Rapid Magma Ascent and Generation of Th Excesses in the Lower Crust At
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Earth and Planetary Science Letters 255 (2007) 229–242 www.elsevier.com/locate/epsl Rapid magma ascent and generation of 230Th excesses in the lower crust at Puyehue–Cordón Caulle, Southern Volcanic Zone, Chile ⁎ Brian R. Jicha a, , Brad S. Singer a, Brian L. Beard a, Clark M. Johnson a, Hugo Moreno-Roa b,c, José Antonio Naranjo b a Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Wisconsin—Madison, 1215 West Dayton Street, Madison WI 53706, USA b Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería (SERNAGEOMIN), Avenida Santa María, 0104 Santiago, Chile c Observatorio Volcanologico de los Andes del Sur (OVDAS), Cerro Ñielol-Sector Antenas, Temuco, Chile Received 28 July 2006; received in revised form 7 December 2006; accepted 8 December 2006 Available online 30 January 2007 Editor: R.W. Carlson Abstract Basaltic to rhyolitic lavas and tephras erupted over the last 70 kyr at the Puyehue–Cordón Caulle volcanic complex in the Andean Southern Volcanic Zone (SVZ) were analyzed for major and trace element, Sr isotope, and U–Th isotope compositions to constrain the timescales of magmatic processes and identify the subducted and crustal components involved in magma genesis. Internal U–Th mineral isochrons from five lavas and three tephra fall deposits are indistinguishable from their eruption ages, indicating a short period (b1000 yr) of crystal residence in the magma prior to eruption. The (230Th/232Th) ratios define a narrow range (0.80–0.83) compared to that of all SVZ lavas (0.72–0.97), suggesting that Puyehue basalt was derived from a relatively uniform mantle source. Dacites and rhyolites have the largest U excesses and likely evolved via fractional crystallization of a plagioclase-dominated mineral assemblage. In contrast, basalts have 1 to 6% 230Th excesses, a characteristic not previously observed in frontal arc stratovolcanoes of the Andean SVZ. The 230Th excesses are interpreted to reflect a relatively small degree of fluid flux melting coupled with assimilation and melting of the lower crust. Lower crustal processes, therefore, have dampened the 238U excesses that were generated during fluid addition to the mantle wedge. Although prior 238U–230Th–226Ra studies of lavas from other southern SVZ stratovolcanoes (36 to 41° S) have inferred that slab additions and the extent of mantle melting were nearly constant along strike of the arc, our results suggest that MASH processes envisioned by Hildreth and Moorbath [W. Hildreth, S. Moorbath, Crustal contributions to arc magmatism in the Andes of central Chile, Contrib. Mineral. Petrol. 98 (1988) 455-489] in the northern SVZ also occur in the southern SVZ, where the crust is relatively thin. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: U–Th isotopes; Puyehue–Cordón Caulle; Southern Volcanic Zone; lower crust 1. Introduction between volcanic output and magma dynamics in the mantle and crust. Disequilibria among decay products of Determining the time involved for magma transport, U-series nuclides have been used to constrain these storage, and crystallization provides an important link processes (see reviews by [2,3]). In particular, along-arc surveys of historical lavas U–Th isotope compositions ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 608 262 8960; fax: +1 608 262 0693. have been used to fingerprint the various subducted E-mail address: [email protected] (B.R. Jicha). components involved in magma genesis and to estimate 0012-821X/$ - see front matter © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2006.12.017 230 B.R. Jicha et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 255 (2007) 229–242 ascent rates [4–11]. Relatively few studies have focused Nd–Pb isotope characteristics of the erupted products on extended eruptive periods of individual volcanoes are relatively well-characterized [31], 3) its eruptive (i.e. 104 to 105 yr), and yet this approach is important for history is marked by numerous explosive sub-Plinian to understanding the tempo of magma storage, mixing, and Plinian eruptions, including the most recent eruption fractional crystallization over the lifetime of an arc which occurred on May 24, 1960, ∼38 h after the main volcano [12–15]. shock of the Mw 9.5 Great Chilean earthquake, whose The majority of U-series data from subduction zones epicenter was 240 km to the west [32,33], and 4) it is the are from island arc lavas that are typically enriched in target of a 40Ar/39Ar-based geochronological investiga- 238U over 230Th, which have been interpreted to reflect tion aimed at characterizing the eruptive and volumetric the addition of slab-derived, U-rich fluids to the mantle growth rate history during the past several hundred kyr wedge. Interpretation of U-series isotope data from [34,35]. This study combines new U-series, trace- continental arc lavas tends to be complicated by element, and Sr isotope data to examine magma sources magma–crust interaction [9–11,16–23]. Excess 226Ra and intracrustal magmatic processes over the last 70 kyr, over 230Th is a widespread characteristic in both island a period when the Puyehue stratocone grew rapidly to its and continental arc lavas, which requires rapid magma present form. ascent within 5 half-lives of 226Ra (b8 kyr). 226Ra excesses may be generated during fluid addition to the 2. Geologic setting and volcanological overview mantle wedge, melting and assimilation of crust, or during melt transport, all of which may relax the Puyehue–Cordón Caulle is located at 40.5° S in requirement of rapid magma ascent rates [24–26]. 230Th Southern Volcanic Zone of Chile, and comprises excesses in continental arc lavas, like 226Ra excesses, ∼140 km3 of Pleistocene to Holocene lavas and tephras may be due to variable amounts of fluid and melt that crop out over ∼800 km2 [31,34–36]. The complex addition to the mantle wedge [8,10,20–22] or assimi- includes the Puyehue stratovolcano and the Cordón lation–fractional crystallization processes [17,23]. Caulle fissural zone, which extends 20 km to the The Andean Southern and Austral Volcanic zones northwest of Puyehue (Fig. 1). Geologic mapping, (SVZ and AVZ, respectively; Fig. 1) are adjacent stratigraphy, and more than forty 40Ar/39Ar age continental arcs where petrologic and U-series studies determinations indicate that two broad shield volcanoes have revealed dramatic differences in magma sources dominated the Puyehue–Cordón Caulle region from 240 [10–12,18,27–30]. 230Th excesses and high Sr/Y and to 70 ka [34–36]. The modern Puyehue stratocone was La/Yb ratios in AVZ lavas may reflect partial melting of built on the remains of the southernmost shield from 69 subducted oceanic crust [10]. In contrast, most SVZ to 1 ka, and consists of ∼18 km3 of lava and tephra that lavas have 238Uand226Ra excesses that are well span a continuum from basalt (up to 10 wt.% MgO) to 10 9 correlated with Be/ Be [11,18]; this is interpreted to rhyolite with up to 72 wt.% SiO2 (Table A.1). The reflect addition of sediment-derived fluid to the mantle, basalts which contain 7–10 wt.% MgO are among the followed by rapid magma ascent (i.e., 102 to 103 yr) [11]. most Mg-rich lavas erupted from stratovolcanoes in The aim of this paper is to explore petrologic the entire southern SVZ [31,37]. Dacitic to rhyolitic processes and their timescales over an extended period activity is primarily restricted to the last 19 kyr during of several tens of kyr at the Puyehue–Cordón Caulle which a dome complex grew atop the volcano in volcanic complex through U–Th isotope compositions several effusive and explosive stages. A sub-Plinian to determined on lavas, tephra falls and their constituent phreatoplinian rhyodacitic eruption at ∼1kaobliter- minerals. We present the first U–Th isotope data ated these domes and formed the modern 2.5 km- available for minerals from SVZ lavas. In addition, we diameter summit crater. Along the Cordón Caulle fis- have analyzed several mafic lavas from small eruptive sural zone, ∼9km3 of rhyodacitic to rhyolitic domes, centers in the Puyehue–Cordón Caulle region in order to lava flows, pumice falls, and pyroclastic cones have compare the isotopic characteristics of basalts erupted at erupted from at least 27 vents during the past a mature stratovolcano to those of the surrounding ∼16.5 ka, including rhyodacitic to rhyolitic eruptions cinder cones (e.g., [18]). Puyehue–Cordón Caulle was in 1921–22 and 1960 [33–36]. chosen because: 1) it is unique among other predom- inantly mafic centers of the southern SVZ in that it has 3. Sample selection and analytical techniques produced a wide compositional spectrum of lavas ranging from high-MgO basalt to voluminous rhyoda- We have analyzed 26 lavas and tephra fall deposits cite and rhyolite, 2) the petrologic, geochemical, Sr– from Puyehue–Cordón Caulle erupted during the last B.R. Jicha et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 255 (2007) 229–242 231 70 kyr, one coarse-grained, dioritic xenolith that was Puyehue lavas are known precisely from 40Ar/39Ar found in ∼1 ka pumice on the south rim of the Puyehue geochronology, AMS 14C ages ([34,35], Table A.2), or crater, nine late Holocene to historic basalts from nearby historical observations. Three of the five Puyehue small eruptive centers (e.g., Mirador, Carrán, and basalts (PU 02 39, PU 02 03, PU 05 29) have not Rininahue centers of Carrán-Los Venados; Antillanca, been dated directly, but their ages are constrained by Pajaritos, Cerro Mirador, Anticura, an unnamed cinder stratigraphic relations relative to lavas flows that erupted cone 3 km south of Puyehue), and one basaltic lava from between 14.9±2.9 and 11.5±1.1 ka based on 40Ar/39Ar the 1835 eruption of Osorno volcano, located ∼65 km geochronology (Fig.