Geobarometry of mafic and ultramafic xenoliths: examples from Hualalai
and Mauna Kea volcanoes, Hawaii
Abstract
Xenoliths of plutonic rocks sporadically torn off by erupting magmas are
known to carry valuable information about volcano plumbing systems and
the lithosphere in which they emplace. One of the main steps to
interpret such information is to quantify the pressure and temperature
conditions at which the xenolith mineral assemblages last equilibrated.
This chapter discusses some aspects of geothermobarometry of mafic and
ultramafic rocks using the xenolith populations of Hualalai and Mauna
Kea volcanoes, Hawaii, as case studies. Multiple- reaction geobarometry,
recently revisited for olivine + clinopyroxene + plagioclase spinel
assemblages, provides the most precise pressure estimates (uncertainties
as low as 1.0 kbar). An example is shown that integrates these estimates
with calculated seismic velocities of the xenoliths and the available
data from seismic tomography. The results allow to better constrain some
km-scale horizontal and vertical heterogeneities in the magmatic system
beneath Hawaii. Ultramafic xenoliths at Hualalai are the residuals of
magma crystallization at 16–21 km depth, below the pre-Hawaiian oceanic
crust. Few available gabbronorites and diorites record instead lower
pressures and likely represent conduits or small magma reservoir
crystallized at 0–8 km depth. At Mauna Kea, on the other hand, a
significant portion of the xenolith record is composed by
olivine-gabbros, which crystallized almost over the entire crustal
thickness (3– 18 km). Ultramafic xenoliths are less abundant and might
represent the bottom of the same magma reservoirs that crystallized in
the deeper portion of the magmatic systems (11–18 km). Some unresolved
issues remain in geothermometry of mafic and ultramafic rocks
representing portions of magma reservoirs that cooled and recrystallized
under subsolidus conditions. This suggests that further experimental and
theoretical work is needed to better constrain the thermodynamics and
kinetics of peridotitic and basaltic systems at low (< 1000 ̵̊C)
temperatures.