The temporal evolution of back-arc magmas from the Auca Mahuida shield volcano (Payenia Volcanic Province, Argentina)

Abstract

In order to better constrain the temporal volcanic activity of the back-arc context in Payenia Volcanic Province (PVP, Argentina), we present new K–Ar dating, petrographic data, major and trace elements from 23 samples collected on the Auca Mahuida shield volcano. Our new data, coupled with published data, show that this volcano was built from about 1.8 to 1.0Ma during five volcanic phases, and that Auca Mahuida magmas were extracted from, at least, two slightly different OIB-type mantle sources with a low partial melting rate. The first one, containing more garnet, was located deeper in the mantle, while the second contains more spinel and was thus shallower. The high-MgO basalts (or primitive basalts) and the low-MgO basalts (or evolved basalts), produced from the deeper and shallower lherzolite mantle sources, respectively, are found within each volcanic phase, suggesting that both magmatic reservoirs were sampled during the 1Myr lifetime of the Auca Mahuida volcano. However, a slight increase of the proportion of low-MgO basalts, as well as of magmas sampled from the shallowest source, can be observed through time. Similar overall petrological characteristics found in the Pleistocene–Holocene basaltic rocks from Los Volcanes and Auca Mahuida volcano suggest that they originated from the same magmatic source. Consequently, it can be proposed that the thermal asthenospheric anomaly is probably still present beneath the PVP. Finally, our data further support the hypothesis that the injection of hot asthenosphere with an OIB mantle source signature, which was triggered by the steepening of the Nazca subducting plate, induced the production of a large volume of lavas within the PVP since 2Ma.