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Calbuco Volcano and minor eruptive centers distributed along the Liquiñe-Ofqui Fault Zone, Chile (41°–42° S): contrasting origin of andesitic and basaltic magma in the Southern Volcanic Zone of the Andes

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Abstract

Calbuco volcano is a Late Pleistocene-Holocene composite stratovolcano located at 41°20′ S, in the southern region of the Southern Volcanic Zone of the Andes (SSVZ; 37°–46° S). In contrast to basalt and basaltic andesite, which are the dominant lava types on the volcanic front from 37° to 42° S, Calbuco lavas are porphyritic andesites which contain a wide variety of crustal xenoliths. They have SiO2 contents in the 55–60% range, and have comparatively low K2O, Rb, Ba, Th and LREF abundances relative to other SSVZ centers. Incompatible element abundance ratios are similar to those of most SSVZ volcanics, but 87Sr/86Sr and 143Nd/144Nd are respectively higher and lower than those of adjacent volcanic centers. Basalts from nearby Osorno stratovolcano, 25 km to the northeast, are similar to other basaltic SSVZ volcanoes. However, basalts from several minor eruptive centers (MEC), located east of Calbuco and Osorno volcano along the Liquiñe-Ofqui fault zone (LOFZ), are enriched in Ba, Nb, Th and LREE, and have higher La/Yb and lower Ba/La, K/La and Rb/La. 87Sr/86Sr and 143Nd/144Nd in MEC basalts are respectively lower and higher than those of Osorno and Calbuco lavas. We suggest that MEC basalts were produced by lower extents of mantle melting than basalts from Osorno and other SSVZ stratovolcanoes, probably as a result of lower water content in the source of MEC basalts. Calbuco andesites formed from basaltic parents similar to Osorno basalts, by moderate pressure crystallization of a hornblende-bearing assemblage accompanied by crustal assimilation. Hornblende stability in the Calbuco andesites was promoted by the assimilation of hydrous metasedimentary crustal rocks, which are also an appropriate endmember for isotopic trends, together with magma storage at mid-crustal depths. The unique characteristics of Calbuco volcano, i.e. the stability of hornblende at andesitic SiO2 contents, low 143Nd/144Nd and high 87Sr/86Sr, and abundant crustal xenoliths, provide evidence for crustal assimilation that is not apparent at more northerly volcanoes in the SSVZ.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Geología, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 13518, Correo 21, Santiago, Chile

    L. López-Escobar, M. A. Parada & H. Moreno

  2. Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, MIT, 02139, Cambridge, MA, USA

    F. A. Frey & P. D. Kempton

  3. NERC Isotope Geoscience Laboratory, Keyworth, NG12 5GG, Nottingham, UK

    R. Hickey-Vargas

Authors
  1. L. López-Escobar
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  2. M. A. Parada
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  3. R. Hickey-Vargas
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  4. F. A. Frey
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  5. P. D. Kempton
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  6. H. Moreno
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López-Escobar, L., Parada, M.A., Hickey-Vargas, R. et al. Calbuco Volcano and minor eruptive centers distributed along the Liquiñe-Ofqui Fault Zone, Chile (41°–42° S): contrasting origin of andesitic and basaltic magma in the Southern Volcanic Zone of the Andes. Contr. Mineral. and Petrol. 119, 345–361 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00286934

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