0000000000222467
AUTHOR
Gerhard Wörner
Andean Cenozoic volcanic centers reflect basement isotopic domains
Isotopic data for Quaternary volcanic centers from lat 17.5° to 22°S in northern Chile provide evidence for crustal contributions to arc magma genesis in the central Andes and delineate basement domains. Crustal thickness, distance from trench, height of volcanic edifices above the seismically active subduction zone, and sediment supply to the trench are all constant along this segment of the arc. The only significant variable is crustal age (Paleozoic in the south, Proterozoic in the north). Pb isotopic compositions of Quaternary lavas in the northern sector are lower ( 206 Pb/ 204 Pb = 17.89-18.28) and Sr and O isotope ratios are less variable ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr = 0.7058-0.7077, δ 18 O = +6.5…
Gradients in physical parameters in zoned felsic magma bodies: Implications for evolution and eruptive withdrawal
Abstract Five diverse, well documented, chemically zoned magmas have been chosen from the literature to demonstrate the extent and patterns of density and viscosity gradients in zoned magma chambers. The patterns are used to assess implications for development of zonation, and withdrawal dynamics and preservation of systematic chemical variations in the final pyroclastic deposit. These examples are: Bishop Tuff, California (high-silica rhyolite); Los Humeros, Mexico (calc-alkaline rhyolite to andesite); Fogo A, Azores (trachyte); Laacher See, Eifel (phonolite) and Tenerife, Canary Islands (phonolite). It was necessary to make several simplifying assumptions in order to calculate viscosity a…
The Nevados de Payachata volcanic region (18�S/69�W, N. Chile) II. Evidence for widespread crustal involvement in Andean magmatism
Volcanism extending over 11 Ma is represented in the rocks of the Nevados de Payachata region, culminating in the formation of two large composite stratocones within the last 500 000 years. Chemically distinct mafic magmas are erupted at a number of parasitic centers. These cannot be related to each other by crystal fractionation and do not appear to be direct parents for the differentiated suites of the composite cones. Two distinct trends are defined by the intermediate and evolved rocks; a high LILE (large ion lithophile element), TiO2 and Ce/Yb lineage among the youngest rocks (including the two major stratocones), and a more typical calc-alkaline trend among the older (>1 Ma) rock type…
Miocene to recent history of the western Altiplano in northern Chile revealed by lacustrine sediments of the Lauca basin (18�15??18�40? S/69�30??69�05?W)
The intramontane Lauca Basin at the western margin of the northern Chilean Altiplano lies to the west of and is topographically isolated from the well-known Plio-Pleistocene lake system of fluvio-lacustrine origin that covers the Bolivian Altiplano from Lake Titicaca to the north for more than 800 km to the Salar de Uyuni in the south. The Lauca Basin is filled by a sequence of some 120 m of mainly upper Miocene to Pliocene elastic and volcaniclastic sediments of lacustrine and alluvial origin. Volcanic rocks, partly pyroelastic, provide useful marker horizons. In the first period (6–4 Ma) of its evolution, the ‘Lago Lauca’ was a shallow ephemeral lake. Evaporites indicate temporarily close…
Os, Sr, Nd, Pb, O isotope and trace element data from the Ferrar flood basalts, antarctica: evidence for an enriched subcontinental lithospheric source
Os, Sr, Nd, Pb and O isotopes and trace element data are reported for basaltic andesite and andesite whole rocks and, in part, for selected mineral separates from the Jurassic Ferrar flood basalt province. Radiogenic Sr (> 0.709), unradiogenic Nd (εNd= −3 to −5), and radiogenic Pb isotopes, as well as low Nb/La ratios of 0.4 – 0.6 and Nb/La ratios between 0.45 and 0.6 are found for all rocks including our most primitive sample (Mg# = 71.9). This indicates involvement of either continental crust or enriched lithospheric mantle in magma genesis. 187Re/188Os correlates strongly with 187Os/188Os, with an age of 172 ± 5 Ma, in agreement with published Arsingle bondAr data. Initial 187Os/188Os of…
Large- and Fine-Scale Geochemical Variations Along the Andean Arc of Northern Chile (17.5°– 22°S)
Geochemical data from 37 volcanic centres from the active volcanic front in the Central Andes between 17.5° and 22°S of northern Chile provide constraints on crustal contributions to arc magma genesis in that region. Crustal thickness, distance from the trench, height above the seismically active subduction zone, and sediment supply to the trench are all constant along this segment of the arc. The only significant variable along the current arc segment is in mean crustal age (Palaeozoic in the south to Proterozoic in the north). In addition, the crustal thickness has varied through time from around 40 km in the Lower Miocene to about 70 km today. Variations along the N-S chain of the volcan…
Constraints on the Cretaceous thermal event in the Transantarctic Mountains from alteration processes in Ferrar flood basalts
Abstract K–Ar and 40 Ar/ 39 Ar incremental-heating analyses on apophyllite formed during hydrothermal alteration of volcanic rocks from the Ferrar Supergroup in North Victoria Land, Antarctica, provide strong evidence for hydrothermal events during mid-Cretaceous time. A last event has been dated at 96.7±0.6 Ma. Variable older ages between 112 and 125 Ma are interpreted as mixed ages of hydrothermal events or may be caused by disturbances of the Ar–Ar system. The Rb–Sr isotope system of the apophyllites is not applicable to dating because a large portion of the Sr is radiogenic and because of Rb-mobility in the crystal structure. Secondary mineralogy suggests a temperature for alteration be…
Zirconolite-bearing ultra-potassic veins in a mantle-xenolith from Mt. Melbourne Volcanic Field, Victoria Land, Antarctica
One mantle xenolith from a basanite host of the Mt. Melbourne Volcanic Field (Ross Sea Rift) is extraordinary in containing veins filled with leucite, plagioclase, clinopyroxene, nepheline, Mg-ilmenite, apatite, titaniferous mica, and the rare mineral zirconolite. These veins show extensive reaction with the dunitic or lherzolitic host (olivine+spinel+orthopyroxene+clinopyroxene). The reaction areas contain skeletal olivine and diopside crystals, plagioclase, phlogopite, aluminous spinel and ilmenite in a fine grained groundmass of aluminous spinel, clinopyroxene, olivine, plagioclase and interstitial leucite. The vein composition estimated from modal abundances and microprobe analyses is a…
Four- and five-phase peridotites from a continental rift system: evidence for upper mantle uplift and cooling at the Ross Sea margin (Antarctica)
Upper mantle plagioclase+spinel- and spinel-peridotite xenoliths occur in basanitic and tephritic lavas of the 2.7 my to Recent Mt. Melbourne Volcanic Field (Antarctica). This field belongs to the Cenozoic McMurdo volcanic group which is located between the deep western trough of the Ross Sea rift system and the uplifted rift shoulder of the Transantarctic Mountains. Our samples cover the transition zone between rift and shoulder. We examined texture and composition of plagioclase+spinel and normal spinel peridotites and determined temperatures and pressures of formation using the internally consistent Ca-ol/cpx and 2px-thermobarometer of Kohler and Brey (1990) and Brey and Kohler (1990). D…
Geochemical evolution of rift magmas by progressive tapping of a stratified mantle source beneath the Ross Sea Rift, Northern Victoria Land, Antarctica
Abstract Source compositions of Neogene-Quaternary volcanic rocks from the McMurdo Volcanic Group of the Ross Sea Rift in Northern Victoria Land, Antarctica are constrained by NdSrPb isotopes and trace element ratios in near-primary basalts. The rocks erupted along the western rift margin (Victoria Land Basin) and the western rift shoulder (Transantarctic Mountains). Near-primary basalts show no evidence of crustal contamination, suggesting that their initial NdSrPb isotopes reflect the composition of their mantle sources. The initial isotope ratios of near-primary basalts range from about 87 Sr 86 Sr = 0.70281 to 0.70504 and 143 Nd 144 Nd = 0.51269 to 0.51291 (ϵNd(t) = 1.3–5.5). The 20…
Resumen cronoestratigráfico de las rocas ígneas de Costa Rica basado en dataciones radiométricas
Resume El presente trabajo recopila los resultados de aproximadamente 160 dataciones radiometricas K-Ar y U-Th que se han realizado en Costa Rica en los ultimos 20 anos. Con base en estas dataciones y en relaciones estratigraficas se establecio un cuadro cronoestratigrafico sobre la evolucion del magmatismo desde el Mesozoico hasta el presente. Las rocas igneas del Jurasico hasta el Oligoceno se caracterizan por su tendencia toleitica. A partir del Mioceno tardio predominan rocas de la serie calcoalcalina y la actividad volcanica culmina en el Pleistoceno con la erupcion de grandes volumenes de ignimbritas en la parte norte y central de Costa Rica y la edificacion de los estratovolcanes de …
Crystal size distribution in Jurassic Ferrar flows and sills (Victoria Land, Antarctica): evidence for processes of cooling, nucleation, and crystallisation
Jurassic Ferrar rocks in Victoria Land (Antarctica) occur predominantly as basaltic or andesitic flows and sills. Both show characteristic petrographical and chemical variations, which can be related to in-situ differentiation processes. Such characteristics have been investigated at one flow (“Colonnade flow”) and one sill (“Thumb Point sill”) in the Prince Albert Mountains (Central Victoria Land) based on a statistical grain size analysis and the application of the crystal size distribution theory. A third magma body (“HiTi-unit”), which in previous literature was described as a flow, does not show clear similarities to either the flow or sill. Sill and flow are in-situ differentiated wit…
Crustal xenoliths from Cenozoic volcanic fields of West Germany: Implications for structure and composition of the continental crust
Crustal xenoliths in three Cenozoic volcanic fields of West Germany, the Northern Hessian Depression (NHD), the Eifel and the Urach/Hegau, include medium to high-grade meta sedimentary and felsic to mafic meta-igneous rocks. Also present in all three suites are pyroxenites and hornblendites. For each volcanic field, a model crustal profile is proposed based on calculated or measured P-wave velocities of xenoliths and depth-Vp relationships (EGT Central Segment and Rhenish Massif traverses). The xenolith lithologies from the NHD and the Eifel show some similarities. The middle crust between the depths of about 10 and 25 km consists mainly of meta-sediments, felsic gneisses and granulites. Me…
Influence of crustal thickening on arc magmatism:, Nevados de Payachata volcanic region, northern Chile
Neogene through Pleistocene lava flows of the Nevados de Payachata region (lat 18°S) on the Altiplano of northern Chile fall into two discrete chemical groups defined by age and incompatible element concentrations. The Neogene suite (10.5-6.6 Ma) has trace element concentrations comparable to arc magmas erupted on thin crust in central Chile. Pleistocene lava flows (0.29-0 Ma) are enriched in incompatible elements relative to Neogene samples but have similar Sr, Nd, and Pb isotopic ratios. Incompatible element enrichment in mafic rocks reflects deep-crustal or subcrustal processes. Neogene volcanism in northern Chile immediately followed a period of intense crustal thickening. Uplift rates …