Trace element and isotope geochemistry of Tschicoma Formation intermediate composition dome complexes, Jemez Mountains volcanic field, New Mexico, USA

Abstract

Repeated intrusions of mafic magma have long been known to be a driver of long-lived magmatic systems. Although the importance of mafic recharge of silicic magma systems is well-documented in igneous petrology, the origin of this recharge magma is sometimes obscure. By examining the pre-caldera intermediate dome complexes of the Tschicoma Formation and their relationship to a dacitic recharge event into the Tshirege Member of the Bandelier Tuff, we aim to better understand the origin of mafic recharge events into the Bandelier magma chamber of Valles caldera, and the relationship between different stages of volcanic activity within the broader Jemez Mountains volcanic field (JMVF). Based on major, trace element and radiogenic isotopic data, we divide the Tschicoma Formation into three geochemical groups with similar petrologic evolutionary paths. The Cerro Grande, Cerro Rubio and Pajarito Mountain volcanic dome complexes form group A and have assimilated various amounts of a granitoid crustal component with low εNd, εHf and radiogenic Pb. Group B consists of the Sawyer Dome, Rendija Canyon and Caballo Mountain dome complexes, which have principally evolved through different degrees of fractional crystallisation of the same parent magma, itself a result of complex interactions of a mafic mantle-derived magma with the crust. The dacite domes and flows around Tschicoma Peak and the newly-described Cañada Bonita dacite form group C and are the result of mixing of Rendija Canyon magma with mafic recharge magma which is preserved as distinct mafic enclaves. At a later stage of the JMVF, during the eruption of the Tshirege Member, distinctive hornblende-dacite pumices formed as a result of the influx of more mafic recharge magma into the system, which mobilised a pre-existing dacite intrusion and injected it into the Tshirege rhyolite (Stimac, 1996; Boro et al., 2020). Based on trace element and isotopic compositions, we propose that dacite which was injected into the Tshirege magma chamber was related to the earlier-erupted Tschicoma Formation and itself represents a mixing product of Tshirege rhyolite and a precursor to the Tschicoma dacites. This implies that the Tschicoma magmatic system was long-lived yet dormant during the eruption of the Otowi Member of the Bandelier Tuff, then was reactivated shortly before the Tshirege eruption, temporarily co-existing and interacting with the Bandelier system as it erupted.