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The Bishop Tuff giant magma body: an alternative to the Standard Model

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Abstract

The Bishop Tuff, one of the most extensively studied high-silica rhyolite bodies in the world, is usually considered as the archetypical example of a deposit formed from a magma body characterized by thermal and compositional vertical stratification—what we call the Standard Model for the Bishop magma body. We present here new geothermometry and geobarometry results derived using a large database of previously published quartz-hosted glass inclusion compositions. Assuming equilibrium between melt and an assemblage composed of quartz, ±plagioclase, ±sanidine, +zircon, ±fluid, we use Zr contents in glass inclusions to derive quartz crystallization temperatures, and we use (1) silica contents in glass, (2) projection of glass compositions onto the haplogranitic (quartz-albite-orthoclase) ternary, and (3) phase equilibria calculations using rhyolite-MELTS, to constrain crystallization pressures. We find crystallization temperatures of ~740–750 °C for all inclusions from both early- and late-erupted pumice. Crystallization pressures for both early- and late-erupted inclusions are also very similar to each other, with averages of ~175–200 MPa. We find no evidence of late-erupted inclusions having been entrapped at higher temperatures or pressures than early-erupted inclusions, as would be expected by the Standard Model. We argue that the thermal gradient inferred from Fe–Ti oxides—the backbone of the Standard Model—does not reflect equilibrium pre-eruptive conditions; we also note that H2O–CO2 systematics of glass inclusions yields overlapping pressure ranges for early- and late-erupted inclusions, similar to the results presented here; and we show that glass inclusion and phenocryst compositions show bimodal distributions, suggestive of compositional separation between early- and late-erupted populations. These findings are inconsistent with the Standard Model. The similarity in crystallization conditions and the compositional separation between early- and late-erupted magmas suggest that two laterally juxtaposed independent magma reservoirs existed in the same region at the same time and co-erupted to form the Long Valley Caldera and the Bishop Tuff. This hypothesis would explain the lack of mixing between early- and late-erupted crystal populations in pumice clasts; it could also explain the inferred eruption pattern—which resulted in early-erupted magmas being deposited only to the south of the caldera—if the early-erupted magma body resided to the south and the late-erupted magma body was located to the north. Our alternative model is consistent with the patchy distribution of thermal anomalies and the inference of co-eruption of distinct magma types in active volcanic areas such as the central Taupo Volcanic Zone.

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Acknowledgments

Thorough reviews by Jon Blundy and Paul Wallace and editorial handling by Gordon Moore are greatly appreciated. Material support was provided by NSF grants to Gualda (EAR-0948528) and Ghiorso (EAR-0948734). Ghiorso was a student of Ian Carmichael and remembers well the heated discussions between Wes and Ian that accompanied the formulation of the Standard Model. That this model invokes argument and discussion some 35 years after the fact is an enormous testament to their intuition for choosing to study timeless and important petrologic problems, and to do so in novel and creative ways. Fred Anderson introduced Gualda to the Bishop Tuff, its sources of fascination and puzzlement; the advice and uncountable hours of discussion and collaborative work are greatly appreciated. We do not yet know whether Fred will agree with our analysis and conclusions, but we have tried to follow his advice to “keep your mind loose about the stratification matter.”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Earth & Environmental Sciences, Vanderbilt University, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, PMB 351805, Nashville, TN, 37235-1805, USA

    Guilherme A. R. Gualda

  2. OFM Research-West, 7336 24th Ave NE, Seattle, WA, 98115, USA

    Mark S. Ghiorso

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  1. Guilherme A. R. Gualda
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Correspondence to Guilherme A. R. Gualda.

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Communicated by T L. Grove.

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Gualda, G.A.R., Ghiorso, M.S. The Bishop Tuff giant magma body: an alternative to the Standard Model. Contrib Mineral Petrol 166, 755–775 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00410-013-0901-6

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