Titanium and oxygen isotope diffusion in quartz-phenocrysts from a Jurassic rhyolite, Chon Aike Province (Fitz Roy, Patagonia)

Abstract:

The volcanic El Quemado Complex was deposited during the breakup of Gondwana during the Middle and Late Jurassic. It is part of a large silicic igneous province, which includes the Chon Aike Province in Southern Patagonia and related rocks from the Antarctic Peninsula [1]. The Complex consists of rhyolitic and dacitic ignimbrites and air-fall tuffs, intercalated with andesitic to rhyolitic lava flows. New LA-ICPMS U/Pb-dates of zircons from the Fitz Roy area yield ages between 148 and 153Ma. No inherited zircons were found, suggesting that the temperature of 850°C calculated from zircon saturation is a minimum temperature. Lava flows are typically rich in quartz phenocrysts, which preserved magmatic trace element zoning, as revealed by cathodoluminescence (CL): light cores are surrounded by several darker and lighter zones towards the rim. The δ¹⁸O-values for quartz of between 11 to 14 ‰ are compatible with a crustal source for the magma and the SIMS analyses of phenocrysts reveal no zoning in O-isotope compositions.

High-resolution Ti-profiles were obtained by NanoSIMS with a beam size of ~200 nm and a minimum step size of ~120 nm. Several lines perpendicular to the magmatic zoning of the quartz-phenocrysts were measured. The profiles show sharp changes in the ⁴⁸Ti/²⁹Si-ratio over a distance of 5 μm, which correlate with CL-intensity changes. The profiles can be used for diffusion chronometry. The distances obtained from NanoSIMS profiles were used to calculate maximum diffusional relaxation times. Assuming a step function as initial condition and extrusion temperatures from zircon saturation of 850°C, we obtain a maximum residence time for the quartz-phenocrysts of 3.5 years.

[1] Pankhurst R.J., Riley T.R., Fanning C.M., Kelley S.P., 2000. J. Pet., 41, 605–625.