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1. Using Trace Elements in Olivine Phenocrysts to Test Models of Melt Differentiation at Convergent Margins: Constraints from Times Series in Monogenetic Volcanoes in the Central Transmexican Volcanic Belt

   Fleming, W.; Straub, S.M.; Gomez-Tuena, A.; Espinasa-Pereña, R.; Bindeman, I.N.; Stuart, F.M.; Batanova, V.G. (December 2019, AGU Fall Meeting 2019)

   Models of subduction zone magmatism ascribe the andesitic composition of arc magmas to crustal processes, such as crustal assimilation and/or fractional crystallization, that basaltic mantle melts experience during their ascent through the upper plate crust. However, results from time series study of olivine-phyric high-Nb basalts and basaltic andesites from two monogenetic arc volcanoes (V. Chichinautzin and Texcal Flow) that are constructed on the ~45 km thick continental basement of the central Transmexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB) are inconsistent with this model. Instead, ratios of radiogenic isotope and incompatible trace elements suggest that these volcanoes were constructed through multiple individual melt batches ascending from a progressively changing mantle source. Moreover, the high Ni contents of the olivine phenocrysts, together with their high mantle-like 3He/4Heoliv =7-8 Ra with high crustal δ18O oliv = +5.5 to +6.5‰ (n=12) point to the presence of secondary ‘reaction pyroxenites’ in the mantle source that create primary silicic arc magmas through melt-rock reaction processes in the mantle [1, 2] . Here we present additional trace element concentration of the high-Ni olivines by electron microprobe (Mn, Ca) and laser-ablation ICPMS (Li, Cr and V) analysis in order to test this model. Olivine Li (2-7 ppm) and Mn (1170- 2810 ppm) increase with decreasing fosterite (Fo89 to Fo75), while Cr (29-364 ppm), V (4-11 ppm) and Ca (825-2390 ppm) decrease. Quantitative modeling shows that these trends in their entirety cannot be controlled by fractional crystallization under variable melt water H2O or oxygen fugacity (fO2), or co-crystallization of Cr-spinel. Instead, the variations support the existence of compositionally distinct melt batches during earliest melt evolution. Moreover, the trace element trends are qualitatively consistent with a model of progressive source depletion by serial melting (shown in olivine Ca, V and Cr) that is triggered by the repetitive addition of silicic slab components (shown by olivine Li). These findings suggest mantle source variations are not eliminated despite the thick crust these magmas pass during ascent. [1] Straub et al. (2013) J Petrol 54 (4): 665-701; [2] Straub et al. (2015) Geochim Cosmochim Acta 166: 29-52. 

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2. The Systematics of Olivine CaO + Cr-Spinel in High-Mg# Arc Volcanic Rocks: Evidence for in-Situ Mantle Wedge Depletion at the Arc Volcanic Front

   https://doi.org/10.1093/petrology/egad085  

   Straub, Susanne M.; Batanova, Valentina; Sobolev, Alexander; Gómez-Tuena, Arturo; Espinasa-Perena, Ramon; Fleming, W. Lindsey; Bindeman, Ilya N.; Stuart, Finlay M.; Widom, Elisabeth; Iizuka, Yoshiyuki (December 2023, Journal of Petrology)

   Abstract We investigated the state of the arc background mantle (i.e. mantle wedge without slab component) by means of olivine CaO and its Cr-spinel inclusions in a series of high-Mg# volcanic rocks from the Quaternary Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. Olivine CaO was paired with the Cr# [molar Cr/(Cr + Al) *100] of Cr-spinel inclusions, and 337 olivine+Cr-spinel pairs were obtained from 33 calc-alkaline, high-K and OIB-type arc front volcanic rocks, and three monogenetic rear-arc basalts that lack subduction signatures. Olivine+Cr-spinels display coherent elemental and He–O isotopic systematics that contrast with the compositional diversity of the bulk rocks. All arc front olivines have low CaO (0.135 ± 0.029 wt %) relative to rear-arc olivines which have the higher CaO (0.248 ± 0.028 wt %) of olivines from mid-ocean ridge basalts. Olivine 3He/4He–δ18O isotope systematics confirm that the olivine+Cr-spinels are not, or negligibly, affected by crustal basement contamination, and thus preserve compositional characteristics of primary arc magmas. Variations in melt H2O contents in the arc front series and the decoupling of olivine CaO and Ni are inconsistent with controls on the olivine CaO by melt water and/or secondary mantle pyroxenites. Instead, we propose that low olivine CaO reflects the typical low melt CaO of high-Mg# arc magmas erupting through thick crust. We interpret the inverse correlation of olivine CaO and Cr-spinel Cr# over a broad range of Cr# (~10–70) as co-variations of CaO, Al and Cr of their (near) primary host melts, which derived from a mantle that has been variably depleted by slab-flux driven serial melt extraction. Our results obviate the need for advecting depleted residual mantle from rear- and back-arc region, but do not upset the larger underlying global variations of melt CaO high-Mg# arc magmas worldwide, despite leading to considerable regional variations of melt CaO at the arc front of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. 

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3. Multiple Episodes of Rock-Melt Reaction at the Slab-Mantle Interface: Formation of High Silica Primary Magmas in Intermediate to Hot Subduction Zones

   https://doi.org/10.1093/petrology/egad011  

   Rebaza, Anna M; Mallik, Ananya; Straub, Susanne M (March 2023, Journal of Petrology)

   Abstract Siliceous slab-derived partial melts infiltrate the sub-arc mantle and cause rock-melt reactions, which govern the formation of diverse primary arc magmas and lithological heterogeneities. The effect of bulk water content, composition of reactants, and nature of melt infiltration (porous versus channelized) on the rock-melt reactions at sub-arc conditions have been investigated by previous studies. However, the effect of multiple episodes of rock-melt reactions in such scenarios has not been investigated before. Here, we explore mantle wedge modifications through serial additions of hydrous-silicic slab partial melts and whether such a process may ultimately explain the origin of high-Mg# andesites found in arcs worldwide. A series of piston-cylinder experiments simulate a serial addition of silicic slab melts in up to three stages (I through III) at 3 GPa and 800–1050°C, using rock-melt proportions of 75–25 and 50–50. A synthetic KLB-1 and a natural rhyolite (JR-1) represented the mantle and the slab components, respectively. Right from the first rock-melt interaction, the peridotite mantle transforms into olivine-free mica-rich pyroxenites ± amphibole ± quartz/coesite in equilibrium with rhyolitic-hydrous melts (72–80 wt% SiO2 and 40–90 Mg#). The formation of olivine-free pyroxenite seems to be controlled by complex functions of T, P, rock-melt ratio, wedge composition, and silica activity of the slab-melt. Remarkably, the pyroxenites approach a melt-buffered state with progressive stages of rock-melt reactions, where those rhyolitic melts inherit and preserve the major (alkalis, Fe, Mg, Ca) and trace element slab-signature. Our results demonstrate that lithological heterogeneities such as pyroxenites formed as products of rock-melt reactions in the sub-arc mantle may function as melt ‘enablers,’ implying that they may act as pathways that enable the infiltrating melt to retain their slab signature without undergoing modification. Moreover, the density contrast between the products of rock-melt reaction (melts and residues) and the average mantle wedge (~150 to 400 kg/m3) may help forming instabilities and diapiric rise of the slab components into the mantle wedge. However, the fate of the primitive slab-melts seems to be associated with the length of the pathway of mantle interaction which explains the evident wide magma spectrum as well as their degree of slab garnet-signature dilution. This work and the existence of high-Mg# Mexican-trondhjemites indicates that almost pristine slab-melts can make their way up to crustal levels and contribute to the arc magma diversity. 

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4. Petrogenesis of voluminous silicic magmas in the Sierra Madre Occidental large igneous province, Mexican Cordillera: Insights from zircon and Hf-O isotopes

   https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02430.1  

   Andrews, Graham D.M.; Busby, Cathy J.; Brown, Sarah R.; Fisher, Christopher M.; Davila-Harris, Pablo; Strickland, Ariel; Vervoort, Jeffrey D.; Pettus, Holly D.; McDowell, Fred W.; Murray, Bryan P. (February 2022, Geosphere)

   Abstract Combined Hf-O isotopic analyses of zircons from tuffs and lavas within the Sierra Madre Occidental (SMO) silicic large igneous province are probes of petrogenetic processes in the lower and upper crust. Existing petrogenetic and tectonomagmatic models diverge, having either emphasized significant crustal reworking of hydrated continental lithosphere in an arc above the retreating Farallon slab or significant input of juvenile mantle melts through a slab window into an actively stretching continental lithosphere. New isotopic data are remarkably uniform within and between erupted units across the spatial and temporal extent of the SMO, consistent with homogeneous melt production and evolution. Isotopic values are consistent with enriched mantle magmas (80%) that assimilated Proterozoic paragneisses (~20%) from the lower crust. δ18Ozircon values are consistent with fractionation of mafic magma and not with assimilation of hydrothermally altered upper crust, suggesting that the silicic magmas evolved at depth. Isotopic data agree with previous interpretations where voluminous juvenile melts entered the lithosphere during the transition from a continental arc experiencing slab rollback (Late Eocene) to the arrival of a subducting slab window (Oligocene and Early Miocene) and failure of the upper plate leading to the opening of the Gulf of California (Late Miocene). An anomalously large heat flux and extension of the upper plate allow for the sustained fractionation of the voluminous SMO magmas and assimilation of the lower crust. 

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5. Effects of H2O–CO2 Fluids, Temperature, and Peridotite Fertility on Partial Melting in Mantle Wedges and Generation of Primary Arc Basalts

   https://doi.org/10.1093/petrology/egad047  

   Lara, Michael; Dasgupta, Rajdeep (July 2023, Journal of Petrology)

   Abstract Many lines of evidence from high P–T experiments, thermodynamic models, and natural observations suggest that slab-derived aqueous fluids, which flux mantle wedges contain variable amounts of dissolved carbon. However, constraints on the effects of H2O–CO2 fluids on mantle melting, particularly at mantle wedge P–T conditions, are limited. Here, we present new piston cylinder experiments on fertile and depleted peridotite compositions with 3.5 wt.% H2O and XCO2 [= molar CO2 / (CO2 + H2O)] of 0.04–0.17. Experiments were performed at 2–3 GPa and 1350°C to assess how temperature, peridotite fertility, and XCO2 of slab-derived fluid affects partial melting in mantle wedges. All experiments produce olivine + orthopyroxene +7 to 41 wt.% partial melt. Our new data, along with previous lower temperature data, show that as mantle wedge temperature increases, primary melts become richer in SiO2, FeO*, and MgO and poorer CaO, Al2O3, and alkalis when influenced by H2O–CO2 fluids. At constant P–T and bulk H2O content, the extent of melting in the mantle wedge is largely controlled by peridotite fertility and XCO2 of slab-fluid. High XCO2 depleted compositions generate ~7 wt.% melt, whereas, at identical P–T, low XCO2 fertile compositions generate ~30 to 40 wt.% melt. Additionally, peridotite fertility and XCO2 have significant effects on peridotite partial melt compositions. At a constant P–T–XCO2, fertile peridotites generate melts richer in CaO and Al2O3 and poorer in SiO2, MgO + FeO, and alkalis. Similar to previous experimental studies, at a constant P–T fertility condition, as XCO2 increases, SiO2 and CaO of melts systematically decrease and increase, respectively. Such distinctive effects of oxidized form of dissolved carbon on peridotite partial melt compositions are not observed if the carbon-bearing fluid is reduced, such as CH4-bearing. Considering the large effect of XCO2 on melt SiO2 and CaO concentrations and the relatively oxidized nature of arc magmas, we compare the SiO2/CaO of our experimental melts and melts from previous peridotite + H2O ± CO2 studies to the SiO2/CaO systematics of primitive arc basalts and ultra-calcic, silica-undersaturated arc melt inclusions. From this comparison, we demonstrate that across most P–T–fertility conditions predicted for mantle wedges, partial melts from bulk compositions with XCO2 ≥ 0.11 have lower SiO2/CaO than all primitive arc melts found globally, even when correcting for olivine fractionation, whereas partial melts from bulk compositions with XCO2 = 0.04 overlap the lower end of the SiO2/CaO field defined by natural data. These results suggest that the upper XCO2 limit of slab-fluids influencing primary arc magma formation is 0.04 < XCO2 < 0.11, and this upper limit is likely to apply globally. Lastly, we show that the anomalous SiO2/CaO and CaO/Al2O3 signatures observed in ultra-calcic arc melt inclusions can be reproduced by partial melting of either CO2-bearing hydrous fertile and depleted peridotites with 0 < XCO2 < 0.11 at 2–3 GPa, or from nominally CO2-free hydrous fertile peridotites at P > 3 GPa. 

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