughout its eruptive history. The 1991–1995 eruptive rocks of the Unzen volcano show their characteristics in Sr and Nd isotopic values independent of their two previous eruptions. However, the isotopic values of early eruptive product could represent the original magma value. This result also supports the previous work of Chen et al. (1993) [Chen, C.H., DePaolo, D.J., Nakada, S., Shieh, Y.N., 1993. Relationship between eruption volume and neodymium isotopic composition at Unzen volcano. Nature 362, 831–834], that suggested the εNd of early or precursory eruptive products could be a qualitative indicator of the maximum size of a continuing or impending eruption.