Boron isotopic composition of olivine-hosted melt inclusions from Gorgona komatiites, Colombia : new evidence supporting wet komatiite origin

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2011. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters 312 (2011): 201–212, doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2011.09.033.A fundamental question in the genesis of komatiites is whether 30 these rocks originate from partial melting of dry and hot mantle, 400−500°C hotter than typical sources of MORB and OIB magmas, or if they were produced by hydrous melting of the source at much lower temperatures, similar or only moderately higher than those known today. Gorgona Island, Colombia, is a unique place where Phanerozoic komatiites occur and whose origin is directly connected to the formation of the Caribbean Large Igneous Province. The genesis of Gorgona komatiites remains controversial, mostly because of the uncertain origin of volatile components which they appear to contain. These volatiles could equally result from shallow level magma contamination, melting of a “damp” mantle or fluid-induced partial melting of the source due to devolatilization of the ancient subducting plate. We have analyzed boron isotopes of olivine40 hosted melt inclusions from the Gorgona komatiites. These inclusions are characterized by relatively high contents of volatile components and boron (0.2−1.0 wt.% H2O, 0.05−0.08 wt.% S, 0.02−0.03 wt.% Cl, 0.6−2.0 μg/g B), displaying positive anomalies in the overall depleted, primitive mantle (PM) normalized trace element and REE spectra ([La/Sm]n = 0.16−0.35; [H2O/Nb]n = 8−44; [Cl/Nb]n = 27−68; [B/Nb]n = 9-30, assuming 300 μg/g H2O, 8 μg/g Cl and 0.1 μg/g B in PM; Kamenetsky et al., 2010. Composition and temperature of komatiite melts from Gorgona Island constrained from olivine-hosted melt inclusions. Geology 38, 1003–1006). The inclusions range in δ11B values from −11.5 to +15.6 ± 2.2‰ (1 SE), forming two distinct trends in a δ11B vs. B-concentration diagram. Direct assimilation of seawater, seawater-derived components, altered oceanic crust or marine sediments by ascending komatiite magma cannot readily account for the volatile contents and B isotope variations. Alternatively, injection of <3% of a 11B enriched fluid to the mantle source could be a plausible explanation for the δ11B range that also may explain the H2O, Cl and B excess.Financial support to AAG during data acquisition and manuscript preparation was provided by Northeast National Ion Microprobe Facility (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, USA) and the Centre de Recherches Pétrographiqueset Géochimiques (France). This research was also supported by the Australian Research Council (Research Fellowship and Discovery grants to VSK). We acknowledge partial support of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany (F.W. Bessel Award to VSK and Wolfgang Paul Award to A.V. Sobolev who provided access to the electron microprobe at the Max Planck Institute, Mainz, Germany

Geogenic and atmospheric sources for volatile organic compounds in fumarolic emissions from Mt. Etna and Vulcano Island (Sicily, Italy)

In this paper, fluid source(s) and processes controlling the chemical composition of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in gas discharges from Mt. Etna and Vulcano Island(Sicily, Italy) were investigated. The main composition of the Etnean and Volcano gas emissions is produced by mixing, to various degrees, of magmatic and hydrothermal components. VOCs are dominated by alkanes, alkenes and aromatics, with minor, though significant, concentrations of O-, S- and Cl(F)-substituted compounds. The main mechanism for the production of alkanes is likely related to pyrolysis of organic-matterbearing sediments that interact with the ascending magmatic fluids. Alkanes are then converted to alkene and aromatic compounds via catalytic reactions (dehydrogenation and dehydroaromatization, respectively). Nevertheless, an abiogenic origin for the light hydrocarbons cannot be ruled out. Oxidative processes of hydrocarbons at relatively high temperatures and oxidizing conditions, typical of these volcanic-hydrothermal fluids, may explain the production of alcohols, esters, aldehydes, as well as O- and S-bearing heterocycles. By comparing the concentrations of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) in the fumarolic discharges with respect to those of background air, it is possible to highlight that they have a geogenic origin likely due to halogenation of both methane and alkenes. Finally, chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) abundances appear to be consistent with background air, although the strong air contamination that affects the Mt. Etna fumaroles may mask a possible geogenic contribution for these compounds. On the other hand, no CFCs were detected in the Vulcano gases, which are characterized by low air contribution. Nevertheless, a geogenic source for these compounds cannot be excluded on the basis of the present data

magma mixing history and dynamics of an eruption trigger

The most violent and catastrophic volcanic eruptions on Earth have been triggered by the refilling of a felsic volcanic magma chamber by a hotter more mafic magma. Examples include Vesuvius 79 AD, Krakatau 1883, Pinatubo 1991, and Eyjafjallajokull 2010. Since the first hypothesis, plenty of evidence of magma mixing processes, in all tectonic environments, has accumulated in the literature allowing this natural process to be defined as fundamental petrological processes playing a role in triggering volcanic eruptions, and in the generation of the compositional variability of igneous rocks. Combined with petrographic, mineral chemistry and geochemical investigations, isotopic analyses on volcanic rocks have revealed compositional variations at different length scales pointing to a complex interplay of fractional crystallization, mixing/mingling and crustal contamination during the evolution of several magmatic feeding systems. But to fully understand the dynamics of mixing and mingling processes, that are impossible to observe directly, at a realistically large scale, it is necessary to resort to numerical simulations of the complex interaction dynamics between chemically different magmas