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Crystal fractionation, magma step ascent, and syn-eruptive mingling: the Averno 2 eruption (Phlegraean Fields, Italy)

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Abstract

The 3.7 ka year-old Averno 2 eruption is one of the rare eruptions to have occurred in the northwest sector of the Phlegraean Fields caldera (PFc) over the past 5 ka. We focus here on the fallout deposits of the pyroclastic succession emplaced during this eruption. We present major and trace element data on the bulk pumices, along with major and volatile element data on clinopyroxene-hosted melt inclusions, in order to assess the conditions of storage, ascent, and eruption of the feeding trachytic magma. Crystal fractionation accounts for the evolution from trachyte to alkali-trachyte magmas; these were intimately mingled (at the micrometer scale) during the climactic phase of the eruption. The Averno 2 alkali trachyte represents one of the most evolved magmas erupted within the Phlegraean Fields area and belongs to the series of differentiated trachytic magmas erupted at different locations 5 ka ago. Melt inclusions record significant variations in H2O (from 0.4 to 5 wt%), S (from 0.01 to 0.06 wt%), Cl (from 0.75 up to 1 wt%), and F (from 0.20 to >0.50 wt%) during both magma crystallization and degassing. Unlike the eruptions occurring in the central part of the PFc, deep-derived input(s) of gas and/or magma are not required to explain the composition of melt inclusions and the mineralogy of Averno 2 pumices. Compositional data on bulk pumices, glassy matrices, and melt inclusions suggest that the Averno 2 eruption mainly resulted from successive extrusions of independent magma batches probably emplaced at depths of 2–4 km along regional fractures bordering the Neapolitan Yellow Tuff caldera.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to G. Orsi and M. Di Vito for their help in sampling the Averno 2 sequence, to L. Civetta for the stimulating discussions in the early stages of this work, to P. Fulignati and P. Marianelli for providing the statistics on SEM–EDS standard data, and to P. Armienti for providing the Anamorphosis program and helpful discussion. G. Moore and an anonymous reviewer are thanked for their suggestions and critical comments that significantly improved the manuscript. Financial support was provided by Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Speed Project ‘‘Scenari di pericolosità per la prevenzione del rischio dei vulcani della Campania" and IPGP contribution 3259.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione di Pisa, via della Faggiola, 32, 56126, Pisa, Italy

    Céline Fourmentraux, Nicole Métrich & Antonella Bertagnini

  2. Institut de Physique du Globe, Sorbonne Paris Cité, UMR-CNRS 7154, Université Paris Diderot, 75005, Paris, France

    Nicole Métrich

  3. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Pisa, Italy

    Céline Fourmentraux & Mauro Rosi

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  1. Céline Fourmentraux
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  2. Nicole Métrich
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  3. Antonella Bertagnini
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  4. Mauro Rosi
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Correspondence to Antonella Bertagnini.

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Communicated by G. Moore.

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Fourmentraux, C., Métrich, N., Bertagnini, A. et al. Crystal fractionation, magma step ascent, and syn-eruptive mingling: the Averno 2 eruption (Phlegraean Fields, Italy). Contrib Mineral Petrol 163, 1121–1137 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00410-012-0720-1

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