Magmagenesis at Soufriere volcano St Vincent, Lesser Antilles Arc

Document Type

Article

Date of Original Version

1-1-1998

Abstract

Soufriere volcano of St Vincent (<0.6 Ma) is composed of basalts and basaltic andesites, the most mafic of which (mg-number 75) may be representative of the parental magmas of the calc-alkaline suites of the Lesser Antilles arc. Parental, possibly primary, magmas at Soufriere had MgO ~12.5 wt% and were probably nepheline-normative. They last equilibrated with mantle at ~17 kbar pressure, at temperatures of around 1130°C and f(O2) exceeding FMQ (fayalite-magnetite-quartz) + 1. They fractionated, along several liquid lines of descent, through to basaltic andesites and rarer andesites over a range of crustal pressures (5-10 kbar) and temperatures (1000-1100°C), separating initially olivine + Cr-spinel + clinopyroxene + plagioclase ± titanomagnetite and then clinopyroxene + plagioclase + titanomagnetite + orthopyroxene assemblages. The total amount of crystallization was some 76 wt %. Amphibole was apparently not a fractionating phase. Sr and Nd isotopic and trace element systematics show no evidence for significant crustal assimilation. There is conflicting evidence as to the pre-eruptive water contents of Soufriere magmas; compositions of clinopyroxene phenocrysts and melt inclusions suggest H2O >3 wt %, whereas various projections onto phase diagrams are more consistent with relatively anhydrous magmas. Primary magmas at Soufriere were generated by around 15% melting of mid-ocean ridge basalt type mantle sources which had been modified by addition of fluids released from the slab containing contributions from subducted sediments and mafic crust.

Publication Title, e.g., Journal

Journal of Petrology

Volume

39

Issue

10

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS