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Reconstruction of the volcanic history of the Tacámbaro-Puruarán area (Michoacán, México) reveals high frequency of Holocene monogenetic eruptions

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Abstract

The 690 km2 Tacámbaro-Puruarán area located at the arc-front part of the Michoácan-Guanajuato volcanic field in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB) records a protracted history of volcanism that culminated with intense monogenetic activity in the Holocene. Geologic mapping, 40Ar/39Ar and 14C radiometric dating, and whole-rock chemical analyses of volcanic products provide insights to that history. Eocene volcanics (55–40 Ma) exposed at uplifted blocks are related to a magmatic arc that preceded the TMVB. Early TMVB products are represented by poorly exposed Pliocene silicic domes (5–2 Ma). Quaternary (<2 Ma) volcanoes (114 mapped) are mainly scoria cones with lavas (49 vol.%), viscous lava flows (22 vol.%), and lava shields (22 vol.%). Erupted products are dominantly either basaltic andesites (37 vol. %), or andesites (17 vol.%), or span across both compositions (28 vol.%). Basalts (9 vol.%), dacites (4 vol.%), shoshonites (2 vol.%), and other alkali-rich rocks (<3 vol.%) occur subordinately. Early-Pleistocene volcanism was bimodal (dacites and basalts) and voluminous while since 1 Ma small-volume eruptions of intermediate magmas have dominated. Higher rates of lithospheric extension in the Quaternary may have allowed a larger number of small, poorly evolved dikes to reach the surface during this period. Eruptive centers as old as 1.7 Ma are aligned in a NE direction parallel to both, basement faults and the direction of regional compressive stress, implying structural control on volcanic activity. Data suggest that volcanism was strongly pulsatory and fed by localized low-degree partial melting of mantle sources. In the Holocene, at least 13 eruptions occurred (average recurrence interval of 800 years). These produced ~3.8 km3 of basaltic andesitic to andesitic magma and included four eruptions dated at ~1,000; 4,000; 8,000; and 11,000 years bc (calibrated 14C ages). To date, this is one of the highest monogenetic eruption frequencies detected within such a small area in a subduction-related arc-setting. These anomalous rates of monogenetic activity in an area with thick crust (>30 km) may be related to high rates of magma production at depth and a favorable tectonic setting.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Gabriel Valdés, Renato Castro-Govea, and Victor Hugo Garduño for participating in fieldwork. V.H. Garduño also helped in mapping some faults. Capitán Fernando Valencia is thanked for skillful and safe flights over the study area. Field and laboratory costs were defrayed from projects funded by the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACyT-P167231 and 152294) and the Dirección General de Asuntos del Personal Académico, UNAM (DGAPA IN-109412 and IA-101011) granted to C.S. and M.N. The Humboldt Foundation in Germany is also thanked for supporting this project. Part of the work was done as the first author completed a post-doctorate fellowship at the Instituto de Geografía, UNAM, sponsored by the Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología del Distrito Federal (ICyTDF). L. Vázquez Selem, I. Alcántara Ayala, and others at Instituto de Geografía are thanked for their institutional support during that stay.

Editorial handling by J. White and detailed reviews by G. Valentine and S. Cronin were very helpful and are greatly appreciated.

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  1. Departamento de Vulcanología, Instituto de Geofísica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán, México D.F., México

    Marie-Noëlle Guilbaud, Claus Siebe & Sergio Salinas

  2. Geophysical Institute and Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USA

    Paul Layer

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  1. Marie-Noëlle Guilbaud
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  2. Claus Siebe
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Correspondence to Marie-Noëlle Guilbaud.

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Table DR1

Additional 40Ar/39Ar data (XLS 151 kb)

Table DR2

Dimension, composition, and age of exposed Plio-Quaternary products (XLS 97.5 kb)

Appendix: 40Ar/39Ar dating

Appendix: 40Ar/39Ar dating

Samples were crushed, washed, sieved, and hand-picked for biotite crystals (samples 63 and 102), plagioclase crystals (sample 102), and for small whole-rock chips (all samples) suitable for dating. The monitor mineral TCR-2 with an age of 27.87 Ma (Lanphere and Dalrymple 2000) was used to monitor neutron flux and calculate the irradiation parameter, J, for all samples. The samples and standards were wrapped in aluminum foil and loaded into aluminum cans of 2.5 cm diameter and 6 cm height. All samples were irradiated in position 5c of the uranium-enriched research reactor of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, for 0.5 Mwatt-h. Upon their return from the reactor, the whole rock chips and grains of the monitor mineral were loaded into 2 mm diameter holes in a copper tray that was then loaded in an ultra-high vacuum extraction line. The monitors were fused and samples heated, using a 8-watt argon-ion laser following the technique described in York et al. (1981), Layer et al. (1987), and Layer (2000). Multiple holes were heated at the same time to improve the signal. Argon purification was achieved using a liquid nitrogen cold trap and a SAES Zr-Al getter at 400 °C for 20 min. The samples were analyzed in a VG-3600 mass spectrometer controlled by a Visual Basic operating program written in-house. The measured argon isotopes were corrected for system blank and mass discrimination, and for the irradiated samples, calcium, potassium, and chlorine interference reactions, following procedures outlined in McDougall and Harrison (1999). System blanks generally were 2 × 10-16 mol 40Ar and 2 × 10-18 mol 36Ar, which are five to 50 times smaller than fraction volumes. Mass discrimination was monitored by running both calibrated air shots and a zero-age glass sample. These measurements were made on a weekly to monthly basis to check for changes in mass discrimination. Two runs of each sample were done, and the results were stacked to calculate composite isochron and plateau ages using the constants of Steiger and Jaeger (1977).

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Guilbaud, MN., Siebe, C., Layer, P. et al. Reconstruction of the volcanic history of the Tacámbaro-Puruarán area (Michoacán, México) reveals high frequency of Holocene monogenetic eruptions. Bull Volcanol 74, 1187–1211 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-012-0594-0

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