Search

The Oto-Zan lava in the Setouchi volcanic belt is composed of phenocryst-poor, sparsely plagioclase-phyric andesites (sanukitoids) and forms a composite lava flow. The phenocryst assemblages and element abundances change but Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic compositions are constant throughout the lava flow. The sanukitoid at the base is a high-Mg andesite (HMA) and contains Mg- and Ni-rich olivine and Cr-rich chromite, suggesting the emplacement of a mantle-derived hydrous (∼7 wt % H2O) HMA magma. However, Oto-Zan sanukitoids contain little H2O and are phenocryst-poor. The liquid lines of descent obtained for an Oto-Zan HMA at 0·3 GPa in the presence of 0·7–2·1 wt % H2O suggest that mixing of an HMA magma with a differentiated felsic melt can reasonably explain the petrographical and chemical characteristics of Oto-Zan sanukitoids. We propose a model whereby a hydrous HMA magma crystallizes extensively within the crust, resulting in the formation of an HMA pluton and causing liberation of H2O from the magma system. The HMA pluton, in which interstitial rhyolitic melts still remain, is then heated from the base by intrusion of a high-T basalt magma, forming an H2O-deficient HMA magma at the base of the pluton. During ascent, this secondary HMA magma entrains the overlying interstitial rhyolitic melt, resulting in variable self-mixing and formation of a zoned magma reservoir, comprising more felsic magmas upwards. More effective upwelling of more mafic, and hence less viscous, magmas through a propagated vent finally results in the emplacement of the composite lava flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]