Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 120 (2002) 43^53 www.elsevier.com/locate/jvolgeores U^Pb zircon chronostratigraphy of early-Pliocene ignimbrites from La Pacana, north Chile: implications for the formation of strati¢ed magma chambers Axel K.Schmitt a;Ã, Jan M.Lindsay b, Shan de Silva c, Robert B.Trumbull d a Department of Earth and Space Sciences, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1567, USA b Seismic Research Unit, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago c Department of Space Studies, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND USA d GeoForschungsZentrum, Potsdam, Germany Received 15 October 2001; accepted 30 January 2002 Abstract High spatial resolution U^Pb dates of zircons from two consanguineous ignimbrites of contrasting composition, the high-silica rhyolitic Toconao and the overlying dacitic Atana ignimbrites, erupted from La Pacana caldera, north Chile, are presented in this study.Zircons from Atana and Toconao pumice clasts yield apparent 238U/206Pb ages of 4.11 þ 0.20 Ma and 4.65 þ 0.13 Ma (2c), respectively.These data combined with previously published geochemical and stratigraphic data, reveal that the two ignimbrites were erupted from a stratified magma chamber.The Atana zircon U^Pb ages closely agree with the eruption age of Atana previously determined by K^Ar dating (V4.0 þ 0.1 Ma) and do not support long ( s 1 Ma) residence times.Xenocrystic zircons were found only in the Toconao bulk ignimbrite, which were probably entrained during eruption and transport.Apparent 238U/206Pb zircon ages of V13 Ma in these xenocrysts provide the first evidence that the onset of felsic magmatism within the Altiplano^Puna ignimbrite province occurred approximately 3 Myr earlier than previously documented. ß 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: La Pacana caldera; strati¢ed magma chamber; ignimbrite; rhyolite; U/Pb; zircon 1. Introduction de Silva, 2001).Evidence for crystal^liquid sepa- ration is nearly ubiquitous (e.g. Smith, 1979; Hil- It is widely accepted that a spectrum of process- dreth, 1981).Recharge, where transiently distinct es operate to produce compositional diversity in magma batches are juxtaposed immediately prior silicic magma systems, but their relative impor- to eruption, may be important in some systems tance is debated (Eichelberger et al., 2000, 2001; (e.g. Eichelberger and Izbekov, 2000; Schmitt et al., 2001).Since both models are based on studies of heterogeneous pyroclastic deposits, elucidating * Corresponding author.Tel.: +1-310-794-5047; the roles of these mechanisms depends critically Fax: +1-310-825-2779. on detailed and precise volcanic chronostratigra- E-mail address: [email protected] (A.K. Schmitt). phy. 0377-0273 / 02 / $ ^ see front matter ß 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII: S0377-0273(02)00359-1 VOLGEO 2519 1-11-02 44 A.K. Schmitt et al. / Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 120 (2002) 43^53 Stratigraphic and geochemical evidence sug- magma body of cordilleran batholith proportions gested that two huge compositionally contrasting (e.g. Chmielowski et al., 1999; Haberland and ignimbrites, the Atana and Toconao ignimbrites Rietbrock, 2001).Previous studies suggested that (combined volume V2700 km3), erupted from La ignimbrite activity in the APVC started at V10 Pacana caldera in the Central Andes and that Ma and reached its peak between approximately they are consanguineous and represent separate 7 and 3 Myr ago with the caldera-forming erup- layers of a strati¢ed magma (Lindsay et al., tions of La Pacana in north Chile (Gardeweg and 2001a,b).However, the temporal relations be- Ram|¤rez, 1987; de Silva, 1989b) and of Pastos tween the two units were ambiguous since pre- Grandes, Cerro Guacha and Cerro Panizos in vious K^Ar dating yielded inconclusive and, in south Bolivia (Francis and Baker, 1978; Ort, part, geologically unreasonable ages (see review 1993). in Lindsay et al., 2001a).The abundance of xen- The Toconao and Atana ignimbrites are both olithic material and scarcity of datable materials distributed around and thicken towards La Paca- in the crystal-poor Toconao ignimbrite rendered na caldera (Lindsay et al., 2001a; Fig.1 ).The conventional dating methods ine¡ective.Recent Toconao ignimbrite (180 km3) comprises a thin success in ion microprobe dating of Pliocene^ ( 6 10 cm) lower fall unit with glassy crystal- Pleistocene zircons (e.g. Baldwin and Ireland, poor ( 6 3%) tubular pumice and a thick (V30 1995; Brown and Fletcher, 1999; Dalrymple et m) upper £ow unit and locally displays two facies al., 1999; Reid and Coath, 2000) established ion that are caused by varying degrees of vapor-phase microprobe 238U/206Pb dating as a promising tool alteration.The overlying 2500 km 3 dacitic Atana for unraveling the history of young pyroclastic ignimbrite is homogeneous, crystal-rich (40^50%), systems.Here we demonstrate that 238U/206Pb relatively pumice-poor, and constitutes a single dating of zircons yields insights into the crystalli- cooling unit.The Atana intracaldera facies is zation history of the two La Pacana ignimbrites. densely welded, whereas degree of welding varies U^Pb zircon geochronology indicates a close tem- in extracaldera outcrops.There is no ¢eld evi- poral relationship between the Toconao and Ata- dence for a hiatus between deposition of the To- na magmas and, in combination with petrological conao and the overlying Atana ignimbrite but data from La Pacana, challenges the view that previous geochronology is inconclusive as to the compositional gaps in pyroclastic deposits are in timing of the two eruptions.Two stratigraphically general best explained by incomplete mixing be- consistent whole-rock and biotite K^Ar ages were tween magmas of di¡erent origin (e.g. Eichelberg- previously determined for Toconao pumice, these er et al., 2000).We suggest instead that strati¢ca- are 4.0 þ 0.9 and 5.27 þ 1.12 Ma (all errors 2c, see tion in the La Pacana system developed due to Lindsay et al., 2001a).Recent K^Ar biotite ages e¡ective crystal-melt separation within an upper- from Atana pumice have generally smaller uncer- crustal magma reservoir and that the layers con- tainties and range between 3.77 þ 0.09 Ma and tinued to evolve independently after separation. 4.23 þ 0.12 Ma (Lindsay et al., 2001a). 2. Geologic background of La Pacana caldera 3. Methods One of Earth’s most extensive silicic volcanic Zircons were recovered by heavy liquid separa- provinces is the Altiplano^Puna Volcanic Com- tion from the 6 350-Wm fraction from three sam- plex (APVC), located between 21 and 24‡S in ples used for K^Ar dating by Lindsay et al. the Central Andes (de Silva, 1989a).Here, at least (2001a): Atana single pumice (Lari-96h-6), Toco- 30 000 km3 of late-Miocene to Pleistocene ignim- nao bulk ignimbrite (Quis-96-3), and a Toconao brites and silicic lavas are preserved above a zone single pumice clast (Toc-97h-2) collected at the of extremely low S-wave velocities at mid-crustal same location (Fig.1 ) as the composite pumice depths that probably represents a partially molten sample (Toc-97h-3) dated by Lindsay et al. VOLGEO 2519 1-11-02 A.K. Schmitt et al. / Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 120 (2002) 43^53 45 Fig.1.Map of La Pacana Caldera in the APVC showing the distribution of Atana ignimbrite and the estimated extent of the underlying Toconao ignimbrite (modi¢ed after Lindsay et al., 2001b).Sample locations for K^Ar and U^Pb zircon dating are in- dicated (T = Toc-97h-2; Q = Quis-96-3; L = Lari-96h-6). (2001a).Lithic clasts are abundant in the bulk the outermost zones, rim analyses were performed ignimbrite sample, but were separated by hand- on one unpolished Toconao zircon grain using the picking prior to crushing and sieving.Prior to depth-pro¢ling mode, which improves the spatial ion probe analyses, a total of V50 polished zir- resolution by a factor of V100 (c.f. Grove and cons was examined for internal zonation by cath- Harrison, 1999). Fig.3 and Table 1 show increas- odoluminescence (CL) imaging (Fig.2 ). ing radiogenic 206Pb coupled with decreasing Ion microprobe spot analyses were performed 207Pb/206Pb ratios for four successive analyses on using the UCLA CAMECA ims 1270 ion micro- an unpolished crystal face.This implies that com- probe on all zircons recovered from the two To- mon Pb is largely surface derived and therefore a conao samples (V10 each) and on 11 selected 5-min pre-sputtering was applied during analyses grains from the Atana sample.A 5^10-nA O 3 on polished surfaces. primary beam was focused to a spot size of V30 Wm in diameter (see Fig.2 ) and secondary ions extracted at 10 kV with an energy band pass 4. Results of 35 eV.O 2 pressure in the sample chamber was adjusted to V0.002 Pa to increase Pb sensitivity. A 204Pb-based common Pb correction can in- The reproducibility on the reference zircon AS3 troduce large uncertainties for young unradiogen- (Paces and Miller, 1993) during the three analyt- ic samples and therefore the uncorrected data (an- ical sessions between March and August 2001 var- alytical results shown in Table 1) were regressed ied between 1 and 3%.To determine the age of in the 238U/206Pb vs. 207Pb/206Pb diagram to ob- VOLGEO 2519 1-11-02 46 A.K. Schmitt et al. / Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 120 (2002) 43^53 Fig.2.CL images of zircons from La Pacana.Ion microprobe spots are indicated by dashed line together with 204Pb-corrected ages (1c errors).Arrows indicate truncation of oscillatory zonation.(A) Toconao bulk ignimbrite Quis-96-3 grain 11.(B) Grain 2 from same sample.(C) Toconao pumice Toc-97h-2 grain 7.(D) Atana pumice Lari-96h-6 grain 5.