Rhyolitic Ignimbrites Research Articles

Petrogenesis of post – orogenic Lower Permian andesites in southern Europe: insights into the collapse of the Variscan range

In the post-Variscan Early Permian deposits of southwestern Europe, andesites belong to successions characterized by the constant occurrence of a basal rhyolite ignimbrite, followed by andesites, and by abundant dacite-rhyodacite products, interbedded with lacustrine sediments. The subalkaline andesite to K-andesite volcanism developed within intramontane basins following the collapse of the Variscan orogen. The compositional features, including trace element ratios and initial Sr (and Nd) of post-Variscan intermediate products allow excluding continental or island arc settings. The andesite composition of Lower Permian lavas was reproduced starting from two potential primary magmas: picrobasaltic and enriched MORB compositions. In particular, the picrobasalt was modified, by adding incremental amounts of a felsic granulite, from the lower continental crust. Mixing and fractional crystallization (MFC) were modelled by the MELTS software in a closed system under isobaric, isenthalpic conditions (P = 0.3 GPa). The computed residual liquid evolves to match closely the composition of Lower Permian andesite lavas after ~34 % crystallization by adding ~27 % of contaminant to the parental magma.

The fate of basaltic enclaves during pyroclastic eruptions: An origin of andesitic ignimbrites

Igneous enclaves, chilled bodies of magma with compositions contrasting with those of their hosts, have long been recognized in felsic plutonic rocks. Similar enclaves occur in felsic pyroclastic rocks despite the apparent difficulty of their survival of the explosive eruption process without fragmentation. The occurrence of andesitic ignimbrites with textural evidence of generation by mechanical mixing of felsic and mafic ash indicates that in some instances basaltic enclaves in felsic magmas that erupted explosively do indeed undergo fragmentation and homogenization with their host. Two exposures of rhyolitic ignimbrite that hosts basaltic enclaves, and of andesitic ignimbrite, in coastal Maine demonstrate the set of conditions necessary for survival of basaltic enclaves during catastrophic explosive eruptions. Relatively lower viscosity of basaltic enclaves compared to the rhyolitic host magma permits vesicle networks to develop as volatiles exsolve from the melt and form bubbles. The vesicle networks provide sufficient permeability for exsolving gases to escape the basaltic magma bodies, hence sparing the basaltic enclaves from fragmentation. If adequate permeability for volatile escape does not develop, the expanding bubbles are trapped within the basaltic enclave and ultimately, with depressurization during rise of the magma to the surface, cause fragmentation of the basaltic magma. In this case, the basaltic ash and the host rhyolitic ash homogenize, producing a hybrid ignimbrite, while the surrounding viscous rhyolitic magma behaves typically, with a small volume of the rhyolitic magma retaining its coherence as pumice bodies while most of the magma fragments shortly after vesiculation to become ash. These observations suggest a distinction between the voluminous andesites associated with subduction zones, for which attainment of intermediate composition occurred as a result of petrologic processes unique to subduction zones, and hybrid andesitic ignimbrites, which are spatially associated with bimodal magmatic systems in a variety of tectonic settings and are the result of mechanical mixing of ash during pyroclastic flow.

Almandine garnet phenocrysts in a ~1 Ga rhyolitic tuff from central India

AbstractWe report on the newly discovered almandine garnet phenocrysts in rhyolitic ignimbrites (Sukhda Tuff) in the Precambrian Churtela Shale Formation of the Chhattisgarh Supergroup in central India. SHRIMP ages of igneous zircon from the ignimbrites range from 990 Ma to 1020 Ma. These ignimbrites exhibit characteristic eutaxitic texture with compacted curvilinear glass shards with triple junctions. Quartz (commonly embayed; bluish cathodoluminescence) and albite (altered but retaining ghosts of twinning) are common phenocrysts; others are apatite, ilmenite, rutile, magnetite, zircon, monazite and garnet. There are no metamorphic or granitic xenoliths in the ignimbrites. Garnet grains occur as isolated broken isotropic crystals with sharp or corroded boundaries in a very fine-grained groundmass of volcanic ash that consists principally of albite, quartz, magnetite and glass. They do not have any systematically distributed inclusions. A few have penetratively intergrown phenocrysts of apatite, ilmenite, rutile and zircon, which we interpret as subophitic texture. Extensive SEM-BSE imaging of more than 100 grains and electron microprobe traverses across about 30 grains showed no zoning or systematic compositional variability. Common (metamorphic) garnets are usually zoned with respect to Fe–Mg–Mn and typically have mineral inclusions. We infer, therefore, that these observed garnets are not metamorphic xenocrysts. The average major oxide composition of analysed garnets from five different horizons within the Sukhda Tuff, spanning approximately 300 m of the stratigraphic section, have very small standard deviation for each element, which is suggestive of a single magmatic source. Phenocrysts of quartz, including those in contact with coexisting garnets, show blue scanning electron CL, indicating rapid cooling from high temperature; this suggests that adjacent coexisting garnets are not slowly cooled restites. We conclude, on the basis of texture, mineral chemistry and absence of any indicative xenoliths or xenocrysts, that these almandine garnets (Al78.7Py12.3Gr7.4Sp1.6) are phenocrysts within the Sukhda Tuff. Almandine of such composition is stable under high pressure. We infer that almandine crystallized at lower crustal depths in a magma that ascended very rapidly and may have erupted explosively.

Magnetic fabric, welding texture and strain fabric in the Nuraxi Tuff, Sardinia, Italy

Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) has been used to interpret flow directions in ignimbrites, but no study has demonstrated that the AMS fabric corresponds to the flow fabric. In this paper, we show that the AMS and strain fabric coincide in a high-grade ignimbrite, the Nuraxi Tuff, a Miocene rhyolitic ignimbrite displaying a wide variability of rheomorphic features and a well-defined magnetic fabric. Natural remanent magnetization (NRM) data indicate that the magnetization of the tuff is homogeneous and was acquired at high temperatures by Ti-magnetite crystals. Comparison between the magnetic fabric and the deformation features along a representative section shows that AMS and anisotropy of isothermal remanent magnetization (AIRM) fabric are coaxial with and reproduce the shape of the strain ellipsoid. Magnetic tests and scanning electron microscopy observations indicate that the fabric is due to trails of micrometer-size, pseudo-single domain, magnetically interacting magnetite crystals. Microlites formed along discontinuities such as shard rims and vesicle walls mimicking the petrofabric of the tuff. The fabric was thus acquired after deposition, before late rheomorphic processes, and accurately mimics homogeneous deformation features of the shards during welding processes and mass flow.

Late Neoproterozoic carbonate productivity in a rifting context: the Adoudou Formation and its associated bimodal volcanism onlapping the western Saghro inlier, Morocco

Abstract An interval of episodic carbonate productivity, lithostratigraphically recognized as the ‘Calcaires inférieurs’ (upper member of the Adoudou Formation), took place across the Neoproterozoic–Cambrian transition onlapping the western Saghro inlier, Morocco. Sedimentation of the ‘Calcaires inférieurs’ was highly variable: in relatively stable substrates, a peritidal-dominated mixed platform is recorded where deposition was primarily controlled by autocyclic processes and accommodation space availability, whereas, in unstable substrates, the tectonic activity associated with the inherited block-faulting basement led to deposition of complex slide sheets composed of penecontemporaneous isoclinal folds and disrupted strata. The uppermost part of the ‘Calcaires inférieurs’ displays a negative δ 13 C shift reaching values of −6.5‰. This shift may represent the δ 13 C excursion to −6‰ that marks the Neoproterozoic–Cambrian boundary in the western Anti-Atlas. Two volcanic episodes bracketed the carbonate productivity. They consist of lower basaltic flows and an upper rhyolitic ignimbrite, with a SiO 2 gap between 52 and 74 wt%. The basic rocks resemble those of tholeiitic magmas in continental rifts. The felsic rocks show high light to heavy rare earth element abundances and negative Nb, Ta, P and Ti anomalies, and were probably generated as a result of either fractional crystallization coupled with relative crustal contamination, or from a different magmatic source. The lower basic flows of tholeiitic affinity predated and geochemically differ from the alkaline magmatism of the Alougoum volcanic complex (Boho jbel) that surrounds the neighbouring Bou-Azzer inlier.

SHRIMP Ages of Zircon in the Uppermost Tuff in Chattisgarh Basin in Central India Require ∼500‐Ma Adjustment in Indian Proterozoic Stratigraphy

The Chattisgarh Basin of east central India and many unmetamorphosed Proterozoic sedimentary basins of Peninsular India have been considered mostly Neoproterozoic (1000–545 Ma) in age. A newly recognized succession of rhyolitic ignimbrite, ash beds, and volcaniclastic sandstones near the top of the ∼2.2‐km‐thick sedimentary fill of the Chattisgarh Basin is a chronostratigraphic marker. Euhedral igneous zircons from these units give U‐Pb SHRIMP ages of 990–1020 Ma, indicating that the basin fill beneath this marker horizon is pre‐Neoproterozoic. On the basis of newly reported zircon ages of $$1631\pm 5$$ Ma from the basal part of the Vindhyan Basin and accepting the consensus that all virtually undeformed and unmetamorphosed craton‐interior Proterozoic sedimentary basins in peninsular India are approximately coeval, we conclude that these basins are approximately Mesoproterozoic (1600–1000 Ma) in age. The reassigned age for these rocks (1650 to 900 or possibly ∼1000 Ma), up to 500 Ma in variance with the current notion (∼1100 to ∼518 Ma; Naqvi 2005), calls for a thorough rethinking of contemporary models concerning tectonics, sedimentation, and other geological activity that affected the Indian shield in the Proterozoic Era.

Rhyolitic ignimbrites in the Rogerson Graben, southern Snake River Plain volcanic province: volcanic stratigraphy, eruption history and basin evolution

The 80 km long NNE-trending Rogerson Graben on the southern margin of the central Snake River Plain, Idaho, USA, hosts a rhyolitic pyroclastic succession, 200 m thick, that records a period of successive, late-Miocene, large-volume explosive eruptions from the Yellowstone–Snake River Plain volcanic province, and contemporaneous extension. The succession, here termed the Rogerson Formation, comprises seven members (defined herein) and records at least eight large explosive eruptions with numerous repose periods. Five high-grade and extremely high-grade ignimbrites are intercalated with three non-welded ignimbrites and two volcaniclastic deposits, with numerous repose periods (palaeosols) throughout. Two of the ignimbrites are dominantly rheomorphic and lava-like but contain subordinate non-welded pyroclastic layers. The ignimbrites are typical Snake River Plain high-silica rhyolites, with anhydrous crystal assemblages and high inferred magmatic temperatures (≤ 1,025°C). We tentatively infer that the Jackpot and Rabbit Springs Members may have been emplaced from the Bruneau–Jarbidge eruptive centre on the basis of: (1) flow lineation trends, (2) crystal assemblage, and (3) radiometric age. We infer that the overlying Brown’s View, Grey’s Landing, and Sand Springs Members may have been emplaced from the Twin Falls eruptive centre on the basis of: (1) kinematic indicators (from the east), and (2) crystal assemblage. Furthermore, we have established the contemporaneous evolution of the Rogerson Graben from the emplacement of the Jackpot Member onwards, and infer that it is similar to younger half-graben along the southern margin of the Snake River Plain, formed by local reactivation of Basin and Range structures by the northeastwardly migration of the Yellowstone hot-spot.

Miocene silicic volcanism in southwestern Idaho: geochronology, geochemistry, and evolution of the central Snake River Plain

New 40Ar-39Ar geochronology, bulk rock geochemical data, and physical characteristics for representative stratigraphic sections of rhyolite ignimbrites and lavas from the west-central Snake River Plain (SRP) are combined to develop a coherent stratigraphic framework for Miocene silicic magmatism in this part of the Yellowstone ‘hotspot track’. The magmatic record differs from that in areas to the west and east with regard to its unusually large extrusive volume, broad lateral scale, and extended duration. We infer that the magmatic systems developed in response to large-scale and repeated injections of basaltic magma into the crust, resulting in significant reconstitution of large volumes of the crust, wide distribution of crustal melt zones, and complex feeder systems for individual eruptive events. Some eruptive episodes or ‘events’ appear to be contemporaneous with major normal faulting, and perhaps catastrophic crustal foundering, that may have triggered concurrent evacuations of separate silicic magma reservoirs. This behavior and cumulative time-composition relations are difficult to relate to simple caldera-style single-source feeder systems and imply complex temporal-spatial development of the silicic magma systems. Inferred volumes and timing of mafic magma inputs, as the driving energy source, require a significant component of lithospheric extension on NNW-trending Basin and Range style faults (i.e., roughly parallel to the SW–NE orientation of the eastern SRP). This is needed to accommodate basaltic inputs at crustal levels, and is likely to play a role in generation of those magmas. Anomalously high magma production in the SRP compared to that in adjacent areas (e.g., northern Basin and Range Province) may require additional sub-lithospheric processes.

Geology and complex collapse mechanisms of the 3.72 Ma Hannegan caldera, North Cascades, Washington, USA

Contiguous ring faults of the 8 × 3.5 km Hannegan caldera enclose the Hannegan volcanics in the Cascade arc of northern Washington. The caldera collapsed in two phases, which each erupted rhyolitic ignimbrite (72.3%–75.2% SiO 2 ). The first collapse phase, probably trap-door style, erupted the ≥900-m-thick ignimbrite of Hannegan Peak at 3.722 ± 0.020 Ma. This single cooling unit, generally welded, has an uppermost facies of nonwelded ignimbrite and fine ash. A short period of localized sedimentation followed. Eruption of the ignimbrite of Ruth Mountain then led to a second trap-door collapse as the first-phase partial ring fault propagated to the south to completely enclose the caldera. Wall-rock breccias are intercalated as lenses and megabreccia blocks in both ignimbrites. The minimum intracaldera volume is 55–60 km 3 . No base is exposed, nor are outflow sheets preserved. Caldera collapse and glacial erosion have removed precaldera volcanic rocks, which survive only as intracaldera breccias. Rhyolite dikes and pods, one of which yielded a 40 Ar/ 39 Ar age of 3.72 ± 0.34 Ma, intrude the ring fault and caldera fill. Daciteandesite domes, dikes, and lava flows were emplaced subsequently; one lava flow gives a 40 Ar/ 39 Ar age of 2.96 ± 0.20 Ma. The quartz diorite of Icy Peak and the granite of Nooksack Cirque (plutons with 206 Pb/ 238 U zircon ages of 3.42 ± 0.10 Ma and 3.36 ± 0.20 Ma, respectively) intrude caldera fill and basement rocks on the southwest margin of the caldera. Both plutons are now exceptionally well exposed on high, glacially sculpted peaks within the caldera, indicating erosion of at least 1 km of intracaldera fill. Hannegan caldera anchors the northeast end of a linear NE-SW age-progressive migration of magmatic focus from the Chilliwack batholith to the active Mount Baker volcano.

The South Patagonian batholith: 150 my of granite magmatism on a plate margin

A new database of 70 U–Pb zircon ages (mostly determined by SHRIMP) indicates that the South Patagonian batholith resulted from the amalgamation of subduction-related plutons from the Late Jurassic to the Neogene. Construction of the batholith began with a voluminous, previously undetected, Late Jurassic bimodal body mainly composed of leucogranite with some gabbro, emplaced along its present eastern margin within a restricted time span (157 to 145 Ma). This episode is, at least in part, coeval with voluminous rhyolitic ignimbrites of the Tobífera Formation, deposited in the deep Rocas Verdes Basin east of the batholith; this was the last of several southwestward-migrating silicic volcanic episodes in Patagonia that commenced in an Early Jurassic extensional tectonic regime. The quasi-oceanic mafic floor of the basin was also contemporaneous with this Late Jurassic batholithic event, as indicated by mutually cross-cutting field relationships. Changes in subduction parameters then triggered the generation of earliest Cretaceous plutons (Cretaceous 1: 144–137 Ma) west of the Late Jurassic ones, a westward shift that culminated at 136–127 Ma (Cretaceous 2) along the present western margin of the batholith. Most mid- to Late Cretaceous (Cretaceous 3: 126–75 Ma) and Paleogene (67–40 Ma) granitoids are represented by geographically restricted plutons, mainly emplaced between the previously established margins of the batholith, and mostly in the far south; no associated volcanic rocks of similar age are known at present in this area. During the final Neogene stage of plutonism (25–15 Ma) a recurrence of coeval volcanism is recognized within and east of the batholith. Typical εNdt values for the granitoids vary from strongly negative (− 5) in the Late Jurassic, to progressively higher values for Cretaceous 1 (− 4), Cretaceous 2 (− 0.7), Cretaceous 3 (+ 2) and the Paleogene (+ 5), followed by lower and more variable ones in the Neogene (− 1 to + 5). These variations may reflect different modes of pluton emplacement: large crustal magma chambers developed in the early stages (Late Jurassic to Cretaceous 1), leading to widespread emplacement of plutons with a crustal signature, whereas the Cretaceous 2, Cretaceous 3 and Palaeogene parts of the batholith resulted from incremental assembly of small plutons generated at greater depths and with higher εNdt. This does not in itself justify the idea of a reduction in crustal character due to progressive exhaustion of fusible material in the crust through which the magmas passed.

Magmatic processes associated with caldera collapse at Ossipee ring dyke, New Hampshire

A detailed textural and chemical study of a section through the 121 Ma Ossipee ring dyke in New Hampshire provides a comprehensive record of magmatic and volcanic events during caldera formation. Phenocryst-rich quartz syenite is the main rock type; syenite, rhyolite, and basalt form small mingled dykes, xenoliths, and magmatic enclaves. Enclaves of fine-grained syenite have positive Eu anomalies, are more mafic, and are depleted in crystals relative to host quartz syenite. Anorthoclase phenocrysts in enclaves have compositions similar to the bulk enclave; high CaO contents in the crystals indicate magmatic temperatures up to 1050 °C. Rhyolite in the ring dyke is texturally and chemically equivalent to ignimbrite inside the caldera. Basalt occurs both as xenoliths and megabreccias from earlier volcanoes and as dykes that mixed and mingled with rhyolitic dykes during eruption. We suggest the following sequence of events: (1) Convection, crystal settling, and filtration of melt away from solidification fronts formed a zoned magma chamber containing voluminous rhyolite overlying crystal-rich quartz syenite and cumulate syenite. (2) Basalt partially melted the anorthoclase syenite cumulate at the base of the chamber to form a hot mobile syenitic liquid, now represented by enclaves in the ring dyke. (3) Continued intrusion of basalt replenished and rejuvenated the Ossipee chamber, driving large eruptions of rhyolitic ignimbrite that ponded in the caldera as the chamber roof collapsed. (4) Caldera collapse stirred the chamber, mingling and mixing rhyolitic, quartz syenitic, and syenitic magma. Vortices around subsiding blocks during caldera collapse caused the mixing and mingling. (5) Quartz syenite, rhyolite, and small volumes of basalt magma were intruded simultaneously into the ring dyke, causing the basalt and rhyolite to mingle explosively. The rejuvenation of the magma chamber and subsequent subsidence of the caldera produced a mixed and mingled crystal mush now preserved in the ring dyke. The ring dyke represents residual magma from a caldera-forming eruption.

A Pliocene ignimbrite flare-up along the Tepic-Zacoalco rift: Evidence for the initial stages of rifting between the Jalisco block (Mexico) and North America

The Tepic-Zacoalco rift, a NW-trending corridor ~50 × ~250 km, is one arm of a triple-rift system in western Mexico. Together with the Colima rift and the Middle America Trench, it bounds the Jalisco block, a portion of western Mexico that may be moving independently of North America. The predominant basement rock types in the TepicZacoalco rift are rhyolitic ash-fl ow tuffs and lavas, which were previously assumed to be Oligocene-Miocene in age, related to the Sierra Madre Occidental volcanic province, or older. New 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dates on 41 volcanic samples reveal a previously unrecognized, voluminous fl are-up of rhyolitic ignimbrites between 5 and 3 Ma throughout the entire corridor of the Tepic-Zacoalco rift; they are often associated with Pliocene high-Ti basalts. The eruption rate during this Pliocene time period was an order of magnitude higher (hundreds of m/m.y.) than that documented in the Tepic-Zacoalco rift over the last 1 m.y. The Pliocene ash-fl ow tuffs have been faulted along NW-trending lineaments, producing vertical offsets up to at least 500 m. The voluminous ignimbrite fl are-up in the TepicZacoalco rift at 5–3 Ma may refl ect the initial stages of rifting of the Jalisco block away from North America, analogous to what occurred in the proto-gulf region at 12–6 Ma, prior to the transfer of Baja California from North America to the Pacifi c plate. Additionally, new 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dates show that the Sierra Madre Occidental volcanic province extends across the entire width of the Tepic-Zacoalco rift and terminates abruptly at the northern boundary of the Jalisco block near the Rio Ameca. In contrast, PaleoceneEocene basement from the Jalisco block extends northward into the Tepic-Zacoalco rift, where it is locally overlain by Sierra Madre Occidental rhyolites.

Permian plate margin volcanism and tuffs in adjacent basins of west Gondwana: Age constraints and common characteristics

Increasing evidence of Permian volcanic activity along the South American portion of the Gondwana proto-Pacific margin has directed attention to its potential presence in the stratigraphic record of adjacent basins. In recent years, tuffaceous horizons have been identified in late Early Permian–through Middle Permian (280–260 Ma) sections of the Paraná Basin (Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay). Farther south and closer to the magmatic tract developed along the continental margin, in the San Rafael and Sauce Grande basins of Argentina, tuffs are present in the Early to Middle Permian section. This tuff-rich interval can be correlated with the appearance of widespread tuffs in the Karoo Basin. Although magmatic activity along the proto-Pacific plate margin was continuous during the Late Paleozoic, Choiyoi silicic volcanism along the Andean Cordillera and its equivalent in Patagonia peaked between the late Early Permian and Middle Permian, when extensive rhyolitic ignimbrites and consanguineous airborne tuffaceous material erupted in the northern Patagonian region. The San Rafael orogenic phase (SROP) interrupted sedimentation along the southwestern segment of the Gondwana margin (i.e., Frontal Cordillera, San Rafael Basin), induced cratonward thrusting (i.e., Ventana and Cape foldbelts), and triggered accelerated subsidence in the adjacent basins (Sauce Grande and Karoo) located inboard of the deformation front. This accelerated subsidence favored the preservation of tuffaceous horizons in the syntectonic successions. The age constraints and similarities in composition between the volcanics along the continental margin and the tuffaceous horizons in the San Rafael, Sauce Grande, Paraná, and Karoo basins strongly suggest a genetic linkage between the two episodes. Radiometric ages from tuffs in the San Rafael, Paraná, and Karoo basins indicate an intensely tuffaceous interval between 280 and 260 Ma.

40Ar/39Ar and K–Ar geochronology of magmatic and hydrothermal events in a classic low-suphidation epithermal bonanza deposit: El Peñon, northern Chile

The epithermal El Penon gold–silver deposit consists of quartz–adularia veins emplaced within a late Upper Paleocene rhyolitic dome complex, located in the Paleocene–Lower Eocene Au–Ag belt of northern Chile. Detailed K–Ar and 40Ar/39Ar geochronology on volcano–plutonic rocks and hydrothermal minerals were carried out to constrain magmatic and hydrothermal events. The Paleocene to Lower Eocene magmatism in the El Penon area is confined to a rhomb-shaped basin, which was controlled by N–S trending normal faults and both NE- and NW-trending transtensional fault systems. The earliest products of the basin-filling sequences comprise of Middle to Upper Paleocene (∼59–55 Ma) welded rhyolitic ignimbrites and andesitic to dacitic lavas, with occasional dacitic dome complexes. Later, rhyolitic and dacitic dome complexes (∼55–52 Ma) represent the waning stages of volcanism during the latest Upper Paleocene and the earliest Eocene. Lower Eocene porphyry intrusives (∼48–43 Ma) mark the end of the magmatism in the basin and a change to a compressive tectonomagmatic regime. 40Ar/39Ar geochronology of hydrothermal adularia from the El Penon deposit yields ages between 51.0±0.6 and 53.1±0.5 Ma. These results suggest that mineralization occurred slightly after the emplacement of the El Penon rhyolitic dome at 54.5±0.6 Ma (40Ar/39Ar age) and was closely tied to later dacitic–rhyodacitic bodies of 52 to 53 Ma (K–Ar ages), probably as short-lived pulses related to single volcanic events.

Neogene and Quaternary ignimbrites in the area of Arequipa, Southern Peru: Stratigraphical and petrological correlations

This study focuses on the correlation of four newly identified rhyolitic ignimbrites located around Arequipa, which were previously described as a single ignimbrite sheet: (1) The Río Chili Ignimbrite (ca. 13.33 Ma) crops out in the Río Chili canyon and consists of a cooling unit of non-welded to partially welded, massive, crystal-rich lapilli tuff. This ignimbrite represents the base of the Neogene ignimbrite succession in the Arequipa area and may be stratigraphically equivalent to the 14–13 Ma Huaylillas Ignimbrites in southern Peru. (2) The second voluminous (∼ 20 km 3) and widespread La Joya Ignimbrite sheet (ca. 4.87 Ma) filled the Arequipa depression. Its probable source is now buried underneath the Chachani volcanic complex. The La Joya Ignimbrite covers both the Arequipa Batholith toward the Río Vitor piedmont and also part of the Altiplano to the East and North of the Chachani complex. (3) The Arequipa Airport Ignimbrite (AAI) sheet (ca. 1.6 Ma, ∼18 km 3), the third and latest infill of the Arequipa basin, consists of a lower white, columnar jointed, massive lapilli tuff, indurated by vapor-phase recrystallization, and is overlain by an upper, pink, lithic-rich, non-welded, massive lapilli-tuff. The source of this ignimbrite is also buried underneath the Chachani complex, as indicated by anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility measurements and component lithology. (4) The Yura non-welded pumice-flow deposits (ca. 1.02 Ma, 1.5 km 3) are restricted to the northern and western flanks of the Chachani complex and may correlate with tuffs of the Capillune Formation on the Altiplano. All ignimbrites are high-K calc-alkaline to alkaline rhyolites, which contain variable amounts of plagioclase, biotite, quartz, sanidine, and Fe–Ti oxides. The modal composition of mineral phases and chemistry of amphiboles and biotites are useful for distinguishing the ignimbrites. Specific geochemical fingerprints, such as Sr, Y, Rb, Ba, Cs, REE, and Sr isotopes were effective discriminator elements. Magmatic differentiation, crustal residence time and contamination, and source melting processes are discussed in order to explain compositional variations. The older La Joya Ignimbrite and Río Chili Ignimbrite reflect initial wetter crustal melts closer to granite composition, whereas with time the younger Arequipa Airport Ignimbrite and Yura Tuffs initial melts are slightly less evolved and dryer due to more extensive crustal melting. The voluminous (> 40 km 3) Neogene ignimbrites of the Arequipa area were produced by three major explosive volcanic pulses in the Central Volcanic Zone of southern Peru, whose genetic relation with tectonic uplift and crustal thickening of the Andean Cordillera are still a matter of debate.

The Late Miocene–Quaternary Antofalla volcanic complex, southern Puna, NW Argentina: Protracted history, diverse petrology, and economic potential

The Antofalla volcanic complex (AVC) is located on the southern Puna plateau of NW Argentina, ∼100 km east of the main axis of the Cordillera Occidental volcanic arc. It lies on the NW–SE Archibarca lineament, one of several transverse structures that cut across the Andes from Chile, and divert arc magmatism in SE-trending fingers across the Puna. 40Ar/ 39Ar dating of volcanic products from the AVC reveals a protracted magmatic history from 10.9 to ≤ 1.6 Ma. Initial volcanism was characterized by eruption of voluminous rhyolitic ignimbrites, deposited directly onto exposed crystalline basement and supracrustal sedimentary rocks. These rhyolites record significant geochemical evidence for crustal contamination, or derivation by crustal melting, which decreases upwards through the pyroclastic sequence. They were followed by extrusion of potassic lavas of the shoshonite–latite–trachydacite suite from 10.1 to 9.5 Ma. Subsequent magmatism (9.1–1.6 Ma) was of basaltic andesite–andesite–dacite composition, with localized, smaller volume, dacitic and rhyolitic ignimbrites. Monogenetic basaltic andesite cinder cones and lava flows were erupted in the Quaternary in response to a change to transtensional tectonics in the Puna. The volcanic sequence is interpreted to record the early development of a lower crustal MASH zone at ∼11 Ma, where mantle-derived arc magmas interacted extensively with felsic lower crustal rocks to produce evolved shoshonitic compositions, and crustal melts that erupted to form rhyolitic ignimbrites (common at this time throughout the Puna). After establishment of a steady-state MASH zone by ∼9 Ma, subsequent basaltic andesite–andesite magmas show less evidence of felsic crustal contamination, and may have developed largely by interaction with previous ultramafic–mafic fractionates of early magmas in the lower crust. More felsic dacitic magmas appear to have evolved largely by fractional crystallization from basaltic andesites and andesites, with widespread evidence of mixing and mingling between magmas of different degrees of differentiation. Some contamination by upper crustal components is also evident in these dacites, but is shown more clearly by small-volume rhyolites, some of which may again represent predominantly crustal melts. Epithermal deposits of Au and Pb–Zn–Ag occur within the AVC, apparently associated with the formation of rhyolite domes. The mineralization style is typical of other Andean volcanic centres, and may be underlain by deeper-seated porphyry-styles of mineralization. Extensive blanketing by younger lavas and limited erosion restricts exposure of these altered and mineralized sequences, however, although the potential for further discoveries beneath cover or at depth in this system appears high.

Volcanological and geochemical evolution of the Diamante Caldera–Maipo volcano complex in the southern Andes of Argentina (34°10′S)

Two main stages are distinguished in the evolution of the Diamante Caldera–Maipo volcano complex. The ‘Diamante stage’ corresponds to the emplacement of large volume rhyolitic ignimbrites associated with a 20×16 km diameter collapse caldera. This ∼0.45 Ma catastrophic event was followed by the ‘Maipo stage,’ which represents the last 100 ka of the complex's lifetime. Fieldwork and Ar/Ar data support an eruptive record within the Maipo stage that consists of at least four pre-last glacial maximum (pre-LGM) large volume events and three postglacial small volume events. Historic activity remains uncertain. At present, neither fumarolic activity nor hydrothermal manifestations are detected. Dominantly effusive, the Maipo stage includes blocky and flow-banded lavas, a ring-fault dome, and subordinate pyroclastic deposits that define a high-K, calc-alkaline suite ranging in silica from 53 to 68% and encompassing two pyroxene with minor olivine andesites and two pyroxene and hornblende-bearing dacites. Within the volcanic complex, a general geochemical trend toward more evolved, potentially higher explosive products is recognized. Differentiation is strongly controlled by fractional crystallization, but disequilibrium textures suggest periodic magma mixing must be significant in the production of cyclic chemical variations.

Paleomagnetism and 40Ar / 39Ar Geochronology of Yemeni Oligocene volcanics: Implications for timing and duration of Afro-Arabian traps and geometry of the Oligocene paleomagnetic field

A combined paleomagnetic and 40Ar / 39Ar study was carried out along eight stratigraphically overlapping sections in the Oligocene Afro-Arabian flood volcanic province in Yemen (73 sites). The composite section covers the entire volcanic stratigraphy in the sampling region and represents five polarity zones that are correlated to the geomagnetic polarity time scale based on 40Ar / 39Ar ages from this and previous studies. The resulting magnetostratigraphy is similar to that of the conjugate margin in Ethiopia. The earliest basaltic volcanism took place in a reverse polarity chron that appears to correspond to C11r, while the massive rhyolitic ignimbrite eruptions correlated to ash layers in Oligocene Indian Ocean sediment 2700 km away from the Afro-Arabian traps, appear to have taken place during magnetochron C11n. The youngest ignimbrite was emplaced during magnetochron C9n. Both 40Ar / 39Ar and paleomagnetic data suggest rapid < 1 Ma eruption of the basal basalt units and punctuated eruption of the upper silicic units over a duration potentially as long as 3 Ma with interspersed eruptive hiatuses. Eruption of the basal basalts may have preceded the Oi2 cooling event. The paleomagnetic pole λ = 74.2°N, φ = 249.1°E (A95 = 3.6°; N = 48) is supported by a positive reversal test. Paleosecular variation, estimated as the angular standard deviation of the VGP distribution 14.2° + 2.3° / − 1.7°, is close to expected, suggesting that the paleomagnetic pole represents a time-averaged field. The pole is in excellent accord with the paleomagnetic poles obtained from the Ethiopian part of the Afro-Arabian province, after closure of the Red Sea. By analyzing Afro-Arabian paleomagnetic data in conjunction with contemporaneous paleomagnetic poles available from different latitudes we argue that the Oligocene paleomagnetic field was dominated by the axial dipole with insignificant non-dipole field contributions.

Timing and development of the Heise volcanic field, Snake River Plain, Idaho, western USA

The Snake River Plain (SRP) developed over the last 16 Ma as a bimodal volcanic province in response to the southwest movement of the North American plate over a fixed melting anomaly. Volcanism along the SRP is dominatedby eruptions of explosive high-silica rhyolites and represents some of the largest eruptions known. Basaltic eruptions represent the final stages of volcanism, forming a thin cap above voluminous rhyolitic deposits. Volcanism progressed, generally from west to east, along the plain episodically in successive volcanic fields comprised of nested caldera complexes with major caldera-forming eruptions within a particular field separated by ca. 0.5-1 Ma, similar to, and in continuation with, the present-day Yellowstone Plateau volcanic field. Passage of the North American plate over the melting anomaly at a particular point in time and space was accompanied by uplift, regional tectonism, massive explosive eruptions, and caldera subsidence, and followed by basaltic volcanism and general subsidence. The Heise volcanic field in the eastern SRP, Idaho, represents an adjacent and slightly older field immediately to the southwest of the Yellowstone Plateau volcanic field. Five large-volume (>0.5 km 3 ) rhyolitic ignimbrites constitute a time-stratigraphic framework of late Miocene to early Pliocene volcanism for the study region. Field relations and high-precision 4 0 Ar/ 3 9 Ar age determinations establish that four of these regional ignimbrites were erupted from the Heise volcanic field and form the framework of the Heise Group. These are the Blacktail Creek Tuff (6.62 ′ 0.03 Ma), Walcott Tuff (6.27 ′ 0.04 Ma), Conant Creek Tuff (5.51 ′ 0.13 Ma), and Kilgore Tuff (4.45 ′ 0.05 Ma; all errors reported at ′ 2a). The fifth widespread ignimbrite in the region is the Arbon Valley Tuff Member of the Star-light Formation (10.21 ′ 0.03 Ma), which erupted from a caldera source outside of the Heise volcanic field. These results establish the Conant Creek Tuff as a distinct and widespread ignimbrite in the Heise volcanic field, eliminating former confusion resulting from previous discordant K/Ar and fission-track dates. New 4 0 Ar/ 3 9 Ar determinations, when combined with geochemical, lithologic, geophysical, and field data, define the volcanic and tectonic history of the Heise volcanic field and surrounding areas. Volcanic units erupted from the Heise volcanic field also provide temporal control for tectonic events associated with late Cenozoic extension in the Snake Range and with uplift of the Teton Range, Wyoming. In the Snake Range, movement of large (≥0.10 km 3 ) slide blocks of Mississippian limestone exposed 50 km to the east of the Heise field occurred between 6.3 and 5.5 Ma and may have been catastrophically triggered by the caldera eruption of the 5.51 ′ 0.13-Ma Conant Creek Tuff. This slide block movement of ∼300 vertical meters indicates that the Snake Range had significant relief by at least 5.5 Ma. In Jackson Hole, the distribution of outflow facies of the 4.45 ′ 0.05-Ma Kilgore Tuff related to eruption from the Kilgore caldera in the Heise volcanic field on the eastern SRP indicates that the northern Teton Range was not a significant topographic feature at this time.

Assembling an ignimbrite: Compositionally defined eruptive packages in the 1912 Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes ignimbrite, Alaska

The 1912 Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes (VTTS) ignimbrite was constructed from 9 compositionally distinct, sequentially emplaced packages, each with distinct proportions of rhyolite (R), dacite (D), and andesite (A) pumices that permit us to map package boundaries and flow paths from vent to distal extents. Changing pumice proportions and interbedding relationships link ignimbrite formation to coeval fall deposition during the first ∼16 h (Episode I) of the eruption. Pumice compositional proportions in the ignimbrite were estimated by counts on ≥100 lapilli at multiple levels in vertical sections wherever accessible and more widely over most of the ignimbrite surface in the VTTS. The initial, 100% rhyolite ignimbrite package (equivalent to regional fall Layer A and occupying ∼3.5 h) was followed by packages with increasing proportions of andesite, then dacite, emplaced over ∼12.5 h and equivalent to regional fall Layers B 1 -B 3 . Coeval fall deposits are locally intercalated with the ignimbrite and show parallel changes in R:D (rhyolite:dacite) proportions, but lack significant amounts of andesite. Andesite was thus dominantly a low-fountaining component in the eruption column and is preferentially represented in packages filling the VTTS north of the vent. The most extensive packages (3 and 4) occur in B 1 and early B 2 times where flow mobility and volume were optimized; earlier all-rhyolite flows (Package 1) were highly energetic but less voluminous, while later packages (5-9) were both less voluminous and emplaced at lower velocities. Package boundaries are expressed as one or more of the following: sharp color changes corresponding to compositional variations; persistent finer-grained basal parts of flow units; compaction swales filled by later packages; erosional channels cut by the flows that fill them; lobate accumulations of one package; and (mostly south of the vent) intercalated fall deposit layers. Clear flow-unit boundaries are best developed between ignimbrite of non-successive packages, indicating time breaks of tens of minutes to hours. Less well-defined stratification may represent rapidly emplaced successive flow units but often changes over short distances and indicates variations in localized depositional conditions.