Pablo J. Caffe

Neogene Mafic Magmatism in the Northern Puna Plateau, Argentina: Generation and Evolution of a Back-arc Volcanic Suite

Neogene back-arc mafic volcanism in the northern Puna Plateau produced a suite of mainly highMg, calc-alkaline, basaltic andesites to andesites that form small scoria cones and lava fields. We present the first comprehensive geochemical study of the mafic suite in the northern Puna that complements work on similar rocks from the southern Puna Plateau. The emphasis is on magma genesis and evolution in both areas, and on a combined interpretation of the two regional datasets in the geodynamic context of back-arc magmatism in the central Andes. The results from the northern Puna suite (bulk-rock and mineral compositions, thermobarometry and radiogenic isotope ratios) are consistent with a predominantly asthenospheric source for the mafic magmas, with variable but locally significant contamination by crustal material. Quantifying the crustal and mantle input fails in most cases because the data display contradictory features, such as high compatible element contents (Mg, Ni, Cr) paired with moderate contents of silica and incompatible lithophile elements that defy classical models of magma mixing, fractionation and assimilation. We suggest that magma evolution involved selective assimilation during turbulent flow, probably at more than one level in the crust. Comparison with the southern Puna mafic suite reveals many features in common (high magma temperatures, textural evidence of rapid magma ascent and cooling, assimilation of crust at different depths). However, the volume of erupted magma is greater in the south than in the north and the volcanism in the south is slightly younger. There is much compositional overlap between the two regions, but the southern Puna suite extends to more primitive compositions. These differences suggest a stronger crustal influence in the northern Puna andesites, which we suggest is due to the presence of an extended upper-crustal melt zone associated with the Altiplano–Puna ignimbrite province. Radiogenic Sr and Nd isotope data from both suites define two diverging trends of variation with MgO that can be explained with a crustal component common to both trends, similar to the silicic ignimbrites, and two contrasting mantle components. The more common and regionally more widespread of the two mantle components (also seen in the frontal arc magmas) has Sr/Sr and Nd/Nd values of 0 705 and 0 5126, respectively, which we attribute to an asthenospheric source enriched by subduction erosion. The less common of the two has Sr and Nd initial ratios (0 708 and 0 51235) that we attribute to melting or assimilation of enriched lithosphere. This component has been found only in the northern Puna and it may have an origin in delaminated lithosphere.

Neogene monogenetic volcanism from the Northern Puna region: products and eruptive styles

Abstract The Neogene mafic volcanism of the Northern Puna region in the Central Andes is represented by scoria cones and lava flows dispersed over a wide region (c. 9150 km2) as isolated or poorly clustered centres. Although all the products are basaltic andesites to andesites, the behaviour of these magmatic systems resembles that seen in basaltic monogenetic fields. These centres were studied with the aim of defining the main volcanic lithofacies and evaluating the eruptive styles. The results suggest that the eruptions developed under a dry strombolian dynamic, with brief periods of lava fountaining and hydrovolcanism, the latter usually restricted to the early stages of cone construction. Changes in eruptive style are thought to be caused by variations in both the internal (e.g. magma ascent) and external (e.g. surficial water availability) conditions. The transitions do not reflect compositional changes, as evidenced by the small chemical differences observed among the products of the studied eruptive centres. Stratigraphic analysis, in addition to a few pre-existing radiometric dates, suggests that this volcanic activity occurred during the Late Miocene to Early Pliocene. This information supports the inference that these eruptions occurred before the peak of Southern Puna mafic volcanism and that they were coeval with eruptions of some of the most important silicic calderas of the Altiplano-Puna Volcanic Complex. The good preservation of volcanic edifices reveals that erosion rates were extremely low, in agreement with the high aridity conditions that have prevailed in the Puna region since the Mid- to Late Miocene.