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The major- and trace-element compositions of amphiboles in andesite from Quaternary Yufu Volcano, northeastern Kyushu, Japan were analysed to investigate the generation processes of andesitic magma from Yufu Volcano. The amphiboles in andesite from Yufu volcano can be divided into two groups based on major-element composition: pargasite and magnesio-hornblende. To estimate temperature, pressure, and major- and trace-element compositions of melts in equilibrium with amphiboles, we used the recently proposed methods that can calculate temperature, pressure, major element compositions, and partition coefficients of trace-element between amphibole and melt using only the major-element compositions of amphibole. The estimated temperature, pressure, and major-element composition of melt in equilibrium with the amphibole phenocrysts indicate that each group crystallised under different conditions. These differences suggest that two magma chambers at different depths existed beneath Yufu Volcano and that the andesitic magma of Yufu Volcano was formed by mixing of the two magmas. The trace-element compositions of melts in equilibrium with the pargasite and magnesio-hornblende, estimated by applying the partition coefficients calculated from major-element compositions of amphibole to trace-element compositions of amphiboles, indicate magma derived from slab melt and the partial melting of crustal material, respectively. Because magma is a mixture of minerals and melt, we estimate the chemical compositional ranges of the two end-member magmas on the Y versus SiO2 diagram from the mixing relationship between amphibole and estimated melt, as well as phenocrysts of plagioclase, clinopyroxene, and orthopyroxene. The overlap of the estimated compositional range with the trend of whole-rock composition represents the chemical compositions of the end-members of magma mixing, yielding estimates of the mafic (SiO2 ≈ 45 wt %) and felsic (SiO2 ≈ 68 wt %) end-member magmas. Furthermore, we estimate the concentrations of other elements in the end-member magmas by substituting the estimated SiO2 concentrations of the magmas into linear regression equations between the whole-rock contents of other elements and SiO2. The trace-element compositions of the mafic and felsic end-member magmas, as estimated in this study, have similar features to those of gabbroids and Cretaceous granitic rocks, respectively, that are presumed to lie beneath Yufu Volcano. These similarities could be explained by the possibility that the compositions of the end-member magmas were influenced by basement rocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stability and breakdown of mineral phases in subducting slabs control the cycling of trace elements through subduction zones. Stability of key minerals and the partitioning of trace elements between these minerals and liquid phases of interests have been charted by natural sample analysis and experimental constraints. However, systematic study from arc front to far back arc has rarely shown that the expected geochemical variations of the slab liquid are actually recorded by natural samples. Complexities arise by uncertainties on the nature of the slab component (melts, fluids and supercritical liquids), source heterogeneities and transport processes. Using data from olivine-hosted melt inclusions sampled along and across the NE Japan and southern Kurile arcs, we demonstrate that experimentally and thermodynamically constrained phase stabilities in subducted materials indeed control the trace element signatures as predicted by these models and experiments. The main reactions that can be traced across arc are progressive breakdown of light rare earth element-rich accessory phases (e.g. allanite), enhanced dehydration of the lithospheric mantle (serpentine breakdown) and changes in the nature of the slab component. This work elucidates subduction zone elemental cycling in a well-characterized petrogenetic setting and provides important constraints on the interpretation of trace element ratios in arc magmas in terms of the prograde metamorphic reactions within the subducting slab. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]