Constraining timescales of pre-eruptive events within large silicic volcanic centers

Abstract:

Large silicic volcanic centers produce catastrophic supervolcanic eruptions. As a result it is necessary to understand what’s happening within these centers, and on what timescales, in order to anticipate and prepare for such eruptions. A widely accepted model for many rhyolitic volcanic systems is that of a long-lived mush from which melt is periodically extracted and erupted. However, what remains unclear are 1) the specific processes by which melt is amalgamated and extracted from this mush and 2) the timescales over which these occur. Processes occurring close to eruption likely include amalgamation (and potentially homogenization) of melt, melt extraction, crystallization of major phases, and final magma ascent. Numerical and geochemical models have been used to constrain timescales of mush rejuvenation, and contrast between short timescales for mush reactivation (e.g., <<1000 years, depending on the reservoir) and others demonstrating much longer timescales at super-solidus conditions (e.g., 100s of kyrs). Timescales calculated from intra-crystalline diffusion profiles suggest that many crystals spend very short amounts of time (decades to centuries) at near-solidus temperatures prior to eruption. At the Okataina Volcanic Center (OVC) in New Zealand, geochemical and isotopic data suggest that melts are extracted from a long-lived, heterogeneous mush prior to eruption. Despite this protracted existence, combined U-series ages and diffusion profiles in OVC zircon and plagioclase crystals suggest that crystallization often occurs within the final hundreds to thousands of years prior to eruption, and at most, a few percent of a crystal’s total history is spent at above-solidus conditions. Within these brief amounts of time, diffusion techniques can be linked to specific pre-eruptive processes in order to constrain timescales of melt extraction from a mush (likely decades to centuries), intrusions of new melt and/or magma mixing (likely years to decades), and ascent of melt to the surface (likely minutes). Ongoing work will constrain the extent to which these timescales can be applied to volcanic systems of different compositions and tectonic settings, as well as examining differences in pre-eruptive behavior between supervolcanic eruptions and smaller ones.