Silicic Magma Research Articles

Genesis of the Questa Mo Porphyry Deposit and Nearby Polymetallic Mineralization, New Mexico, USA

Abstract The Oligocene Latir magmatic center in northern New Mexico is an exceptionally well exposed volcano-plutonic complex that hosts a variety of magmatic-hydrothermal deposits, ranging from relatively deep, F-rich porphyry Mo mineralization to shallower epithermal deposits. We present new whole-rock chemical and isotopic data for plutonic rocks from the Latir magmatic center, including extensive sampling of drill core samples of intrusive rocks from the Questa porphyry Mo deposit. These data document temporal chemical trends of porphyry-related mineralization that occurred after caldera-forming magmatism and during postcaldera batholith assembly. Silicic magmas were generated multiple times throughout the history of the Latir magmatic center, but few are associated with the formation of a mineral deposit. Whole-rock trace element ratios and Sr, Nd, and Pb isotope compositions vary throughout the protracted history of silicic magmatism. The caldera-forming ignimbrite and early phase of postcaldera intrusions are unmineralized, more enriched in high field strength elements, and generally contain less radiogenic Sr and Pb and more radiogenic Nd than later intrusions. The Questa porphyry Mo deposit formed immediately after the most isotopically primitive phase of the batholith was assembled, ruling out simple reworking of juvenile mantle-derived crust as the source for mineralizing magmas. Rhyolite dikes associated with polymetallic sulfide deposits intruded ~800 k.y. after Mo mineralization, and Nd isotope data indicate that these dikes are associated with different batches of magma and are unrelated to the Mo-mineralizing intrusions at the Questa mine. Together, these data indicate that the source of magmas changed significantly throughout the 10-m.y. history of the magmatic center. We assess multiple genetic models for porphyry-related magmatism against this data set, favoring models with discrete periods of magma genesis from a deep hybridized zone in the lower crust giving rise to the punctuated periods of mineralization. These observations suggest that the formation of mineral deposits within a central magmatic locus is likely the result of the piecemeal assembly of individual hydrothermal-magmatic systems, and that distal and younger polymetallic mineralization commonly observed near known porphyry deposits represents decoupled processes.

Melt inclusion evidence for limestone assimilation, calc-silicate melts, and “magmatic skarn”

Abstract Chemical exchange between silicate magmas and carbonate rocks has major implications for igneous fractionation, atmospheric CO2 flux, and formation of mineral deposits. However, this process is only partly understood, and long-standing questions of whether, where, and how carbonate rocks can be digested by silicate melts remain controversial. We describe evidence for pervasive chemical exchange between silicate melt and carbonate rock in a shallow porphyry setting driven by limestone assimilation. Melt inclusions in endoskarn from the Chating Cu-Au deposit in eastern China reveal that the calc-silicate assemblage (diopside + andradite ± wollastonite ± epidote) was molten at the time of skarn formation and coexisted with CO2 vapor as well as sulfate- and chloride-salt melts. Hence, we argue that endoskarn at Chating formed by crystallization of an immiscible calc-silicate melt produced by assimilation of carbonate rock, aided by the presence of sulfate and other fluxes, which in turn promoted desilication of the intruding magma and drove vigorous CO2 release.

Using Apatite to Track Volatile Evolution in the Shallow Magma Chamber below the Yonaguni Knoll IV Hydrothermal Field in the Southwestern Okinawa Trough

The Yonaguni Knoll IV is an active seafloor hydrothermal system associated with submarine silicic volcanism located in the “cross back-arc volcanic trail” (CBVT) in the southwestern Okinawa Trough. However, the behavior of volatiles during magmatic differentiation in the shallow silicic magma chamber is unclear. Here, the volatile contents of apatite inclusions trapped in different phenocrysts (orthopyroxene and amphibole) and microphenocrysts in the rhyolite from the Yonaguni Knoll IV hydrothermal field were analyzed by using electron microprobe analysis, which aims to track the behavior of volatiles in the shallow magma chamber. Notably, the ‘texturally constrained’ apatites showed a decreasing trend of XCl/XOH and XF/XCl ratios. Based on the geochemical analyses in combination with thermodynamic modeling, we found that the studied apatites were consistent with the mode of volatile-undersaturated crystallization. Therefore, volatiles were not saturated in the early stage of magmatic differentiation in the shallow rhyolitic magma chamber, and consequently, the metal elements were retained in the rhyolitic melt and partitioned into crystalline magmatic sulfides. Additionally, previous studies suggested that the shallow rhyolitic magma chamber was long-lived and periodically replenished by mafic magma. The injection of volatile-rich and oxidized subduction-related mafic magmas can supply abundant volatiles and dissolve magmatic sulfide in the shallow magma chamber. These processes are important for the later-stage of volatile exsolution, while the forming metal-rich magmatic fluids contribute to the overlying Yonaguni Knoll IV hydrothermal system.

Following magma: The pathway of silicic magmas from extraction to storage during an ignimbrite flare-up, Taupō Volcanic Zone, New Zealand

Very large silicic magma systems can generate tens to thousands of cubic kilometres of very evolved, rhyolitic magmas that erupt in caldera-forming events. These magma systems may incorporate multiple bodies of magma mush, from which eruptible, crystal-poor magma is extracted and stored. We examine the pressure of magma extraction from the mush and storage of eruptible magma bodies from seven caldera-forming eruptions in the central Taupō Volcanic Zone, New Zealand, during a 350 ka to 240 ka ignimbrite flare-up. For the first time, we use rhyolite-MELTS geobarometry to calculate extraction and storage pressures for the same pumice clasts (representing magma parcels), revealing that each eruption was fed by multiple, compositionally distinct, mush and eruptible magma bodies. Some of the eruptible bodies were stored contiguously with the magma mush; but, on average, our calculations reveal that individual parcels of eruptible magma were stored ∼6 km shallower than their extraction depths, demonstrating that magmas migrate an appreciable vertical distance in the build-up to eruption. The flare-up includes three different geometries of magmatic system: 1) a “mature” type in which multiple eruptible magma bodies sit adjacent to each other in the shallow crust (∼100 MPa) and are in contact with the top of a vertically extensive, heterogeneous mush system; 2) a “mush model” type in which a shallow eruptible magma body is directly in contact with a shallow mushy cumulate; and 3) a “vertically discretised” type in which eruptible magma bodies are stored at different depths and may also be extracted from separate mush bodies. The flare-up began with a “mature” type system, with the very large (>2200 km3 magma) Whakamaru Group eruptions. Following Whakamaru, the eruptions were smaller (erupting 50 – 150 km3 magma), and initially had deep, “vertically discretised” magma systems. The subsequent eruptions reveal the vertical expansion of a new system, until the last eruption (Ohakuri) had a “mature”-type organisation. This sequence of flare-up eruptions hints at how very large silicic magma systems can spatially and vertically mature over a geologically short timeframe (∼100 kyrs) from a patchwork of vertically discretised magma bodies to a mature magma system with a shallow storage zone and compositionally heterogeneous magma mush beneath.

Chemical vectoring in continental geothermal systems: Composition of altered rocks and illite as guides to magmatic degassing

The Taupō Volcanic Zone, New Zealand, is one of the most voluminous volcanic regions on Earth. Over the last 1.8 Myr, bimodal volcanism in this rifted-arc setting has been dominated by voluminous rhyolite ignimbrite eruptions (>6000 km3 cumulative) and minor arc-type andesite and dacite, underpinned by basaltic intrusions. The combination of the magmatism and extensionally thinned arc crust with high heat flow has resulted in more than 23 active geothermal fields in the region. The fluids sampled in the geothermal systems are dominated by dilute meteoric fluids that are low in components such as acids, alkalis, and some trace metals commonly ascribed to magmatic sources but can contain large amounts of deep sourced magmatic volatiles such as CO2.This study was designed to assess the long-term (>20,000yr) fluid and metal input into two Taupō geothermal systems, and the amount and proportion of magmatic-derived components in these fluids. We collected major and trace element compositions of hydrothermal altered whole rocks and clay minerals from two active geothermal systems and compared them with hydrothermally altered rocks of the fossil (0.6 Ma) Ngatamariki magmatic-hydrothermal system, which has a demonstrated large magmatic contribution. The Ohaaki and Rotokawa geothermal systems have both been drilled to a depth of 3000 m, with sampled reservoir fluids containing low concentrations of chloride (∼1000 mg/kg) but high levels of gas (CO2, N2) that have previously been interpreted to reflect subduction components derived from arc-type magmas. Whole-rock samples lack enrichment in chloride-transported metals such as Cu, Pb or Zn but have minor anomalies of bisulfide-complexed Au, Sb, and As in the uppermost 1500 m of the geothermal reservoirs. Hydrothermal water-rock interactions in the deep reservoirs of both geothermal systems at temperatures between 220 and 300 °C produced assemblages of illite + albite + adularia + calcite + pyrite that are in equilibrium with the observed neutral to slightly acidic pH (6 ± 1) of the present-day fluids. In the lower temperature end of this range, Mg and Fe increasingly enter the illite crystal lattice via Tschermak-type (phengite) substitution, whereas a few high-temperature (>300 °C) samples contain scarce muscovite compositions. The illites commonly have low contents of most trace metals, although minor amounts of Cs, Li, Cu, Sb and Sn occur in near-surface samples. Based on these data, over the >20,000-year lifetime of the Ohaaki and Rotokawa geothermal systems, fluids were dominated by chloride-poor meteoric water and contained little magmatic contributions other than conducted heat, some gases (CO2 - N2 ± H2S), and a small fraction of the total H2O of geothermal waters. Therefore, the inferred magma bodies of intermediate to silicic composition that lie at shallow depth beneath these geothermal systems currently are not, and likely have not been for >20,000 years, degassing significant water and chloride despite the high water and chloride contents of the magmas. By inference, the intermediate to silicic magmas at depth have not transferred large amounts of volatiles to the geothermal systems over this period, and rather are storing them in the magmatic bodies to be released in volcanic eruptions that are commonly explosive and pyroclastic in nature and highly hazardous.

Application of time–temperature–transformation and time–pressure–transformation diagrams for cooling- and decompression-induced crystallization to estimate the critical cooling rate required to form glassy obsidian

The formation of glass from silicic magmas during eruption is an enigmatic process. To understand the formation of obsidian, we used time–temperature–transformation (TTT) and time–pressure–transformation (TPT) diagrams to estimate the critical cooling and decompression rates needed to form glassy obsidian. The TTT diagram is a contour map of the crystallized volume fraction as a function of the crystallization temperature and time. A contour line for a given crystal fraction in a time versus temperature diagram has a cone shape, with the “nose” of the curve corresponding to the minimum time and corresponding temperature required to generate a specific crystal fraction. We also present a TPT diagram, based on the TTT diagram, and liquidus curve for decompression-induced crystallization. We applied the TTT diagram to the Tokachi–Ishizawa obsidian from Shirataki, Hokkaido, Japan, and used it to estimate the critical cooling rate that would have been required to form its glassy texture by cooling-induced crystallization during eruption. For decompression-induced crystallization, we used the TPT diagram to estimate the critical decompression rate needed to form glassy obsidian. Based on our calculation results, the critical cooling and decompression rates are highly dependent on the interfacial energy between crystals and melt. We compared the estimated critical cooling and decompression rates with those estimated from microlite number density and a one-dimensional solution of the heat conduction equation. Our calculation results reveal that glassy obsidian can be formed during an eruption, particularly under conditions of high interfacial energy.

Imaging the magmatic plumbing of the Clear Lake Volcanic Field using 3-D gravity inversions

The Quaternary Clear Lake Volcanic Field (CLVF) in the Northern California Coast Range is the youngest of a string of northward-younging volcanic centers in the state. The CLVF is located within the broad San Andreas Transform Fault System and has been active intermittently for ∼2 million years. Heat beneath the CLVF supports The Geysers, one of the largest producing geothermal fields in the world.Previous geophysical studies proposed the existence of a magma reservoir beneath Mount Hannah, which is northeast of The Geysers, near the geographic center of the CLVF. The lateral extent, depth, and presence of melt within this reservoir are poorly constrained, as is the relationship between this body and the broader magmatic plumbing of the CLVF. To gain a clearer and more comprehensive picture of the CLVF magma source region, a gravity dataset was compiled and the first 3-D gravity inversions of the CLVF were completed.Field and synthetic model inversions from the current study both indicate that the gravity low roughly centered on Mount Hannah is not accurately explained by a 5–7 km thick lens of Mesozoic Great Valley Sequence (ρ=2.58g/cm3) as proposed by Stanley et al. (1998). The observed gravity low is more accurately described by one or more silicic, partial melt bodies between The Geysers and Mount Hannah. Although our inversions cannot constrain the exact depth and geometry of these bodies, the recovered models indicate the existence of a partial melt zone between 6 and 13 km depth.The prolonged eruption history of the CLVF, coupled with the compositional variation of erupted rocks over time and space, is consistent with the existence of several, potentially ephemeral, melt-bearing bodies as opposed to one large melt body. Given the density and location of the recovered anomaly, rhyolite-MELTS thermodynamic modeling suggests the existence of 10–30% rhyodacitic melt within the proposed silicic magma reservoir at about 700 °C and 8 km depth (210 MPa). Independent petrologic, geochemical, and seismic evidence indicates that this silicic partial melt zone is underlain by basaltic melt in the lower to middle crust (13 to 21 km depth), which is fed by a mantle source.Eruptions in the past ∼8.5–13.5 thousand years; high regional heat flow; 3He enrichment of hydrothermal fluids; and our modeling, which suggests the presence of a mid-crustal, silicic partial melt zone, point to a still-active CLVF. The relatively low estimates of partial melt (10–30%) predicted by thermodynamic modeling indicates that an injection of new magma into the imaged partial melt zone is needed to generate sufficient melt to incite future eruptions. Despite the low percent melt estimates within the proposed silicic partial melt zone the potential for future volcanic eruption remains. Due to the proximity of the CLVF to cities surrounding Clear Lake and the densely populated San Francisco Bay Area, continued research and monitoring of the volcanic field are warranted. The geophysical and petrologic modeling presented here improves our understanding of the CLVF magma plumbing system and allows us to better characterize its associated volcanic hazards.

Shear thinning and brittle failure in crystal-bearing magmas arise from local non-Newtonian effects in the melt

Crystal-bearing magmas are often assumed to be intrinsically non-Newtonian, but the mechanism underlying suspension shear thinning remains unconstrained. Here, we test the hypothesis that shear thinning in these suspensions arises solely from unrelaxed shear thinning in the melt phase or from viscous heating or both. We compile existing data for the rheology of high-temperature crystal-bearing silicate magmas across a wide range of conditions. In order to test this, we define a ‘lever’ function L(ϕ) which scales the strain rate in the melt phase between crystals relative to the bulk strain rate of the suspension as a function of crystal volume fraction ϕ. We show that, in general, the parameterisation of the amplification of strain rates via the L(ϕ) factor coupled with a shear-thinning law for the melt phase fully accounts for the non-Newtonian behaviour of the suspension. Next, we use the Brinkman number Br to demonstrate that some existing data derive from experiments that were subject to viscous heating, resulting in a further manifestation of apparent shear thinning. Taken together, our results provide a theoretical framework that predicts microphysical regimes for shear thinning. This implies that crystal-bearing magmas are Newtonian except where the scaled conditions for viscous heating are met, or when the strain rates in the melt phase approach the inverse of the structural relaxation timescale. This shear thinning due to non-Newtonian behaviour of the melt between crystals occurs very close to the brittle threshold, yielding an extension of the brittle failure criterion to crystal-bearing magmas, with direct implications for volcanic eruption dynamics.

Post-collisional batholiths do contribute to continental growth

Post-collisional voluminous silicic magmatism is represented in most orogens across the world in the form of large granodiorite batholiths and minor intermediate and mafic intrusions, postdating 5-30 Ma the age of the collisional paroxysm responsible of the main mountain building events. Post-collisional mafic intrusions are acknowledged as a mechanism that contributes to long-term yet minor continental growth. The silicic magmas forming the large batholiths, however, have been dismissed from the crustal growth discussion due to bias in the conception that they always generate by recycling older lower crustal igneous rocks. Contrary to this, geochemical and isotopic relations together with new experimental data provided in this paper suggest that the post-collisional signature can be reproduced without the implication of a crustal component, supporting a potential common origin for the two suites, intermediate and silicic. That is, both suites can be derived from a metasomatized mantle source, thus representing the injection of largely juvenile material to produce new continental crust. This inference is contextualized within the supercontinent cycle, showing that the timing of post-collisional magmatism accounts for the generation and preservation rates predicted by the existing models, since both reach maximum values in the amalgamation-collisional stage of the supercontinent cycle, rather than in the subduction stage. All together these inferences lead to think that post-Archean, post-collisional magmatism has been significantly underestimated when computing continental crustal growth through time.

Partial melting of amphibolitic lower crust and subsequent melt-crystal separation for generation of the Early Eocene magmatism in eastern Himalaya

The Himalayan leucogranites provide a good opportunity to investigate the crustal evolution of the southern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. In this study, we present zircon U-Pb and monazite U-Th-Pb ages, zircon Hf isotopes and whole-rock Sr-Nd-Pb isotopes and major and trace elements for the Liemai two-mica granite, eastern Himalaya. Together with previously published data we revalued the petrogenesis of the Early Eocene magmatic rocks in this region and their geological implications. The zircon and monazite U-(Th)-Pb dating results showed that the Liemai two-mica granite was generated at ∼ 43 Ma, similar to adjacent Yardoi, Dala and Quedang adakitic two-mica granites, Ridang subvolcanic rocks and Yardoi leucogranite. The Liemai two-mica granite, similar to these coeval adakitic two-mica granites, is enriched in SiO2, Al2O3, Th, U, Pb, La, and Sr, and depleted in MgO, total iron, Yb and Y with high Sr/Y and (La/Yb)N ratios (showing adakitic affinities), and exhibits enriched Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf isotopic compositions, suggesting an origin of a thickened lower crust consisting mainly of garnet amphibolite. Although the Ridang subvolcanic rocks and Yardoi leucogranite show similar Sr-Nd-Hf isotopes to these adjacent coeval two-mica granites, perceptible differences in whole-rock major and trace elements can be observed. Broadly, these granites can be divided into high-Mg# granites (HMGs, the two-mica granites) and low-Mg# granites (LMGs, the Ridang subvolcanic rocks and Yardoi leucogranite). The former has relatively higher contents of total iron, MgO, Mg#, TiO2, P2O5, LREE, Y, Th, Sr, incompatible elements (Cr and Ni) and Eu/Eu* values, and lower contents of SiO2 and Rb/Sr and Rb/Ba ratios, thus is less evolved than the latter. According to recent studies of differentiation processes in silicic magma reservoirs, we proposed that the HMGs represent a congealed crystal mush that was composed of ‘cumulate crystals’ and a trapped interstitial liquid, while the LMGs represent the almost pure liquid that was extracted from the crystal mush. Modeling using the trace elements Sr and Ba shows that the extraction probably occurred when the crystallinity of the mush was ∼ 60%–63%, at least for the most evolved LMGs sample. The HMGs correspond to a residual crystal mush that had a terminal porosity of ∼ 21%–25% filled with a trapped interstitial liquid. Underplating of mafic magmas following slab breakoff of the Neo-Tethys oceanic lithosphere caused partial melting of the amphibolitic lower crust, which had been thickened to ~50 km prior to ~43 Ma.

CHEMICAL AND TEXTURAL STUDIES OF THE YOUNGEST PYROCLASTIC DEPOSITS AT MT. SEMINUNG (SOUTH SUMATRA, INDONESIA): A WINDOW FOR UNDERSTANDING THE EXPLOSIVE BEHAVIOR OF A POST-CALDERA VOLCANO

The youngest tephra deposits of Seminung Volcano in South Sumatra, Indonesia, was studied by addressing the stratigraphy (field data), componentry, petrography, glass and mineral compositions, and textural analysis of vesicles to interpret the magmatic system and eruption dynamics. Based on the componentry and grain size characteristics, the section is divided into three different units: (1) massive block and ash, (2) interbedded ash and lapilli, and (3) massive lapilli. All units include grey pumice (GP), brown pumice (BP), and scoria (SC) as the main juvenile types, while porphyritic lava occurs as the non-juvenile phase (lithics). Noteworthy, minor banded pumice (BaP) can be observed in all units, and accretionary lapilli (AL) is exclusive in the interbedded ash and lapilli unit. The similarity in mineralogy and the linear correlation of all major elements of glass compositions suggest that grey and brown pumice originated from the same shallow, biotite-bearing more silicic magma (64.5-74.9 wt. % ), while scoria originates from the deeper, biotite-free less silicic magma (62.1-69.2 wt. % ). The fact that grey pumice shows higher silica content and pheno-bubble fraction with lower phenocryst content than brown pumice suggests the rough stratification of the more silicic magma reservoir. Furthermore, the more silicic magma was likely intruded by the deeper less silicic magma, as indicated by the bimodal distribution of anorthite (An#) in grey and brown pumices (i.e. the peak of the high anorthite content is similar to that of scoria). Thus, the accumulation of pheno-bubble and magmatic recharge were likely responsible for triggering the eruption. Finally, the fact that juvenile clasts from units 2 and 3 had the highest matrix-vesicle number density (MVND) implies that the eruption intensity reached its peak towards the final eruption stage.

Pre‐Eruptive Evolution and Timescales of Silicic Volcanism in the Tarim Large Igneous Province

AbstractThe widespread (∼48,000 km2) coexisting crystal‐rich monotonous intermediates (trachydacites) and crystal‐poor high‐silica rocks (rhyolites, ignimbrites) in the Tarim Large Igneous Province (T‐LIP) offer a rare opportunity to explore pre‐eruptive timescales and evolutionary patterns of different silicic magmas in LIPs. We combined information from petrography, geochemistry, crystal kinetics, and diffusion chronometry of felsic rocks from nine boreholes to investigate their pre‐eruptive history. The complex reverse Ti zoning patterns in quartz corresponding to temperature variations over 100°C, lognormal crystal size distributions, high‐Ti rims with faster growth rates, variable pressures, and Nd isotopic modeling, indicate silicic magmas in T‐LIP might have witnessed a universal evolutionary pattern of periodic recharge and rejuvenation, coarsening, and cooling and crystallization in magma chambers at different crustal levels, which we term here as RRCCC model. The uniform composition and crystallinity of trachydacites might result from latent heat buffering, and their eruption was triggered by melt‐induced fracturing. The chemical and thermal gradients preserved in rhyolites were generated by thermally variable magma inputs and extensive fractionation at different pressures. Co‐existence of these two types of rocks was controlled by interaction between mantle plume impingement and re‐melting of hydrous crust built up by early subduction. The best‐fitting Ti‐in‐quartz diffusion curves obtained by Neural Networks indicate that magma residence time lasted for ∼106 years, and eruption was triggered within ∼105 years after the last recharge event.

Tracking Magma‐Crust‐Fluid Interactions at High Temporal Resolution: Oxygen Isotopes in Young Silicic Magmas of the Taupō Volcanic Zone

AbstractOxygen isotopes are useful for tracing interactions between magmas, crustal rocks and surface‐derived waters. We use them here to consider links between voluminous silicic magmatism and large‐scale hydrothermal circulation in New Zealand's central Taupō Volcanic Zone (TVZ). We present >350 measurements of plagioclase, quartz, hornblende and groundmass glass δ18O values from 40 eruptions from three discrete magmatic systems: Ōkataina and Taupō calderas, and the smaller Northeast Dome system. For each mineral, mean δ18O values vary by ∼1‰ (δ18Oplag = +6.7–7.8‰, δ18Oqtz = +7.7–+8.7‰, δ18Ohbl = +5.4–+6.4‰, δ18Oglass = +7.1–+8.0‰), and inter‐mineral fractionations mostly reflect high‐temperature equilibria. Outliers (e.g., ∼+6‰ or >+10‰ plagioclase) represent contaminants incorporated on short‐enough timescales to preserve disequilibrium (∼102 yrs for plagioclase). Melt δ18O values calculated from phenocrysts are ∼+7.3–+8.0‰. Where multiple magmas were involved in the same eruption their δ18Omelt values are indistinguishable, implying that their parental mushes were isotopically well‐mixed. However, small (≤0.5‰) but consistent δ18Omelt value gradients occur over millennial timescales at Ōkataina and Taupō, with short‐term ∼0.4–0.5‰ decreases in δ18Omelt values over successive post‐caldera eruptions correlating with increases in 87Sr/86Sr. These changes reflect tens of percent assimilation of a mixture of hydrothermally altered silicic plutonic material and higher‐87Sr/86Sr greywacke. These examples represent the first evidence for assimilation of altered crust into TVZ magmas. The subtle and short‐lived isotopic signals of these interactions are only recognized through the high temporal resolution of the TVZ eruptive record and complementary radiogenic isotope data. Similar interactions may have been obscured in other nominally high‐ or normal‐δ18O magmatic systems.

Effect of Sulfide Sulfur on the Crystallization of Low-Alkali Magmas: Prolegomena

The effect of sulfide sulfur on the crystallization of ultramafic–mafic–intermediate magmatic systems is considered in order to assess its scale and direction during the crystallization of rock-forming phases. The study carried out a theoretical analysis of the effect of sulfur on the activity of the components of the silicate melt according to the Korzhinskii’s principle of acid–base interaction. To test the theoretical constructions, published experimental data analyzed to select data allowing a direct comparison of sulfur-saturated and sulfur-free runs. Despite the very limited number of such experiments, they all fit well with theoretically predicted trends. It has been established that the addition of sulfur to the system moderately reduces the liquidus temperature of rock-forming minerals within 20–30°C, and significantly affects their composition. In particular, chrome spinel is enriched in chromium by 10–12 mol % and complementary depleted in aluminum. The composition of plagioclase is enriched in the anorthite component by 3 mol % in dacites and 8 mol % in andesites; this effect was not established in basalts, but its strengthening can be expected. Olivine and orthopyroxene demonstrate an insignificant increase in magnesian content, but the field of their coexistence is significantly reduced in favor of orthopyroxene, which should inevitably lead to a change in their cotectic and peritectic proportions. Natural observations that can be interpreted as the result of the sulfur effect are taken from publications. The results obtained lead to the conclusion that sulfur significantly affects the crystallization of silicate magmas. It follows that the petrological dependences calibrated for sulfur-free experiments should be applied with caution to the interpretation of sulfur-bearing systems.

Estimation of an ephemeral cooling for silicic magma reservoirs using thermal simulation

• A thermal simulation is to constrain the cooling time of silicic magma reservoirs. • The cooling time is dominantly controlled by pluton’s shape and emplacement depth. • Shallow magma reservoirs require extra heat to maintain liquid for a longer time. • A cooling time of ∼20 kyr is proposed for the ca. 44 km 2 Jiuxiantang intrusion. Understanding the processes involved in magmatic evolution is one of the most fundamental aspects of geological research. The limitations of available chronological and geophysical methods hinder their precise depictions of the short residence time of small-volume magma reservoirs in the upper crust, while thermal simulation may provide an alternative solution for the key issue. In this contribution, a numerical simulation is built to constrain the processes of magma reservoirs in terms of heat conduct. The sensitivities of magma cooling time on relevant factors (including pluton shape, size, emplacement depth, heat dissipation efficiency, and thermal gradient) are explored. Our simulation suggests that the depth and shape (size and radius/thickness ratio) of magma reservoirs affect the cooling time significantly. An ephemeral cooling time of ∼20.4 kyr (thousand years) from liquidus (994 ℃) to solidus (664 ℃) for the homogeneous ca 820 Ma (million years ago) Jiuxiantang intrusion in South China is revealed. An overall ‘mush’ state of the magma reservoir is proposed for the most lifetime of the intrusion. This contribution provides a unique perspective to understanding the thermal budget of the magma system and the residence time of magma reservoirs in the upper crust.

Contrasting magmatic evolutions of the Three Sister Volcanoes reflect increased heat flow, crustal melting and silicic magmatism in the Central Oregon Cascade Arc

The Three Sisters stretch, one of the most magmatically active segments of the Oregon Cascade Arc, includes the Three Sisters volcanoes proper (North, Middle and South) as well as the shields and cinder cones of the Mount Bachelor Chain and McKenzie Pass. The Three Sisters record a magmatic transition from fundamentally basaltic andesitic activity in older North Sister products to more diverse activity at Middle Sister, and unusually silicic activity in a Cascade volcano, including rhyolite lava, at South Sister.North Sister magmas reflect magmatic evolution of basaltic andesite through crystal fractionation, mostly of olivine, and incorporation of crustal melts. Middle Sister, although mostly composed of basaltic andesite and andesite, produced dacitic magma through assimilation fractional crystallization processes involving incorporation of silicic melts. South Sister developed a subjacent magma chamber under the southern half of the volcano, where andesitic magmas evolved, dominantly through fractional crystallization, to dacite and rhyolite. A prominent compositional gap at South Sister between dacite and rhyolite and depletion of middle and heavy rare earth elements in rhyolite suggest that amphibole was prominently involved in fractionation processes involving separation of silicic magma from a gabbroic or amphibolitic crystal mush. Silicic magma eventually formed a stagnant cap in the system, where it evolved through small scale fractional crystallization. Rhyolite magma was finally heated to elevated temperatures prior to eruption, presumably through influx of less evolved magma into the base of the stagnant silicic cap and was erupted in late rhyolite lava of Rock Mesa and the Devil's Hill Chain.South Sister lies along strike of the Northwest Rift of Newberry Volcano, which forms the northwestern terminus of the High Lava Plains trend of south-central Oregon. The increased magmatic activity of the Three Sisters stretch and unusual abundance of silicic products, including rhyolite, of South Sister may reflect the arrival and intersection of the High Plains magmatic anomaly with the Cascade Arc.

Magma accumulation at depths of prior rhyolite storage beneath Yellowstone Caldera.

Seismic tomography has provided key insight into Yellowstone's crustal magmatic system that includes attempts to understand the melt distribution in the subsurface and the current stage of the volcano's life cycle. We present new tomographic images of the shear wave speed of the Yellowstone magmatic system based on full waveform inversion of ambient noise correlations, which illuminates shear wave speed reductions of greater than 30% associated with Yellowstone's silicic magma reservoir. The slowest seismic wave speeds (shear wave speed less than 2.3 kilometers per second) are present at depths between 3 and 8 kilometers, overlapping with petrological estimates of the assembly depth of erupted rhyolite bodies. Assuming that Yellowstone's magmatic system is a crystal mush with broadly distributed melt, we estimate a partial melt fraction of 16 to 20%.

New Insights Into the Petrogenesis of Voluminous Crustal‐Signature Silicic Volcanic Rocks of the Toba Eruptions (Indonesia)

AbstractThe formation of large‐volume silicic magmas in arc settings is fundamental for understanding trans‐crustal magmatic systems related to subduction zones. Here, we present an integrated study of the four Quaternary Toba eruptions and pre‐caldera Haranggaol Andesite on Sumatra, Indonesia. This rock suite has significantly enriched Sr‐Nd isotopes (87Sr/86Sr = 0.71220–0.71517, εNd = −8.9 to −10.6) compared with other volcanic rocks on Sunda‐Banda arc, but is similar to the post‐caldera (<74 ka) Sipisupisu basalts near the Toba Caldera. Thermodynamic modeling using Magma Chamber Simulator has revealed that the Toba silicic rocks can be produced by a two‐stage assimilation and fractional crystallization of mantle‐derived basaltic melts with compositions similar to the Sipisupisu basalts in the lower and upper crustal magma reservoirs. Binary modeling of Sr‐Nd isotopes suggests that the rocks near the Toba Caldera can be produced by mixing of 5%–10% of the subducting Nicobar Fan sediments (87Sr/86Sr = 0.73493, εNd = −14 on average) with depleted MORB mantle (DMM). Indeed, decompressional partial melting modeling of bulk mixtures of DMM with 7% subducting sediments using pMELTS indicates that the melts generated can have geochemical compositions similar to the Sipisupisu basalts. We therefore argue that hybridization of the subducting sediments with the mantle wedge could be an alternative scenario responsible for the enriched isotopic characteristics of the rocks near Toba. Prolonged fractionation of mantle‐derived enriched/depleted basaltic melts, accompanied by crustal assimilation and crystal‐melt segregation, could be common processes in generating large‐volume silicic magmas on continental arcs.

Niobium, Critical Metal, and Progeny of the Mantle

Abstract Niobium is a critical metal in high demand because of technological advances and the supply risk created by the fact that over 90% of its production is by a single country (Brazil). In this paper, we review the geology of the deposits that are currently being mined and other potentially economic deposits as well as develop models for their genesis. With the exception of the Lovozero deposit (Russia), which is hosted by a layered silica-undersaturated alkaline igneous complex, all the deposits that are currently being mined for niobium are hosted by carbonatites, and most of the deposits with economic potential are also hosted by these rocks. Niobium owes its concentration in carbonatites and alkaline silicate rocks to its highly incompatible nature and the small degree of partial melting of the mantle required to generate the corresponding magmas. The primary control on the concentration of niobium to economic levels in alkaline silicate magmas is fractional crystallization, partly prior to but mainly after emplacement. In the case of silica-undersaturated magmas, the final residue saturates in minerals like eudialyte and loparite to form niobium-rich horizons in the layered complexes that crystallize from these magmas. The final residue, in the case of silica-saturated magmas, crystallizes the pegmatites that are the hosts to the economic niobium mineralization, which commonly takes the form of pyrochlore. In contrast, carbonatitic magmas undergo little to no fractional crystallization prior to emplacement. Moreover, fractional crystallization on emplacement has minimal impact on the concentration of niobium to economic levels. Instead, we propose that the metasomatic interaction of the carbonatitic magmas with their hosts to form rocks like phlogopitite (glimmerite) consumes much of the magma, leaving behind a phoscoritic residue from which pyrochlore crystallizes in amounts sufficient to form economic deposits. Although many niobium deposits display evidence of intense hydrothermal alteration, during which there can be major changes in the niobium mineralogy, the extremely low solubility of niobium in aqueous fluids at elevated temperature precludes significant mobilization and, thus, enrichment of the metal by hydrothermal fluids. However, weathering of carbonatite-hosted niobium deposits leads to supergene enrichment (due largely to the dissolution of the carbonate minerals) that can double the niobium grade and make subeconomic deposits economic. Pyrochlore is the principal niobium mineral in these laterite-hosted deposits, although its composition differs considerably from that in the primary mineralization. This paper evaluates the processes that appear to be responsible for the genesis of niobium ores and provides a framework that we hope will guide future in-depth studies of niobium deposits and lead to more effective strategies for their successful exploration and exploitation.

Zircon inheritance, sources of Devonian granitic magmas and crustal structure in central Victoria

In central Victoria, inherited zircon in Devonian igneous rocks and detrital zircon in metasedimentary country rocks and an amphibolite-facies xenolith show that Mesoproterozoic parts of the underlying Selwyn Block cannot be the source for all the silicic magmas. Zircon inheritance in S-type samples reveals significant thermal events at 525–425 Ma and 1200–1100 Ma. Both S- and I-type samples have prominent zircon age peaks at 420–410 Ma, which record high-grade metamorphism of the deep crust during the terminal phases of the Benambran and Bindian orogenies. All I-type rocks have 650–500 Ma peaks, suggesting derivation from an arc-related metavolcanic source in the upper Selwyn Block. Protoliths of the greenschist-facies Ordovician metasediments and the amphibolite-facies Cambrian metasedimentary xenolith were deposited in distal backarc settings. Most inherited zircon cores are metamorphic, and the strongest zircon inheritance occurs in hornblende-bearing I-type rocks, highlighting their largely crustal origin. Zircon populations at ca 1400 Ma, thought to signal sediment derivation from East Antarctica and Rodinia-Nuna, are mostly absent in I-type samples and some S-types. The ca 1400 Ma signal probably applies to the upper, metasedimentary Selwyn Block, so Devonian S-type magmas were sourced mainly in the deeper sections. Zircon inheritance in the Devonian igneous rocks was not influenced by the exposed metasedimentary country rocks. Two samples from one of the smaller plutons have contrasting patterns of zircon inheritance, suggesting relatively small-scale source heterogeneity. Many rounded and corroded cores in zircon crystals yield the same ages as the crystallisation dates for the rocks, and thus are antecrysts. Higher whole-rock Zr contents generally correlate with higher proportions of inherited zircon, and differentiation does not affect this relationship. The degree of partial melting of a magma source and the efficiency of crystal entrainment are critical in governing zircon inheritance.