Multiple Magma Batches: Understanding the Pre-Eruptive Architecture and
Magmatic Processes of Supereruptions Based on Textural, Mineralogical,
and Geochemical Features of Fiamme from the Ora Ignimbrite (Permian,
Italy)
Abstract
The investigation of the Ora Ignimbrite (~275 Ma) helps
further our understanding of how vast amounts (>1,000 km3)
of melt are generated, stored, and erupted from the shallow crust. As
the last eruptive product of a slab rollback ignimbrite flareup that
lasted for 10 Ma, Ora’s glacially incised outcrops tower over 1,300 m
above Bolzano, Italy. Two key outcrops, early-erupted intracaldera
vitrophyre and late-erupted outflow vitrophyre, provide well-preserved,
glass-bearing juvenile material. Petrographic optical and electronic
(back-scattered electron) analysis was used to document the textural
features of minerals and glass. Glass and mineral major-element
compositions were obtained using Energy-Dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis
on a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Glass with low Na/high K
concentrations and A/CNK ratios > 1.1 was deemed altered.
Intracaldera vitrophyre contains two distinct fiamma types: very
coarse-grained, crystal-rich (VCCR) and fine-grained (FG) fiamme. Glass
in VCCR fiamme is homogeneous high-silica rhyolite (76.5-77.5 wt. %
SiO2; normalized anhydrous) with low K2O values (3-3.5 wt. %). The FG
fiamme have a broader SiO2 range (75-78 wt. % and 72-78 wt. %) and
higher K2O values (3-4.5 wt. %). Outflow vitrophyre has medium-grained
(MG) and fine-grained, crystal-poor (FGCP) fiamme. The MG fiamme have
homogeneous high-silica rhyolite glass (76-78 wt. % SiO2) with lower
K2O (2-3 wt. %). Glass in three FGCP fiamma form compositional continua
from 68-78 wt. %, 67-79 wt. %, and 72-78 wt. % SiO2, and K2O varies
substantially (0.5-3.5 wt. %). These results demonstrate mingling and
mixing and suggest that multiple melt-rich zones contributed to the
erupting magma. We propose that at least four separate magma bodies
contributed to the Ora eruption. Each one evolved independently, leading
to variable amounts of magma mingling and mixing. These results
illuminate the subsurface architecture of a large silicic system during
the final episodes of an ignimbrite flareup.