Amphibole stability using new thermobarometric formulations on calc-alkaline magmas of Volcán Doña Inés, Chile

Location and delineation of subvolcanic magma chambers have heavily relied on geophysical, particularly seismic, data. However, new and improved thermobarometric formulations can yield equally important constraints on the depths and conditions of magmatic storage and movement. The objective of this study was to utilize the single phase thermobarometric algorithms of Ridolfi et al. (2010) to determine the conditions of amphibole stability in the volcanic system beneath Volcán Doña Inés, a large stratovolcano from the Mid-Late Miocene magmatic arc in the Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes, Chile. According to Moulds (1989), Doña Inés had three main eruptive vents: the main central vent; a second vent low on its flanks, called Loma Doña Inés; and a sister cone, called Gemelas. The barometric, thermometric, hygrometric, and oxygen fugacity formulations of Ridolfi et al. (2010) are based on the total aluminum (AlT) content, the silicon index (Si*), the octahedral aluminum index ([6]Al*), and the magnesium index (Mg*) of the amphibole grains, respectively. For this study, 120 amphiboles from 20 andesite-dacite samples from Doña Inés were analyzed approximately 30 times per grain with an electron microprobe. Amphibole compositions range from tschermakitic pargasite, to magnesiohornblende, to magnesiohastingsite, with the central vent crystals exhibiting the widest variability. Preliminary results from the thermobarometer indicate that amphibole crystallization beneath the central vent occurred between 213-928 ± 102 MPa and 872-1016 ± 22 *C, with magmatic water contents of approximately 5.2-9.9 ± 1.5 wt%. Conditions of formation of amphibole at Loma Doña Inés were between 230-405 ± 37 MPa and 901-980 ± 22 *C, with approximately 5.4-6.2 ± 0.9 wt% magmatic H2O and were similar at the sister cone Gemelas: 259-309 ± 34 MPa, 902-952 ± 22 *C, and 5.1-6.2 ± 0.9 wt% magmatic H2O. Temperatures obtained from amphibole stability agree well with the previous from Moulds (1989) using 2-pyroxene and Fe-Ti oxide geothermometers which ranged from 872-941 ± 40 *C. Not surprisingly the central vent displays the largest variation in crystallizing conditions for amphibole, consistent with a more complex magmatic plumbing system. The pressure-temperature estimates for this Miocene calc-alkaline volcano are similar to those from more recent andesite-dacite systems as compiled by Ridolfi et al. (2010), and demonstrate the consistency of the thermobarometer for subduction-related volcanoes.