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The petrogenesis of sodic island arc magmas at Savo volcano, Solomon Islands

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Abstract

Savo, Solomon Islands, is a historically active volcano dominated by sodic, alkaline lavas, and pyroclastic rocks with up to 7.5 wt% Na2O, and high Sr, arc-like trace element chemistry. The suite is dominated by mugearites (plagioclase–clinopyroxene–magnetite ± amphibole ± olivine) and trachytes (plagioclase–amphibole–magnetite ± biotite). The presence of hydrous minerals (amphibole, biotite) indicates relatively wet magmas. In such melts, plagioclase is relatively unstable relative to iron oxides and ferromagnesian silicates; it is the latter minerals (particularly hornblende) that dominate cumulate nodules at Savo and drive the chemical differentiation of the suite, with a limited role for plagioclase. This is potentially occurring in a crustal “hot zone”, with major chemical differentiation occurring at depth. Batches of magma ascend periodically, where they are subject to decompression, water saturation and further cooling, resulting in closed-system crystallisation of plagioclase, and ultimately the production of sodic, crystal and feldspar-rich, high-Sr rocks. The sodic and hydrous nature of the parental magmas is interpreted to be the result of partial melting of metasomatised mantle, but radiogenic isotope data (Pb, Sr, Nd) cannot uniquely identify the source of the metasomatic agent.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (UK) and British Geological Survey University Funding Initiative as part of Ph.D. studentship NER/S/A/2004/12339. Analytical work was supported by NERC Isotope Geosciences Facilities Steering Committee grant IP/889/1105. Additional fieldwork funds were provided by Society of Economic Geologists Student Research Grants (Hugh E. McKinstry Fund and Newmont Mining Corporation Grant). Thanks to K.A. Green (BGS) and A. Sumner (NIGL) for assistance with analytical work; W. Satokana, G. Albert, A. Ramo, D. Billy, and S. Basi (Solomon Islands Ministry of Natural Resources), the British High Commission (Honiara) for assistance with fieldwork; D. Selles (Harvard) for helpful discussion. We thank G. Moore, editor T.L. Grove and an anonymous reviewer for comments which have greatly improved this manuscript. M.G. Petterson, I.L. Millar, J. Naden, and J.M. Cook publish with the permission of the Executive Director, British Geological Survey (NERC).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology, University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK

    D. J. Smith, M. G. Petterson, A. D. Saunders & G. R. T. Jenkin

  2. British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Nottingham, NG12 5GG, UK

    M. G. Petterson, J. Naden & J. M. Cook

  3. NERC Isotope Geosciences Laboratory, Kingsley Dunham Centre, Keyworth, Nottingham, NG12 5GG, UK

    I. L. Millar

  4. Ministry of Energy Water and Mineral Resources, Honiara, Solomon Islands

    T. Toba

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Smith, D.J., Petterson, M.G., Saunders, A.D. et al. The petrogenesis of sodic island arc magmas at Savo volcano, Solomon Islands. Contrib Mineral Petrol 158, 785–801 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00410-009-0410-9

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