Thermal history of caldera-forming magmatic systems

Abstract:

Large, caldera-forming silicic eruptions require the assembly and storage of a large volume of magma, and are though to result from either (1) rare high magma flux events needed to maintain melt-rich (eruptible) magma for extended timescales, or (2) magma accumulation at lower magma fluxes, storage for extended timescales as low temperature crystal mushes and rapid rejuvenation prior to eruption. The thermal history of these magmas prior to eruption thus provides an important clue into the processes that lead to eruption, but has been difficult to quantify. However in-situ measurement of Sr and other trace elements in plagioclase, coupled with diffusion models, can be used to constrain the time magmas spend at different temperatures.

Progressive differentiation of plagioclase from a silicic magma produces plagioclase with lower Sr at low An—producing a positive correlation between Sr and An, which is the opposite of what is predicted by equilibrium partitioning. Forward modeling of the temperature-dependent diffusion of Sr from this initial disequilibrium condition toward equilibrium concentrations, based on partitioning relationships of An and Sr, gives an estimate of the time individual crystals spend at specific temperatures.

Preliminary high spatial resolution LA-ICP-MS analysis of Sr in plagioclase from five caldera-forming eruptions show overall positive correlations of Sr and An, suggesting that little diffusive re-equilibration has occurred. Thus, over the lifetime that these magmas reside in the upper crust (>10 k.y.) they likely spend less than a few thousand years at temperatures above 750 °C (the approximate temperature of rheological lockup). These results suggest that the magmas that feed many large caldera-forming eruptions are kept in cold storage for long timescales, and that rapid rejuvenation of mush occurs without extended thermal conditioning prior to eruption.