Phenocryst

About: Phenocryst is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 4132 publications have been published within this topic receiving 158441 citations.

Chemical evolution of a pleistocene rhyolitic center: Sierra La Primavera, Jalisco, México

Abstract: The late Pleistocene caldera complex of the Sierra La Primavera, Jalisco, Mexico, contains well-exposed lava flows and domes, ash-flow tuff, air-fall pumice, and caldera-lake sediments. All eruptive units are high-silica rhyolites, but systematic chemical differences correlate with age and eruptive mode. The caldera-producing unit, the 45-km3 Tala Tuff, is zoned from a mildly peralkaline first-erupted portion enriched in Na, Rb, Cs, Cl, F, Zn, Y, Zr, Hf, Ta, Nb, Sb, HREE, Pb, Th, and U to a metaluminous last-erupted part enriched in K, LREE, Sc, and Ti; Al, Ca, Mg, Mn, Fe, and Eu are constant within analytical errors. The earliest post-caldera lava, the south-central dome, is nearly identical to the last-erupted portion of the Tala Tuff, whereas the slightly younger north-central dome is chemically transitional from the south-central dome to later, moremafic, ring domes. This sequence of ash-flow tuff and domes represents the tapping of progressively deeper levels of a zoned magma chamber 95,000 ± 5,000 years ago. Since that time, the lavas that erupted 75,000, 60,000, and 30,000 years ago have become decreasingly peralkaline and progressively enriched only in Si, Rb, Cs, and possibly U. They represent successive eruption of the uppermost magma in the post-95,000-year magma chamber. Eruptive units of La Primavera are either aphyric or contain up to 15% phenocrysts of sodic sanidine ≧quartz >ferrohedenbergite >fayalite>ilmenite±titanomagnetite. Whereas major-element compositions of sanidine, clinopyroxene, and fayalite phenocrysts changed only slightly between eruptive groups, concentrations of many trace elements changed by factors of 5 to 10, resulting in crystal/glass partition coefficients that differ by factors of up to 20 between successively erupted units. The extreme variations in partitioning behavior are attributed to small changes in bulk composition of the melt because major-element compositions of the phenocrysts and temperature, pressure, and oxygen fugacity of the magma all remained essentially constant. Crystal settling and incremental partial melting by themselves appear incapable of producing either the chemical gradients within the Tala Tuff magma chamber or the trends with time in the post-caldera lavas. Transport of trace metals as volatile complexes within the thermal and gravitational gradient in volatilerich but water-undersaturated magma is considered the dominant process responsible for compositional zonation in the Tala Tuff. The evolution of the post-caldera lavas with time is thought to involve the diffusive emigration of trace elements from a relatively dry magma as a decreasing proportion of network modifiers and/or a decreasing concentration of complexing ligands progressively reduced trace-metal-site availability in the silicate melt.

Petrology of Medicine Lake Highland volcanics: Characterization of endmembers of magma mixing

Abstract: Lavas from Medicine Lake volcano, Northern California have been examined for evidence of magma mixing. Mixing of magmas has produced basaltic andesite, andesite, dacite and rhyolite lavas at the volcano. We are able to identify the compositional characteristics of the components that were mixed and to estimate the time lag between the mixing event and eruption of the mixed magma. Compositional data from pairs of phenocrysts identify a high alumina basalt (HAB) and a silicic rhyolite as endmembers of mixing. Mg-rich olivine or augite and Ca-rich plagioclase are associated with the HAB component, and Fe-rich orthopyroxene and Na-rich plagioclase are associated with the rhyolitic component. Some lavas contain multiple phenocryst assemblages suggesting the incorporation of several magmas intermediate between the HAB and silicic components. Glass inclusions trapped in Mg-rich olivine and Na-rich plagioclase are similar in composition to the proposed HAB and rhyolite end members and provide supportive evidence for mixing. Textural criteria are also consistent with magma mixing. Thermal curvature of the liquidus surfaces in the basalt-andesite-rhyolite system allows magmas produced by mixing to be either supercooled or superheated. Intergranular textures of basaltic andesites and andesites result from cooling initiated below the liquidus. The trachytic textures of silicic andesites form from cooling initiated above the liquidus. Reversed compositional zoning profiles in olivine crystals were produced by the mixing event, and the homogenization of the compositional zoning has been used to estimate the time interval between magma mixing and eruption. Time estimates are on the order of 80 to 90 h, suggesting that the mixing event triggered eruption.

Origin of andesite and its bearing on the Island arc structure

Abstract: The hypothesis that andesite magmas originate from basalt magmas through fractionation is supported for the following reasons: 1) A close association of andesite and dacite with basalt in many volcanoes and a complete gradation in chemistry and mineralogy throughout this suite. 2) Formation of andesite magmas from basalt magmas by differentiation in situ of some intrusive and extrusive bodies. 3) Agreement between the calculated compositions of solid materials to be subtracted from basalt magmas to yield andesite magmas and the observed mineralogy of phenocrysts in these rocks. 4) Higher alkali contents in andesite and dacite associated with high-alumina basalt than in those associated with tholeiite. 5) A complete gradation from the high iron concentration trend of basalt magma fractionation (Skaergaard) to the low or noniron concentration trend (the calc-alkali series) which can be ascribed to the difference of the stage of magnetite crystallization. 6) Similarity between the orogenic rock suite and plateau basalts in the preferential eruption of magmas of middle fractionation stage, givin rise to the great volume of andesite in the orogenic belts and iron-rich basalt in the plateau lavas. Petrological and seismic refraction studies suggest that a great volume of gabbroic materials are present in the lower crust underneath the volcanic belts as a complementary material for the andesite lavas. The island arc structure would develop by repeated eruption of andesite on the surface and by thickening of the oceanic crust underneath the arc due to the addition of gabbroic materials. The suitable portion of the lower crust may be subjected to partial melting to produce granitic magma in the later stage of development of the arc, successively changing it to a part of the adjacent continent.