Melt Inclusion Constraints on Petrogenesis of the 2014–2015 Holuhraun Eruption, Iceland
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Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology (2018) 173:10 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00410-017-1435-0 ORIGINAL PAPER Melt inclusion constraints on petrogenesis of the 2014–2015 Holuhraun eruption, Iceland Margaret E. Hartley1 · Enikö Bali2 · John Maclennan3 · David A. Neave4 · Sæmundur A. Halldórsson2 Received: 7 January 2017 / Accepted: 20 December 2017 / Published online: 12 January 2018 © The Author(s) 2018. This article is an open access publication Abstract The 2014–2015 Holuhraun eruption, on the Bárðarbunga volcanic system in central Iceland, was one of the best-monitored basaltic fissure eruptions that has ever occurred, and presents a unique opportunity to link petrological and geochemical data with geophysical observations during a major rifting episode. We present major and trace element analyses of melt inclusions and matrix glasses from a suite of ten samples collected over the course of the Holuhraun eruption. The diversity of trace element ratios such as La/Yb in Holuhraun melt inclusions reveals that the magma evolved via concurrent mixing and crystallization of diverse primary melts in the mid-crust. Using olivine–plagioclase–augite–melt (OPAM) barometry, we calculate that the Holuhraun carrier melt equilibrated at 2.1 ± 0.7 kbar (7.5 ± 2.5 km), which is in agreement with the depths of earthquakes (6 ± 1 km) between Bárðarbunga central volcano and the eruption site in the days preceding eruption onset. Using the same approach, melt inclusions equilibrated at pressures between 0.5 and 8.0 kbar, with the most probable pressure being 3.2 kbar. Diffusion chronometry reveals minimum residence timescales of 1–12 days for melt inclusion- bearing macrocrysts in the Holuhraun carrier melt. By combining timescales of diffusive dehydration of melt inclusions with the calculated pressure of H2O saturation for the Holuhraun magma, we calculate indicative magma ascent rates of 0.12–0.29 m s−1. Our petrological and geochemical data are consistent with lateral magma transport from Bárðarbunga volcano to the eruption site in a shallow- to mid-crustal dyke, as has been suggested on the basis of seismic and geodetic datasets. This result is a significant step forward in reconciling petrological and geophysical interpretations of magma trans- port during volcano-tectonic episodes, and provides a critical framework for the interpretation of premonitory seismic and geodetic data in volcanically active regions. Keywords Iceland · Holuhraun · Melt inclusions · Crystallization · Melt barometry Introduction The recent eruption at Holuhraun within the Bárðarbunga Communicated by Othmar Müntener. volcanic system in central Iceland began on 29 August 2014 Electronic supplementary material The online version of this and, with the exception of a short break in activity on 30 article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s00410-017-1435-0) contains August, continued until 27 February 2015, producing over supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. 1.4 km3 of dominantly plagioclase–phyric lava and tephra. * Margaret E. Hartley The event was one of the best-monitored basaltic fissure [email protected] eruptions that have ever occurred, and presents a unique opportunity to link petrological and geochemical data with 1 School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University geophysical observations during a major rifting episode. It of Manchester, Manchester, UK also provides an excellent opportunity to investigate mech- 2 Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, anisms of melt generation and its subsequent storage and Iceland transport within Iceland’s axial rift zones. 3 Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, We present a detailed petrological and geochemical char- Cambridge, UK acterization of erupted products from Holuhraun. We use 4 Institut für Mineralogie, Leibniz Universität Hannover, these data to evaluate pressures of melt mixing, storage, Hannover, Germany Vol.:(0123456789)1 3 10 Page 2 of 23 Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology (2018) 173:10 and equilibration in the Holuhraun magmatic system. of maximum tensile stress, resulting in laterally propagating We present a new implementation of the olivine–plagio- seismicity and potentially a fissure eruption along the rift clase–augite–melt (OPAM) barometer (Yang et al. 1996) to zone (e.g., Sigurdsson and Sparks 1978). Magma withdrawal evaluate melt equilibration pressures, whereby melt com- from a shallow magma chamber may also result in caldera positions that are not multiply saturated can be identified subsidence at the volcanic edifice (e.g., Stix and Kobayashi and discarded, and the systematic error in returned pressure 2008, and references therein). Alternatively, fissure erup- estimates is minimised. We use diffusion chronometry to tions along rift zones may be driven by pressurization of estimate minimum residence times of macrocryst phases in lower crustal magma reservoirs and the injection of subver- the Holuhraun melt, and obtain indicative ascent rates for tical dykes towards the surface, with associated movement the Holuhraun magma. Finally, we compare our petrologi- on caldera ring faults resulting from the concentration of cal observations with geophysical data to evaluate the fidel- dyke-induced stress fields around pre-existing faults and/or ity of petrological and geochemical datasets in recovering shallow magma chambers (e.g., Gudmundsson 1995; Gud- the apparent magma storage and transport during a major mundsson et al. 2014). These models have been discussed volcano-tectonic episode. In studies of previous, similar extensively with respect to volcano-tectonic episodes for volcano-tectonic events in Iceland, petrologists have typi- volcanic edifices including Kilauea, Hawaii (Ryan 1988; cally evaluated the depths of magma storage and transport Baker and Amelung 2012); the Afar region of Ethiopia as being significantly deeper than the recorded seismicity. (Wright et al. 2006; Jeir et al. 2009; Ebinger et al. 2010); Here, for the first time, we have recovered petrological con- and mid-ocean ridge segments (e.g., Fialko and Rubin 1998; straints on melt storage and transport pressures that are in Dziak et al. 1995; Escartín et al. 2014). very good agreement with seismic and geodetic determi- The 2014–2015 event at Holuhraun is the best-monitored nations from the same event. This marks a significant step Icelandic volcano-tectonic episode ever to have occurred. forward towards the reconciliation of petrological and geo- For the first time, we have interlinked high-resolution data- physical datasets. Our methods and results are applicable to sets describing the seismicity (Sigmundsson et al. 2015; the interpretation of melt transport pathways during histori- Ágústsdóttir et al. 2016) and ground deformation (Gud- cal eruptions where geophysical and geodetic data are not mundsson et al. 2016), as well as changes in volcanic plume available, and may lead to significant improvements in the chemistry (Gauthier et al. 2016), all of which can be directly forecasting of future fissure eruptions, both in Iceland and linked to the petrology and geochemistry of erupted products further afield. collected at regular intervals over the course of the eruption (Fig. 1). The Holuhraun eruption thus represents a unique opportunity to integrate the petrological characteristics of Geological background the erupted products from a volcano-tectonic episode with various geophysical datasets, and hence to evaluate the Melt transport in Icelandic systems most likely model of melt transport in the light of multiple independent, high-quality datasets. This not only enhances Volcano-tectonic episodes in Iceland include the 1975–1984 our ability to interpret magma storage and transport path- Krafla Fires (Björnsson et al.1977 ; Einarsson and Brands- ways during historic volcano-tectonic episodes, where such dóttir 1979), Askja 1874–1876 (Macdonald et al. 1987; geophysical data are unavailable, but also provides a vital Hartley and Thordarson 2013), Laki 1783–1784 and Eldgja framework for the interpretation of premonitory seismic and 934 (Sigurdsson and Sparks 1978; Thordarson and Self geodetic data in volcanically active regions, which is crucial 1993). With the exception of the Krafla Fires, no high- to improving volcano monitoring and the response to future resolution seismic or geodetic data exist for these volcano- eruptive hazards. tectonic episodes. Thus, evaluation of magma supply and transport for Icelandic historic volcano-tectonic episodes Geophysical observations of the Holuhraun has, to date, relied on the interpretation of petrological and volcano‑tectonic episode geochemical data, supported by low-resolution records of seismicity and/or ground deformation gleaned from his- Intense seismicity on the Bárðarbunga volcanic system torical accounts when available (e.g., Hartley and Thordar- commenced on 16 August 2014, with the distribution of son 2012). This has resulted in two principal end-member seismicity consistent with a radial dyke propagating north- hypotheses describing the possible nature of magmatic eastwards from Bárðarbunga volcano. Simultaneously, GPS plumbing systems feeding fissure eruptions in volcanic rift observations recorded subsidence at Bárðarbunga caldera, zones. First, replenishment and pressurization of a magma and extension perpendicular to the propagating dyke (Sig- chamber beneath the volcanic edifice may result in lateral mundsson et al. 2015). Dyke propagation continued at a var- magma injection into