Zircon Record of the Plutonic-Volcanic Connection and Protracted Rhyolite Melt Extraction at Turkey Creek Caldera, Arizona

Abstract:

The Turkey Creek caldera of Southeastern Arizona formed as the result of the catastrophic eruption of more than 500 km³ of high-silica rhyolite (Rhyolite Canyon Tuff). This event occurred ~27 Ma and was coincident with the early phases of Basin and Range extension. The emplacement of the ignimbrite was immediately followed by a resurgent intrusion of dacite/monzonite porphyry (DPI), some of which reached the surface as crystal-rich dacite lavas (DPL) along the ring fault. Due to uplift and erosion, the intracaldera and outflow facies of the Rhyolite Canyon Tuff (RCT) and resurgent intrusion are well-exposed, which renders this an ideal laboratory for examining the plutonic-volcanic connection in a mid- to upper-crustal environment.

We examined the potential petrogenetic link between the crystal-poor rhyolite and the crystal-rich intermediate intrusion and lavas through zircon CA-TIMS geochronology and ICP-MS trace element analyses. CA-TIMS U-Pb dates indicate that the RCT and DPI/DPL were coeval, forming over a protracted period of time (>300 kyrs.) prior to the catastrophic event. The trace element data (e.g. Lu/Sc, Y/Hf, Dy/Y) for the individual zircons in the dacitic/monzonitic units and erupted rhyolite record a continuous trend that is interpreted to reflect crystal fractionation. The combination of zircon U-Pb dating and trace element analyses also allows us to trace the apparent timing and duration of the rhyolite melt extraction from the intermediate mush, as the trace element ratios for the rhyolite diverge from those of the DPI approx. 100-150 kyrs. before eruption. This protracted timescale for building an intermediate mush large enough to hold 500 km³ of rhyolite is consistent with that observed for other large ignimbrites in arc settings.