Geology topics

B. L. A. Charlier

Publications and source records attributed to B. L. A. Charlier.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2007

Zircon crystallization and recycling in the magma chamber of the rhyolitic Kos Plateau Tuff (Aegean arc)

In contrast to most large-volume silicic magmas in continental arcs, which are thought to evolve as open systems with significant assimilation of preexisting crust, the Kos Plateau Tuff magma formed dominantly by crystal fractionation of mafic parents. Deposits from this ∼60 km 3 pyroclastic eruption (the largest known in the Aegean arc) lack xenocrystic zircons [secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) U-Pb ages on zircon cores never older than 500 ka] and display Sr-Nd whole-rock isotopic ratios within the range of European mantle in an area with exposed Paleozoic and Tertiary continental crust; this evidence implies a nearly closed-system chemical differentiation. Consequently, the age range provided by zircon SIMS U-Th-Pb dating is a reliable indicator of the duration of assembly and longevity of the silicic magma body above its solidus. The age distribution from 160 ka (age of eruption by sanidine 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dating; Smith et al., 1996 ) to ca. 500 ka combined with textural characteristics (high crystal content, corrosion of most anhydrous phenocrysts, but stability of hydrous phases) suggest (1) a protracted residence in the crust as a crystal mush and (2) rejuvenation (reduced crystallization and even partial resorption of minerals) prior to eruption probably induced by new influx of heat (and volatiles). This extended evolution chemically isolated from the surrounding crust is a likely consequence of the regional geodynamics because the thinned Aegean microplate acts as a refractory container for magmas in the dying Aegean subduction zone (continent-continent subduction).

Geology↗

USGS2006

Extreme U-Th disequilibrium in rift-related basalts, rhyolites and granophyric granite and the timescale of rhyolite generation, intrusion and crystallization at Alid volcanic center, Eritrea

Rhyolite pumices and co-erupted granophyric (granite) xenoliths yield evidence for rapid magma generation and crystallization prior to their eruption at 15·2 ± 2·9 ka at the Alid volcanic center in the Danikil Depression, Eritrea. Whole-rock U and Th isotopic analyses show 230 Th excesses up to 50% in basalts <10 000 years old from the surrounding Oss lava fields. The 15 ka rhyolites also have 30–40% 230 Th excesses. Similarity in U–Th disequilibrium, and in Sr, Nd, and Pb isotopic values, implies that the rhyolites are mostly differentiated from the local basaltic magma. Given the ( 230 Th/ 232 Th) ratio of the young basalts, and presumably the underlying mantle, the ( 230 Th/ 232 Th) ratio of the rhyolites upon eruption could be generated by in situ decay in about 50 000 years. Limited (∼5%) assimilation of old crust would hasten the lowering of ( 230 Th/ 232 Th) and allow the process to take place in as little as 30 000 years. Final crystallization of the Alid granophyre occurred rapidly and at shallow depths at ∼20–25 ka, as confirmed by analyses of mineral separates and ion microprobe data on individual zircons. Evidently, 30 000–50 000 years were required for extraction of basalt from its mantle source region, subsequent crystallization and melt extraction to form silicic magmas, and final crystallization of the shallow intrusion. The granophyre was then ejected during eruption of the comagmatic rhyolites.

Journal of Petrology↗

USGS2004

Magma generation at a large, hyperactive silicic volcano (Taupo, New Zealand) revealed by U-Th and U-Pb systematics in zircons

Young (<∼65 ka) explosive silicic volcanism at Taupo volcano, New Zealand, has involved the development and evacuation of several crustal magmatic systems. Up to and including the 26·5 ka 530 km 3 Oruanui eruption, magmatic systems were contemporaneous but geographically separated. Subsequently they have been separated in time and have vented from geographically overlapping areas. Single-crystal (secondary ionization mass spectrometry) and multiple-crystal (thermal ionization mass spectrometry) zircon model-age data are presented from nine representative eruption deposits from ∼45 to ∼3·5 ka. Zircon yields vary by three orders of magnitude, correlating with the degrees of zircon saturation in the magmas, and influencing the spectra of model ages. Two adjacent magma systems active up to 26·5 ka show wholly contrasting model-age spectra. The smaller system shows a simple unimodal distribution. The larger system, using data from three eruptions, shows bimodal model-age spectra. An older ∼100 ka peak is interpreted to represent zircons (antecrysts) derived from older silicic mush or plutonic rocks, and a younger peak to represent zircons (phenocrysts) that grew in the magma body immediately prior to eruption. Post-26·5 ka magma batches show contrasting age spectra, consistent with a mixture of antecrysts, phenocrysts and, in two examples, xenocrysts from Quaternary plutonic and Mesozoic–Palaeozoic metasedimentary rocks. The model-age spectra, coupled with zircon-dissolution modelling, highlight contrasts between short-term silicic magma generation at Taupo, by bulk remobilization of crystal mush and assimilation of metasediment and/or silicic plutonic basement rocks, and the longer-term processes of fractionation from crustally contaminated mafic melts. Contrasts between adjacent or successive magma systems are attributed to differences in positions of the source and root zones within contrasting domains in the quartzo-feldspathic (<15 km deep) crust below the volcano.

Taupo volcano↗

USGS2003

Crystallisation ages in coeval silicic magma bodies: 238U-230Th disequilibrium evidence from the Rotoiti and earthquake flat eruption deposits, Taupo volcanic zone, New Zealand

The timescales over which moderate to large bodies of silicic magma are generated and stored are addressed here by studies of two geographically adjacent, successive eruption deposits in the Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand. The earlier, caldera-forming Rotoiti eruption (>100 km3 magma) at Okataina volcano was followed, within months at most, by the Earthquake Flat eruption (??? 10 km3 magma) from nearby Kapenga volcano; both generated nonwelded ignimbrite and coeval widespread fall deposits. The Rotoiti and Earthquake Flat deposits are both crystal-rich high-silica rhyolites, with sparse glass-bearing granitoid fragments also occurring in Rotoiti lag breccias generated during caldera collapse. Here we report 238U-230Th disequilibrium data on whole rocks and mineral separates from representative Rotoiti and Earthquake Flat pumices and the co-eruptive Rotoiti granitoid fragments using TIMS and in situ zircon analyses by SIMS. Multiple-grain zircon-controlled crystallisation ages measured by TIMS from the Rotoiti pumice range from 69??3 ka (<63 ?? size fraction) to 76??6 (125-250 ?? fraction), with a weighted mean of all size fractions of 71??2 ka. SIMS model ages from single zircons in pumice range from 50??24 ka to > 350 ka, with a pronounced peak at 70-90 ka. The weighted mean of isochrons is 83??14 ka, in accord with the TIMS data. One glass-bearing Rotoiti granitoid clast yielded an age of 57??8 ka by TIMS (controlled by Th-rich phases that, however, are not apparently present in the juvenile pumices). Another glass-bearing Rotoiti granitoid yielded SIMS zircon model ages peaking at 60-90 ka, having a similar age distribution to the pumice. Age data from pumices are consistent with a published 64??4 ka eruptive age (now modified to 62??2 ka), but chemical and/or mineralogical data imply that the granitoid lithics are not largely crystalline Rotoiti rhyolite, but instead represent contemporaneous partly molten intrusions reflecting different sources in their chemistries and mineralogies. Similarly, although the Earthquake Flat eruption immediately followed (and probably was triggered by) the Rotoiti event, age data from juvenile material are significantly different. A multiple-grain zircon-controlled crystallisation age measured by TIMS from a representative pumice is 173??5 ka, while SIMS model ages range from 70-26+34 ka to >350 ka, with a peak at 105 ka. These age data coupled with previously published geochemical and isotopic data show that the Rotoiti and Earthquake Flat deposits were erupted from independent, unconnected magma bodies. Published by Elsevier Science B.V.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗