1. Generation of crystal-poor rhyolites from a shallow plutonic reservoir in the Famatinian arc (Argentina).
- Author
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Escribano, Facundo A., Cornet, Julien, Camilletti, Giuliano C., Otamendi, Juan E., Armas, Paula, Cristofolini, Eber A., and Bachmann, Olivier
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DIKES (Geology) , *IGNEOUS intrusions , *PLAGIOCLASE , *BATHOLITHS , *TRACE elements , *MAGMAS - Abstract
The Ordovician rocks of Sierra Las Planchadas are an exceptionally preserved natural example of a plutonic-volcanic connection. Located in northwestern Argentina, the Las Planchadas Formation consists of a monzogranitic batholith that displays a window into the source of large subvolcanic rhyolitic rocks, cryptodomes and volcanic feeder-dykes. Mafic intrusions and felsic dykes occur cutting the plutonic rocks. Grain-scale relationships, whole-rock compositions and mineral chemistry indicate that monzogranites and rhyolites are two comagmatic members which differentiated within upper crust magma reservoirs. Monzogranites accumulated some plagioclase and trapped a large volume of melt, denoted by a high modal percentage (~64–71%) of near-solidus minerals, comprised of alkali feldspar, albite-rich plagioclase (An <30), and late crystallized quartz. The formation of felsic dykes and rhyolitic cryptodomes is the result of a late melt extraction stage facilitated by the injection of hot mafic magmas from deeper in the system. The mafic-induced thermal reactivation increased the amount of melt-filled pore stored within a highly-crystallized monzogranite reservoir. The breakdown of the low-temperature phases overpressurized the mush and opened a network of microfractures into which residual melts, depleted in feldspar-compatible trace elements (Ba, Sr, and Eu), infiltrated. The draining system involved thin interconnected vein-like channels that merged into wider sheet-like conduits. Our results suggest that channelized segregation of late-stage melts in the subvolcanic environment is a mechanism for triggering rhyolitic eruptions. • Las Planchadas Formation exposes a monzogranitic-rhyolitic stratified magma chamber of the Famatinian magmatic arc. • The plutonic-volcanic construction involved low-pressure crystal fractionation within a single upper-crustal magmatic system. • Thermal reactivation drove late remobilization of residual melts depleted in feldspar-controlled trace elements. • Channelling of felsic melt through a highly crystallized reservoir acted as a potential volcanic feeding mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
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