Identifying slab-derived volatile contributions and mantle source
heterogeneity beneath the Washington Cascades
Abstract
Fluid-flux melting is commonly attributed as the primary driver of
magmatism in arcs; however, decompression melting, mantle heterogeneity,
and the amount and compositions of slab-derived materials (fluids vs.
melts; crust vs. sediments), have all been suggested to play a role in
producing the compositional diversity of primary arc basalts. In this
contribution, we present the volatile, major, and trace element
compositions of melt inclusions from basaltic magmas erupted at three
volcanic centers in the Washington Cascades: Mount St. Helens (two
basaltic tephras from the Castle Creek period, 2.0–1.7 ka), Indian
Heaven Volcanic Field (two <600 ka basaltic hyaloclastitic
tuffs), and Glacier Peak (basaltic tephra from Whitechuck and Indian
Pass cinder cones). Melt inclusions have H2O and Cl
contents that range from 0.3-2.2 wt% and 97-1011 ppm, respectively, and
are hosted in olivine with compositions of
Fo74-Fo85 (Mt St. Helens),
Fo80-Fo87 (Indian Heaven) and
Fo86-Fo89 (Glacier Peak). We find that
trace element ratios such as Nb/Y demonstrate that the variability
between samples is likely related to differences in mantle source
compositions. Impressively, these ratios span nearly the entire range of
arc magmas globally, from high Nb/Y compositions at Mount St. Helens
that are similar to ocean island basalts, to low-K tholeiites from
Indian Heaven and Glacier Peak that have Nb/Y ratios similar to N-MORB.
Interestingly, a calc-alkaline basalt from Glacier Peak displays S/Y
ratios that overlap with the highest values measured in arcs globally
(Ruscitto et al., 2012). While all magma types, including calc-alkaline
magmas from Indian Heaven and Glacier Peak, have H2O and
Cl contributions from the downgoing plate (inferred from
H2O/Y and Cl/Y ratios) that overlap with other Cascade
Arc segments, the maxima measured in the Washington Cascades are
markedly lower than those from other segments, including central Oregon,
northern California, and the northern Garibaldi belt, consistent with
Venugopal et al. (2020). This dataset adds to the growing inventory of
primitive magma volatile concentrations along the Cascade Arc and
provides insight into spatial distributions of mantle heterogeneity and
the variable role of slab processes in the petrogenesis of arc magmas.