Extensive mixing features at 27-41 Ka postcaldera trachytes at Long Valley caldera, CA: Mixing/mingling of basalt with trachyte and mobilization of young granitic material to form kspar megacrysts

Abstract:

Five small lava domes erupted at the NW margin of Long Valley caldera from 41 to 27 Ka. They range from trachyte (66% SiO₂) to trachyandesite (60%), with the youngest lava being the most mafic. Mixing features are pervasive, with enclaves, kspar megacrysts, crystal clots of various grain sizes, compositions, and degrees of resorption indicating multiple episodes of mafic injection, mobilization of young granitic material, and mixing/mingling of alkali basalt with trachyte to alkali rhyolite magmas similar to those at Mammoth Mountain. Enclaves range from 49 to 57% SiO₂ and form a mixing line with a felsic end member at 67% SiO₂. In order to quantify the distribution of enclaves and large (1-4 cm), resorbed, kspar megacrysts, outcrop-scale point counting was performed at >200 locations on the lavas. Contour maps show that kspar content is highest at the vent, but mafic-intermediate enclaves are irregularly distributed. Fe-Ti oxide temperatures for the host trachytic magmas are 915-1080°C, with the coolest temperatures at flow termini. Enclave temperatures are similar, 950-1120°C, with cooler temperatures in more felsic enclaves that are typically located near flow termini, indicating prolonged thermal and chemical interaction with the host magma. Calculated pressures are 2-4 kbar for host magmas, but some mafic crystal clots yield pressures up to 12 kbar, near the Moho at Long Valley. The kspar megacrysts match the composition of phenocrysts in late-erupted Bishop Tuff, suggesting that the megacrysts originated from solidified equivalents of magma remaining after eruption of the Bishop Tuff at 760 Ka. These data suggest a model in which alkali basalts are generated in the uppermost mantle and, through AFC, evolve into trachytes. Repeated basaltic injections keep the trachyte hot and partially melt young granites, resulting in entrainment of kspar megacrysts.

The most mafic enclaves in the NW domes match the alkali basalt compositions of the most mafic enclaves in Mono Craters Dome 12, 20 km to the north. This could indicate a shared mafic source at depth. Dome 12 is considerably more eroded than the rest of the 10- to 0.6-Ka Mono Craters, and may be about the same age as the NW domes. If so, there was a major mafic intrusion event along the N-S Mono Basin/ Mammoth Mountain trend at 27-41 Ka.