25. GEOCHEMISTRY OF SIDEROMELANE AND FELSIC GLASS SHARDS IN PLEISTOCENE ASH LAYERS AT SITES 953, 954, AND 956 1Andrey A. Gurenko 2 and Hans-Ulrich Schmincke 2 |
ABSTRACTSideromelane and felsic glass shards from unconsolidated Pleistocene volcaniclastic sediments drilled at Sites 953, 954, and 956 are thought to have derived from submarine and subaerial volcanic eruptions on Gran Canaria (Sites 953 and 954) and Tenerife (Sites 954 and 956). We analyzed these glasses by electron microprobe for major elements and sulfur, chlorine, and fluorine. Sideromelane glasses represent a spectrum from alkali basalt through basanite, hawaiite, mugearite, and tephrite to nephelinite. Felsic glasses have compositions similar to benmoreite, trachyte, and phonolite. Vesiculated mafic and felsic glass shards, which are characterized by low S and Cl concentrations (0.01-0.06 wt% S and 0.01–0.04 wt% Cl), are interpreted to have formed by pyroclastic activity on land or in shallow water and appeared to have been strongly degassed. Vesicle-free blocky glass shards having 0.05-0.13 wt% S are likely to have resulted from submarine eruptions at moderate water depths and represent undegassed or slightly degassed magmas. Cl concentrations range from 0.01 to 0.33 wt% and increase with increasing MgO, suggesting that Cl behaves as an incompatible element during magma crystallization. Concentrations of fluorine (0.04- 0.34 wt% F) are likely to represent undegassed values, and the variations in F/K ratios between 0.02 and 0.24 are believed to reflect those of parental magmas and of the mantle source. |
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