Rhyolite Flows Research Articles

Geochemistry, tectonic setting, and petrogenesis of the Coldbrook Group and associated plutons, southern New Brunswick, Canada: a unique Late Ediacaran magmatic episode in Avalonia

The Coldbrook Group is a unique suite of late Ediacaran volcanic and epiclastic rocks deposited in an extensional setting in the Avalonian Caledonia terrane of southern New Brunswick. It is informally divided into a lower part composed of mainly andesitic to dacitic tuffs and epiclastic sedimentary rocks intruded by bimodal plutons, and an upper part composed mainly of mafic flows and tuffs interlayered with but mainly overlain by rhyolitic flows and tuffs and minor epiclastic sedimentary rocks. Recent U–Pb (zircon) dating of four formations in the Coldbrook Group and a subvolcanic granitic dome led to the proposal that the lower and most of the upper Coldbrook Group and associated plutons were formed within <760 kyr at about 551.5 Ma whereas the uppermost rhyolite (Fundy Trail Parkway rhyolite) and underlying basalt of the Hosford Brook Formation formed in a younger event at about 549.5 Ma. Overlapping dates and chemical data also suggest that the subvolcanic granitic domes are the plutonic counterparts of the ca. 551.5 Ma felsic volcanic rocks whereas the other granitic plutons represent extracted melts that evolved separately. Whole-rock geochemical and isotopic data combined with previous field work and map information and integrated with the geochronological data provide new insights into the genesis of these magmas and their change from intermediate to bimodal magmatism. The data indicate that the volcanic and plutonic rocks are mainly tholeiitic and were derived from varying proportions of juvenile melts and recycled older arc lithosphere. The mafic rocks have chemical similarities to flood basalts which inherited some calc-alkalic signatures from older arc-like rocks. Intermediate magmas that formed much of the lower Coldbrook Group had larger lithospheric inputs and thus have mainly calc-alkalic signatures. The Vernon Mountain, Blackall Lake and Silver Hill area rhyolites represent evolved melts derived from the lower Coldbrook Group magmas, and their chemical differences are interpreted to result from melt extraction and solid-liquid dripping magmatic processes. Enhanced extension and thinning led to formation of less lithosphere-contaminated melts that formed the ca. 549.5 Ma bimodal units of the upper Coldbrook Group.

Risk assessment and rare metals mineralization associated with alteration aspects of Rhyolite flow tuffs, Egypt

Argillic alteration and hematitization are the two extensive alterations that affected Um Safi rhyolite flow tuffs. Rare metal mineralization including radioactive minerals (thorite, uranothorite), Nb-bearing minerals (columbite, yettrocolumbite, Nb-rutile), zircon, REE-minerals (LREE-carbonate, xenotime) as well as molybdite, pyrite, fluorite, hematite and ilmenite have been identified by using Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS) and are well recorded in argillic and hematitized samples. The investigated rhyolite flow tuffs show that the activity concentration of radionuclides changed from 1.2 to 453.2 Bq kg−1 for 238U, from 3.2 to 489.6 Bq kg−1 for 232Th, and from 31.3 to 88954.6 Bq kg−1 for 40K. The mean values of 238U, 232Th, and 40K activity concentrations are 90.8 ± 84.5, 122.9 ± 90.5 and 6286.7 ± 1562.2 Bq kg−1, respectively. The hazard factors are estimated. Their results exceeded the recommended limit. Thus, the investigated rhyolite flow tuffs are not safe to use in building materials and other construction industries. A multi-statistical approach is performed to show the correlation between the radioactive concentration and radiological hazard factors. This approach illustrates the positive correlation between uranium and thorium due to their contribution from the natural radioactive series—moreover, a strong correlation was obtained between potassium and all radiological parameters. Thus, the radioactive hazards impact in the present study is related to the presence of radioactive minerals such as thorite and uranothorite in addition to other accessory minerals.

Igneous Rock Associations 29. The Nenana Magnetitite Lava Flow, Alaska Range, Alaska

Magnetitite deposits like El Laco (Chile) are rare and have controversial origins. An unusual magnetitite lava flow overlying a rhyolite unit occurs in the north-central Alaska Range and originally covered ~ 750 km2 of the Miocene Nenana basin. Dating of the rhyolite and relationships between the magnetitite and sedimentary rocks indicate that both are of Late Miocene age. The magnetitite flow is mainly magnetite with some post-eruptive alteration to hematite. Both the rhyolite flow and the magnetitite flow are vesicular, but the magnetitite flow also has small, millimetre-scale columnar jointing. The vesicular zones in the magnetitite flow grade into massive rock on the scale of a thin section, suggesting a degassing lava origin. Samples of the magnetitite flow contain between 12 and 26 wt.% SiO2 and between 45 and 75 wt.% FeO. Rare earth elements (REE) and trace elements from the magnetitite and rhyolite have similar patterns but with lesser abundance in the magnetitite. Both the rhyolite and the magnetitite have light-REE-enriched REE profiles with negative Eu anomalies. Electron microscopic analysis shows that most of the silica and trace element content of the magnetitite flow comes from very finely disseminated silicate minerals and glass in the magnetite. This suggests that the magnetitite was derived from a magma that had undergone unmixing into a silica-rich phase and an iron-rich phase prior to its eruption. Fractures and vesicles within the magnetitite flow contain minor rhyolitic glass and minerals suggesting that the rhyolite magma invaded columnar joints in the solidified magnetitite flow, and is a subvolcanic sill-like body at the studied locality. The magnetitite flow erupted prior to the emplacement of the rhyolite, which may be extrusive on a regional scale. The features of the Nenana magnetitite, and its geological relationships, are consistent with genetic models that invoke unmixing of magma into immiscible Fe-rich and Si-rich liquids during ascent.

Generating large volumes of crust-derived high δ18O rhyolites in the Chon Aike Silicic Large Igneous Province, Patagonia

Abstract The Jurassic Chon Aike Silicic Large Igneous Province (Patagonia and the Antarctic Peninsula) is dominated by voluminous, crust-derived magmas (235,000 km3) that erupted as predominately explosive silicic material over ~40 m.y. In this study, we combine petrological descriptions and bulk-rock major- and trace-element compositions with quartz oxygen-isotope measurements from multiple silicic units (primarily ignimbrites and some rhyolitic flows) from two of the five silicic formations in Patagonia. We have identified that quartz oxygen-isotope values are high (>9‰–12‰). Quartz pheno crysts analyzed by secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) are also homogeneous at the microscale with no measurable change in isotope value with respect to internal and often complex zoning textures. The ubiquity of widespread high δ18O rhyolites and their trace-element compositions support their origin from melting of a metasedimentary source with a similarly high δ18O value. Mass balance calculations require that an average of >75% melt derived from partial melting of the dominant basement lithology is needed to explain the isotopic and chemical composition of the rhyolites. The ideal P-T environment was identified by thermodynamic models for fluid-absent melting of graywackes at 900 °C and 5 kbar. Regional-scale crustal melting occurred during a widespread, high heat-flux environment within an extensional setting during the breakup of the Gondwanan supercontinent. The overlap of a unique tectonic and igneous environment, combined with a fertile crust dominated by graywacke and pelitic compositions in southern Patagonia, generated large volumes of some of the highest δ18O silicic magmas documented in the geologic record.

Emplacement dynamics of a crystal-rich, highly viscous trachytic flow of the Sancy stratovolcano, France

Emplacement dynamics of highly viscous, silicic lava flows remain poorly constrained due to a lack of consideration of crystal-rich cases. Emplacement models mostly apply to glassy or microlitic, vesiculated rhyolitic flows. However, crystalline, vesicle-free silicic lava can flow differently. We studied the Grande Cascade unit, which is a vesicle-free, phenocryst-rich, trachytic flow in the Monts Dore massif, France. Field work was carried out to define internal structures, and oriented samples were collected for chemical, petrological, and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility analyses, allowing us to estimate emplacement temperature and viscosity. These data allow us to define a new silicic lava flow subtype that is low in temperature (800−900 °C), high in silica content (up to 66.8 wt%), high in viscosity (109−1011 Pa s), rich in phenocrysts (∼35%), and lacks vesicles. Brittle deformation of the lava occurs upon extrusion, generating a cataclasite basal layer and thin (3-m-thick) shear zone that accommodates all of the stress, allowing most of the flow’s volume to slide over its base as a 40-m-thick plug in which there is no deformation. Blocks are rare, of a single size (10 ± 1 cm), and result from localized break-up of the basal shear zone. Emplacement dynamics are different from those of glassy, pumiceous lava flows. They are closer to glacier dynamics, where most of the volume slides over a thin basal shear zone and till is generated there by abrasion and milling of the underlying layer. For the Grande Cascade lava flow, abrasion means that the flow lacks its classical blocky crust and instead the flow base is marked by a layer rich in fine-grained material. The structures and emplacement dynamics of this crystal-rich flow are consistent with ideal, gravity-driven shear flow. We thus argue for a global reassessment of silicic-rich lava emplacement based on crystal content and using a multidisciplinary approach focused on well-exposed examples in the rock record.

Basin-range uplift and canyon cutting in 3 million years, Kingston Canyon, Piute County, southwestern Utah

The Sevier Plateau is a gently east-tilted, block-faulted range in the High Plateaus transition zone of southwestern Utah. Part of this range underwent basin-range deformation, including at least 6000 feet (1800 m) of uplift, in a 3-million-year time span. The north-south range, whose southern end is just north of Bryce Canyon National Park, was uplifted and tilted by the Sevier fault zone along the western side. Kingston Canyon is a deep, east-west antecedent canyon that cut through the range and maintained itself during uplift. The deformation took place between 8 and 5 Ma, constrained by isotopic dating of pre-uplift rhyolite flows (8 Ma), now exposed on the crest of the range, and a post-canyon-cutting rhyolite dome (5 Ma), now in the bottom of Kingston Canyon. This episode of uplift and canyon cutting represents the most closely constrained example known in the Great Basin and adjacent transition zone of main-phase uplift by basin-range faults.

Nature and crystallization stages of spherulites within the obsidian: Acıgöl (Cappadocia- Nevşehir, Turkey)

The study area comprises a part of the Central Anatolian Cenozoic volcanism within the Cappadocia Volcanic Province (CVP). Obsidian, perlite rhyolite flows, and volcanic ashes are observed in the study area and the spherulites within the obsidian are the objects of this study. The spherulites occupied within the obsidian in the form of round nodules 0.5-10 cm in diameter. The confocal Raman spectra of feldspar minerals within the spherulites are characterized by T-O-T and M-O lattice modes in the range of 100-250 cm-1, O-T-O deformation and T-O-T lattice modes in the range of 250-350 cm-1, and O-T-O stretch and O-T-O deformation modes in the range of 400-600 cm-1 and cristobalite minerals are remarkable with their weak peaks at the 296.5 cm-1 and 411.1 cm-1 Raman shifts. The geothermometer studies in the plagioclase minerals which are oligoclase and andesine in composition suggest that the spherulites may have 600-650 °C crystallization temperature. The temperature range shows that the spherulites start the first crystallization at the glass transition (Tg) levels and then continue to grow up to below Tg levels and brown rings are associated with Fe-oxidation development at the last stage.

Lithofacies architecture and paleoenvironment of a Paleoproterozoic volcano-sedimentary sequence: Insight into rift-related volcanism during supercontinent assembly

The greenschist to lower-amphibolite facies, Proterozoic (Orosirian: ca. 1883–1848 Ma) Aillik Group in Labrador, Canada, comprises a well-preserved example of subaqueous to intermittently subaerial volcanism and sedimentation. The group consists of interlayered sedimentary, volcaniclastic, pyroclastic and bimodal volcanic units that exhibit well-preserved depositional and structural relationships. Cumulatively, these lithofacies significantly demonstrate the evolution of Paleoproterozoic volcanism during the assembly of the supercontinent Nuna. A minimum stratigraphic thickness of 14.9 km of the Aillik Group is exposed along the coast of Labrador and is divided into two successions. The western stratigraphic succession consists of subaerial to subaqueous sandstone, siltstone, conglomerate, resedimented tuffaceous sandstones, and tuffaceous conglomerate with lesser rhyolite flows and felsic tuff. The eastern stratigraphic succession is dominated by felsic tuff and rhyolite, lesser pillowed to massive mafic lavas, and in situ and resedimented mafic tuff. Mafic rocks are basaltic, whereas felsic rocks comprise high-silica rhyolites and tuffs. Primary subaqueous pyroclastic deposits are indicative of explosive activity, an observation also supported by the presence of accretionary lapilli and an abundance of lithic fragments in epiclastic deposits. The volcano-sedimentary lithofacies of the Aillik Group are consistent with that observed in modern intra-arc or arc-rift settings, and the succession is interpreted to have formed in a localized back-arc rifting environment within an overall complex convergent margin.

Mondaca Volcano lahar of December 3, 1762, Maule Region (35°28’S): one of the largest volcanic disasters in Chilean history

The Mondaca Volcano comprises a thick rhyolitic lava-field and a dome of similar composition, located near the Lontué River Valley headwaters in the northern part of the Southern Andes Volcanic Zone. It reaches a total volume of ~0.85 km3, and it is formed by 4 subunits, named Mondaca 1, 2, 3 and 4, which correspond to successive rhyolitic blocky lava flows, emitted from a rounded dome structure. They present well-preserved flow structures and, in the surroundings, restricted to the south and east of the dome, pyroclastic fall, as well as block and ash deposits are also exhibited. Downstream, along the Lontué River, a laharic deposit is recognized. The lahar was produced after the collapse of an ephemeral ~0.44 km3 lake generated after the river obstruction by viscous lavas, during the 1762 first eruptive phase. Proximal lahar facies are well exposed between 5 and 30 km from their source. The profuse agricultural activity has completely obliterated the lahar’s medium facies deposits along the Central Depression, but are well identified at the mouth of the Mataquito River, 180 km downstream, as a beige-coloured layer, interbedded within dark coastal beach-sands. The identification of overflows and super-elevation deposits formed during the debris flow emplacement along the Lontué River valley, allows to determine a high flow mobility, with estimated velocities that locally reached up to 114 km/h. Petrographic characteristics in addition to chemical composition of lavas from the volcano, pyroclasts and juvenile blocks of the laharic deposit, indicate that all they correspond to high K calcoalkaline rhyolites with subalkaline affinity. These backgrounds, together with the geographical continuity between the lavas and debris deposits along the Lontué and Mataquito rivers, verify facies correlation and common origin as the result of the 1762 Mondaca Volcano eruption complex evolution. Although it was a mainly effusive eruption that could not be observed from Curicó, the collateral consequences would have been catastrophic over a vast area to the south of that city, and evidences one of the largest volcanic disasters in Chilean history. Probably because of the low density polulation at that time, the consequences could have been minor.

HIGH-PRECISION CA-ID-TIMS AGE CONSTRAINTS ON THE NIBLACK Cu-Zn-Au-Ag DEPOSITS: A NEOPROTEROZOIC VOLCANIC-HOSTED MASSIVE SULFIDE DEPOSIT IN THE NORTH AMERICAN CORDILLERA

Abstract The Neoproterozoic-Cambrian Wales Group and Ordovician-early Silurian Moira Sound unit of Prince of Wales Island, Alaska, USA, host numerous volcanic-hosted massive sulfide (VHMS) deposits and occurrences, including the Niblack VHMS deposits. Previous attempts to determine the age of the felsic volcanic host rocks in the Niblack area have resulted in conflicting results and interpretations. We have utilized chemical abrasion-isotope dilution-thermal ionization mass spectrometry (CA-ID-TIMS) U-Pb zircon geochronology to acquire highly precise crystallization and maximum depositional ages for a total of six samples of felsic volcanic and intrusive rocks from Niblack. This study establishes age constraints for the Niblack felsic succession of (1) crystallization ages of 565.1 ± 0.9 and 564.8 ± 1.0 Ma for coherent rhyolite flows, (2) maximum depositional ages of 565.3 ± 0.9 and 565.2 ± 0.9 Ma for felsic volcaniclastic rocks, (3) a crystallization age of 565.2 ± 0.9 Ma for a quartz-feldspar-phyric subvolcanic sill, and (4) a crystallization age of 564.8 ± 1.0 Ma for a felsic dike that crosscuts the Niblack felsic succession. These results indicate that the ~200-m-thick Niblack felsic succession and VHMS deposits formed during one episode of felsic volcanism at ca. 565.1 ± 0.9 Ma and are thus confirmed as part of the Neoproterozoic Wales Group. Results of this study provide the first chronostratigraphic framework for felsic volcanism associated with VHMS deposit formation at Niblack and have implications for mineral exploration on Prince of Wales Island and elsewhere in the Alexander terrane.

The Systematics of Chlorine, Lithium, and Boron andδ37Cl,δ7Li, and δ11B in the Hydrothermal System of the Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field

AbstractChlorine, lithium, and boron are trace elements in rhyolite but are enriched in groundwater flowing through rhyolite because they tend to partition into the fluid phase during high‐temperature fluid‐rock reactions. We present a large data set of major element and δ37Cl, δ7Li, and δ11B compositions of thermal water and rhyolite from Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field (YPVF). The Cl/B, Cl/Li, δ37Cl (−0.2‰ to +0.7‰), and δ11B (−6.2‰ to −5.9‰) values of alkaline‐chloride thermal waters reflect high‐temperature leaching of chlorine, lithium, and boron from rhyolite that has δ37Cl and δ11B values of +0.1‰ to +0.9‰ and −6.3‰ to −6.2‰, respectively. Chlorine and boron are not reactive, but lithium incorporation into hydrothermal alteration minerals result​s in a large range of Cl/Li, B/Li, and δ7Li (−1.2‰ to +3.8‰) values in thermal waters. The relatively large range in δ7Li values of thermal waters reflects a large range of values in rhyolite. Large volumes of rhyolite must be leached to account for the chloride, lithium and boron fluxes, implying deep groundwater flow through rhyolite flows and tuffs representing Yellowstone's three eruptive cycles (∼2.1 Ma). Lower Cl/B values in acid‐sulfate waters result from preferential partitioning of boron into the vapor phase and enrichment in the near‐surface water condensate. The Cl/B, Cl/Li, δ7Li (−0.3‰ to +2.1‰), and δ11B (−8.0‰ to −8.1‰) values of travertine depositing calcium‐carbonate thermal waters which discharge in the northern and southern YPVF suggest that chlorine, lithium, and boron are derived from Mesozoic siliciclastic sediments which contain detrital material from the underlying metamorphic basement.

The Marifil Volcanic Complex at Sierra de Pailemán: implications for the Early Jurassic magmatic evolution of the Eastern North Patagonian Region

ABSTRACT The Sinemurian Marifil Volcanic Complex at Sierra de Pailemán, located in the east part of the North Patagonian Region, Argentina, includes five lithofacies and three volcanic events. The volcanic activity begins with subaerial pyroclastic-fall deposits, massive lapilli tuffs with eutaxitic textures, and subaerial silicic domes’ emplacement. The upper part of the sequence is formed by pyroclastic fall deposits that pass to massive lapilli tuffs and rhyolitic lava flows. These lithofacies indicate the collapse of explosive eruption columns, coeval with small silicic domes’ emplacement, and lava-flows’ eruption. The volcanic episode at Sierra de Pailemán was generated during continuous magmatic activity because no erosional or unconformity surfaces were recognized. The Marifil Volcanic Complex’s age at Sierra de Pailemán is 191.2 ± 1.3 Ma (Sinemurian) and belongs to the V0 phase of volcanism. These rocks are high-K rhyolites, possibly produced by partial melting of the lower crust, promoted by fluids derived from a subducted plate in back-arc settings that change to an intraplate setting. The Lu-Hf isotopes suggest the possibility of magma mixing in the source and recycling or re-melting of a more evolved crust related to subduction zones. The Lower Jurassic magmatic activity in the western North Patagonian Region and the Patagonian Cordillera of Argentina and Chile correspond to continental arcs.

3D Numerical Modeling of the Summit Lake Lava Flow, Yellowstone, USA

—Volcanic eruptions belong to the extreme events that change the Earth’s landscape and affect global climate and environment. Although special attention is given to super-eruptions, the non-explosive rhyolitic (highly viscous) eruptions and large lava flows are no less important. In this paper, we study an ancient lava flow with a volume of ~50 km3 in the Summit Lake region, ​​Yellowstone, which is one of the best studied large intraplate igneous provinces. We develop three-dimensional (3D) numerical models of isothermal lava flow to analyze the influence of the underlying surface and lava flow viscosity on the advancement and duration of the flow. The modeled dynamics of flow propagation fairly well agrees with the measured values provided that the average angle of inclination of the underlying surface slightly differs from the present-day value (by ~1.3°) presumably due to the pressure change in the magma chamber during the eruption. With the increase in lava viscosity, the flow slows down and its thickness increases leading to a change in the flow morphology.

Reconstruction of the effusive and explosive deposits of the Aruri and Salustiano formations in the Tapajós Domain, Southern Amazonian Craton, from field relationship, petrography and geochemistry

Proterozoic Silicic Large Igneous Provinces (SLIP) are part of the geological inventory since they record the planet's thermal evolution. The Amazonian Craton hosted the poorly understood Uatumã SLIP, which formed ca. 1.88 Ga years ago. The so-called Uatumã magmatism represents the volcanic products of SLIP. This magmatism also refers to specific stratigraphic units, such as the Uatumã, Iriri, and Iricoumé groups. The Aruri and Salustiano formations within the Iriri Group represent an important SLIP stratigraphy segment transitioning from effusive to explosive volcanism. However, this interval is still undisclosed and lacks a thorough comparison of the Iriri Group stratigraphy. From field observations, detailed petrographic description, new geochemistry data on the Aruri and Salustiano formations, and a compilation of geochemistry data on the Uatumã SLIP, we present the litho-stratigraphy for the two formations and a comparison to the other levels of the SLIP stratigraphy. Our data show a predominance of effusive over explosive volcanism and a set of intermediate rocks that intrude the sequence. The Aruri Formation contains six lithofacies organized as interbedded facies representing coherent rhyolitic lava flows and volcaniclastic rocks (tuffs), which are intruded by massive dacite dykes. The Salustiano Formation contains three lithofacies that comprehend coherent rhyolite flows and ignimbrites. Whole-rock geochemistry data indicate that the felsic facies rocks represent rhyolites to alkali-rhyolites (>70% SiO2) of the high-K calc-alkaline to shoshonite series with metaluminous to a peraluminous character. The rocks are considered as formed in transitional settings from a mature arc to an extensional regime. The comparison to the remainder of the Iriri Group corroborates an interpretation of their origin as subaerial volcanism with coeval effusive and explosive phases in a caldera-type volcanic system and epiclastic rocks deposited in a distal position concerning the volcanic center. The whole-rock geochemistry is similar to the other levels of the Uatumã SLIP and confirms the large extent of the ca. 1.88 Ga years ago in the Amazonian Craton.

Carajás Mineral Province - Example of metallogeny of a rift above a cratonic lithospheric keel

The Carajás Mineral Province (CMP) is located on the southeastern margin of the Amazonian Craton, in northern Brazil. It is the largest producer of high-grade iron ore and a major world supplier of copper, nickel, manganese and gold. This article presents the CMP as a product of oblique rift evolution (2.76–2.06 Ga) controlled by the Canaã and Cinzento strike slip system. The Carajás rift is hosted in the tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG)-greenstone Rio Maria terrains (3.0–2.85 Ga). It overlies a subcratonic lithospheric mantle (SCLM) keel as indicated by seismic tomography and is filled by the Carajás plutonic-volcanic sedimentary sequences (CPVSS) that host the CMP. The rifting stage (Grão Pará Group) began with intense tholeiitic fissure volcanism with basalt and rhyolite flows, coeval intrusions of alkali granites and mafic-ultramafic bodies, BIFs, shales and restricted tuff beds. The Azul and Águas Claras Formations consist mainly of shales and sandstones deposited during the sag stage. The calc-alkaline signature of the Grão Pará metavolcanic rocks was demonstrated to reflect the composition of the melted TTG basement. The high magnesium and platinum-group elements (PGE) contents of Puma and Onça mafic-ultramafic complexes indicate extensive partial fusion, conditions that are indicative of a plume origin. We are proposing that CMP's IOCG deposits were formed from saline carbonate fluids exsolved from deep-seated metasomatic mantellic magmas (MMM), channelled and concentrated along jogs and step-overs in strike-slip fault systems in the Carajás rift.The CMP comprises three main ore-forming stages: (1) a plume stage, ca. 2.76–2.73 Ga, creating supergiant exhalative sedimentary biogenic Fe deposits (Serra Norte, Serra sul and Serra Leste), syngenetic exhalative Cu–Au–Zn (Pojuca deposit), exhalative Mn (Antonio Vicente), Ni-PGE-reef deposits in a magma mixing zone of layered intrusions (e.g. Luanga deposit), and Siqueirinho IOCG deposit; (2) a metasome stage including crustal extension and mantle flash melting (60–100 km depth), ca. 2.68–2.50 Ga, forming the most important IOCG deposits like Salobo, Alemão and Igarapé Bahia. and (3) a sag stage, ca. 2.68–2.06 Ga, with sedimentary Mn deposited in a redox-controlled stratified oceanic environment. The deposits related to granitic intrusion, ca. 1.88 Ga, with Cu-(Au–Mo–W–Sn) greisen (Breves deposit) and Cu-(Au–Mo–F) veins (Gameleira and Alvo 118 deposits) are associated with the A-type magmatism that affected the entire central Amazonian Craton. These deposits are, in contrast, related to an intracratonic silicic large igneous province (SLIP) and have no relation to the Archean Carajás cratonic lithosphere keel rift evolution. The CMP is directly related to the thinning of the lithosphere above a mantle plume, beneath a sub-continental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) keel.

Multi-proxy case study of a Neoproterozoic rhyolite flow in southernmost Brazil: Emplacement mechanisms and implications for ancient felsic lavas

Rhyolites compose an important record in the volcanic history of Earth, with significant occurrences in volcanic arcs, large igneous provinces and post-collisional terranes, often associated with explosive events. In several geologic provinces, rhyolites dominate as the most expressive geologic units (e.g., Silicic Large Igneous Provinces - SLIPs). Despite their importance, several aspects related to the emplacement of rhyolite flows are still enigmatic. Recent studies in modern rhyolite lavas suggest similar emplacement mechanisms to basaltic lavas, implying a more dynamic growth model for silicic flows, including outbreak lobes and outpour structures. Despite these advances, studies related to the recognition of these features in ancient flows are still rare. In this work we perform a multi-proxy study of an ancient (Neoproterozoic) rhyolitic lava flow combining fieldwork, petrography, geochemistry, rheology and magnetic fabric analysis. The Cerro do Perau outcrop (CP, southern Brazil) consists of a natural laboratory for the study of rhyolite lavas, presenting excellent exposure of a partially preserved flow with distinct flow features and folds. CP flow consists of a high-silica and low-crystal content rhyolite, suggesting its emplacement as an obsidian flow. Rheology data indicates high liquidus temperatures (>957 °C), with maximum viscosities of 108.5 Pa s and glass transition temperatures (Tg) of 750 °C. The absence of brittle features suggests little to none displacement below Tg. Structural analysis indicates the predominance of sub-vertical foliation planes, including axial planes of folds, indicative of proximal (near-vent) regions in rhyolite flows. The absence of lineations favors a predominantly planar accommodation of the flow-induced deformation, which is confirmed by the shape of the magnetic fabric ellipsoids. Several of these ellipsoids display a high degree of anisotropy, mostly related to an oblate fabric, indicative of the development of high-strain zones within the flow. Our data suggest that CP flow presents some similarities with recently proposed field-based emplacement models for rhyolitic flows, highlighting the significant data that can be extracted from a combination of magnetic fabrics and rheological analyses.

Assessing Lava Flow Subpixel Surface Roughness and Particle Size Distribution for Improved Thermal Inertia Interpretations

Apparent thermal inertia (ATI) is a remote sensing-based thermophysical approximation used to estimate surface properties such as particle size or soil moisture, but is subject to oversimplifications if uniform surface materials are assumed. Geological surfaces realistically contain multiple types of materials that are represented by mixed pixels in a digital image that can dramatically affect the derived thermal response. Thus, the current surface uniformity assumption can lead to erroneous calculations. To define how these mixed particle size surfaces affect ATI, a multi-instrument, multi-spectral study was conducted at the North Coulee rhyolite flow, Mono Domes (California). This flow is compositionally homogenous with particle sizes ranging from silt size to boulders, making it an ideal location to understand the relationship between particle size distributions and ATI. Multispectral data from orbital sensors with increasing spatial resolutions were analyzed in combination with samples, GPS, and photogrammetry data collected in the field. The surface particle size characteristics divided into three broad categories (fine, moderate, and coarse) were mapped based on WorldView-2 visible data and field observations. Broad categories were validated using a 3-dimensional point cloud derived from structure-from-motion (SfM) methods using field photographs. The areal percentage of each category within an ATI pixel was derived to populate a lookup table (LUT) with the corresponding ATI values to quantify the effect of mixed pixels. Lower ATI values are dominated by fine particles (sand and dust) as expected, however, surfaces with the highest values were predominately moderate-sized cobbles. Pixels with a high areal percentage of coarse sizes display an intermediate ATI value, suggesting that either self-shadowing or trapping of fines lowers the ATI value. Alternatively, areas with a majority of moderate particle sizes have less shadowing and efficient vertical sorting of smaller material, as seen in field data, leaving a thermal derived response indicative of the dominating particle size. This study demonstrates how a uniform property assumption can cause erroneous derived thermal modeling, particularly over surfaces with a high percentage of boulders and large particle sizes. Future thermophysical studies of Earth or other planetary surfaces can greatly benefit from a multi-sensor approach combined with a higher spatial resolution visible dataset.

La Caridad Vieja: Vestiges of a removed HS-epithermal system in the La caridad porphyry Cu–Mo system, northeastern sonora, Mexico, based on XRD, SEM, SWIR spectral analysis and U–Pb zircon dating

The present work contributes with new data to better understand the geology and spatial distribution of the alteration and mineralization events, as well as new U–Pb zircon ages, that allow elucidating the magmatic history of the La Caridad Vieja mineral deposit, which is part of the porphyry Cu–Mo system from La Caridad mine, northwest Mexico. Mineralization is hosted in a sequence of volcanic rocks from the Late Cretaceous-Paleocene Tarahumara Formation and is associated with the emplacement of quartz monzonite stocks, which intruded to volcanic rocks. Detailed studies based on petrography, XRD, SEM and SWIR, indicate that the La Caridad Vieja is characterized by a zone of phyllic alteration dominated by qz-ser in the deepest parts, and it is associated with molybdenite + chalcopyrite + pyrite + galena + sphalerite, with values ranging from 0.1 to 0.9% Cu and <0.02% Mo. Above the phyllic alteration zone, there is an intermediate argillic alteration zone (quartz + kaolinite + halloysite + smectite + illite), mainly with pyrite. In specific areas, advanced argillic alteration is observed (alunite + pyrophyllite + dickite + kaolinite + halloysite) accompanied by pyrite + enargite + famantinite + barite. The new U–Pb radiometric ages in zircons indicate an age of 54.71 ± 0.39 Ma for the upper part of the Tarahumara Formation, while a sample of the mineralizing stock yielded 51.95 ± 0.48 Ma. The results of this investigation suggest that La Caridad Vieja corresponds to a portion of the upper part of the Cu–Mo porphyry of La Caridad, which was downthrown by the La Caridad fault, during the Basin and Range extensional event in the Miocene. The reconstruction of the geological model suggests that La Caridad Vieja corresponds to the transitional zone between the Cu–Mo porphyry and an epithermal high sulfidation mineralization zone, which was eroded. Prior to the dislocation caused by the La Caridad fault, the eroded area was covered by a ferruginous conglomerate overlain by rhyolite flows dated at ~24 Ma. On the other hand, geochronological data suggests that the mineralizing event at La Caridad Vieja, although it is contemporaneous with the porphyry system of the La Caridad mine, it continued in this area at least until ~52 Ma.

Hydrothermal Activity in the Southwest Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field

AbstractIn the past two decades, the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service have studied hydrothermal activity across the Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field (YPVF) to improve the understanding of the magmatic‐hydrothermal system and to provide a baseline for detecting future anomalous activity. In 2017 and 2018 we sampled water and gas over a large area in the southwest YPVF and used Landsat 8 thermal infrared data to estimate radiative heat flow. Most of the thermal activity in this region is in close proximity to the Yellowstone Caldera boundary. Springs and fumaroles discharge from a variety of lithologies, including some of the youngest rhyolites in the YPVF. Gas compositions and helium isotope ratios of most samples resemble those in other parts of the YPVF. The waters have meteoric origins, and tritium was detected in several samples. Thermal waters from some areas have compositions that plot along a line connecting thermal and nonthermal water endmember compositions. The thermal water endmember equilibrated at 160°C–170°C, lower than waters in Yellowstone's geyser basins. Heat discharged by springs and fumaroles originates from within the Yellowstone Caldera and is transported laterally by advection, mainly along the base of rhyolite flows that cover the inferred caldera boundaries.

The igneous petrogenesis and rare metal potential of the peralkaline volcanic complex of the southern Peak Range, Central Queensland, Australia

The Oligocene Peak Range Volcanics (PRV) of central Queensland have intruded through, and erupted onto, Permian sedimentary rocks of the Bowen Basin above what is likely to be a lithospheric-scale suture zone. The southern PRV consists of domes and flows of augite (bearing) trachyte, hornblende trachyte, hornblende rhyolite, arfvedsonite rhyolite and aegirine rhyolite. The aegirine rhyolite bodies represent the most evolved rock types, with peralkaline index (molar Na + K/A) values of >1.3 and extreme enrichment in trace elements, including the rare metals Zr, Hf, Nb, Ta, and REE. Clarrys Dome, one of three aegirine rhyolite domes, features a late stage magmatic agpaitic assemblage of dalyite (K2ZrSi6O15), a eudialyte-like mineral and aegirine, which is variably replaced and overprinted by secondary REE carbonates and Zr silicates.Major and trace element geochemistry are used to show that the suite of PRV rock types represent a fractionation sequence from the least evolved augite trachytes to the most evolved aegirine rhyolites. This rock type range can be modelled by extended alkali-feldspar-dominated fractional crystallisation of an alkali basalt parental melt at a shallow crustal levels. Initial εNd values across the range of rock types are between +3 to +4, which is consistent with a common mantle source. Thus, the extreme trace element enrichment and high peralkalinity of the aegirine rhyolites is the product of the extended fractionation of a melt formed by low-degree partial melting of a mildly depleted mantle source. The secondary ore mineral assemblage and REE redistribution observed in the core of Clarrys Dome is interpreted to be due to a combination of hydrothermal alteration by fluids derived from subjacent devolatilising magma bodies, and late-stage weathering.The extreme enrichment of rare metals in the aegirine rhyolite bodies in the southern PRV support their potential to represent low grade, but large tonnage (100 s of Mt) resources of rare metals. Clear evidence of hydrothermal alteration across the region also raised the potential that higher grade rare metal mineralisation produced by hydrothermal activity may exist in the region.