Cryptic evolved melts beneath monotonous basaltic shield volcanoes in the Galápagos Archipelago

Michael J. Stock (), Dennis Geist, David A. Neave, Matthew L. M. Gleeson, Benjamin Bernard, Keith A. Howard, Iris Buisman and John Maclennan
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Michael J. Stock: Trinity College Dublin
Dennis Geist: Colgate University
David A. Neave: The University of Manchester
Matthew L. M. Gleeson: University of Cambridge
Benjamin Bernard: Escuela Politécnica Nacional
Keith A. Howard: United States Geological Survey
Iris Buisman: University of Cambridge
John Maclennan: University of Cambridge

Nature Communications, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract Many volcanoes erupt compositionally homogeneous magmas over timescales ranging from decades to millennia. This monotonous activity is thought to reflect a high degree of chemical homogeneity in their magmatic systems, leading to predictable eruptive behaviour. We combine petrological analyses of erupted crystals with new thermodynamic models to characterise the diversity of melts in magmatic systems beneath monotonous shield volcanoes in the Galápagos Archipelago (Wolf and Fernandina). In contrast with the uniform basaltic magmas erupted at the surface over long timescales, we find that the sub-volcanic systems contain extreme heterogeneity, with melts extending to rhyolitic compositions. Evolved melts are in low abundance and large volumes of basalt flushing through the crust from depth overprint their chemical signatures. This process will only maintain monotonous activity while the volume of melt entering the crust is high, raising the possibility of transitions to more silicic activity given a decrease in the crustal melt flux.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17590-x

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