First Advisor

Martin J. Streck

Date of Publication

1-1-2012

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.) in Geology

Department

Geology

Language

English

Subjects

Mount Pinatubo (Philippines) -- Eruption (1991), Magmas -- Philippines -- Mount Pinatubo -- Composition, Apatite -- Analysis, Sulfur -- Analysis, Silicates -- Research

DOI

10.15760/etd.123

Physical Description

1 online resource (xii, 236 pages)

Abstract

On June 15, 1991, Mount Pinatubo, Philippines, ejected 20 million tonnes of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere, significantly impacting global climate and stratospheric ozone. Recharging basaltic magma mixed into the 50 km³ dacitic magma reservoir 6 to 11 km beneath Mount Pinatubo, and triggered the 1991 eruption. The result of the magma mixing was a hybrid andesite with quenched basalt inclusions that erupted as a dome between June 7 and June 12. On June 15, approximately 5 km³ of anhydrite-bearing magma was erupted from the main phenocryst-rich, dacitic reservoir. This study will utilize this extraordinary framework of the 1991 Pinatubo eruption to investigate the systematics of sulfur uptake by apatite in order to further develop apatite as a monitor for magmatic sulfur. In the dacite and hybrid andesite, apatite occurs as individual phenocrysts (up to ~200 μm diameter) or included within anhydrite, hornblende, and plagioclase phenocrysts. In the basaltic magmatic inclusions, apatite is found as acicular microphenocrysts. Electron microprobe data collected on apatite yield low- (0.7 wt.% SO₃) apatites in all juvenile products, and show that two distinct populations of apatites exist: "silicic" apatites (hosted in dacite and andesite) and basalt apatites. Apatites crystallizing from silicic melt have predominantly low- to medium-sulfur contents, but high-sulfur apatites with as much as 1.2-1.7 wt.% SO₃ occur sporadically as inclusions in plagioclase, hornblende, Fe-Ti oxide, and anhydrite. These concentrations are much higher than what could be achieved through equilibrium crystal-melt partitioning at pre-eruption conditions (760±20°C, 220MPa, NNO+1.7, 77 ppm S in melt inclusions) and a partition coefficient of 13. Apatite in the basalt is always sulfur-rich with compositions forming a continuous array between 0.7 to 2.6 wt.% SO₃. The population of apatite that crystallized from silicic melt has elevated cerium, fluorine, and chlorine and lower magnesium concentrations (average dacite values in wt.%: 0.21 Ce₂O₃, 1.4 F, 1.1 Cl, & 0.14 MgO) relative to the population of apatite from the basalt (average basalt values in wt.%: 0.05 Ce₂O₃, 1.0 F, 0.78 Cl, & 0.22 MgO). LA-ICP-MS trace element data also show distinct apatite populations between silicic and basalt apatites. Silicic apatites have elevated REE concentrations (La avg. = 750 ppm), lower Sr (avg.= 594 ppm), and a pronounced negative Eu anomaly (avg. Eu/Eu* = 0.57) relative to basalt apatites (avg. values: 217 ppm La, 975 ppm Sr, and Eu/Eu* = 1.16). The correlation of EMP sulfur data and LA-ICP-MS trace element data show no difference between high-S and low-S silicic apatites. These compositional systematics rule out the possibility that sulfur-rich apatite from dacite are inherited from mafic magma. Sulfur element maps of apatites show no evidence of S-diffusion from anhydrite hosts. Areas of high-S concentrations show complicated patterns that suggest multiple periods of sulfur enrichment. High-S silicic apatites are likely the product of "fluid-enhanced crystallization" from early enrichment of a SO₂ rich fluid phase from the underplating basalt, which occurred prior to or at anhydrite saturation. This fluid phase is the only possible sufficient source of sulfur for generating high-S apatites in a cool, "wet", dacitic melt. The dynamics of apatite sulfur enrichment via "fluid-enhanced crystallization" is yet unclear and requires further experimental laboratory investigation.

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Comments

Supplemental file of apatite EMP (Electron Microprobe Analysis) major element data requires Microsoft Excel software for viewing.

Portland State University. Dept. of Geology

Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/7963

Additional Files
Pinatubo_Apatite_EMP_Data(1).csv (85 kB)
Data
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