Abstract
The Island Park-Mount Jackson series in the Yellowstone volcanic field, Wyoming (USA), is a suite of rhyolitic domes and lavas that erupted between the caldera-forming eruptions of the Mesa Fall Tuff (1.3 Ma) and the Lava Creek Tuff (0.6 Ma). Combined zircon U/Pb geochronology, Raman spectroscopy, oxygen isotopic and trace elemental compositions document storage conditions of these magmas between consecutive supereruptions. Based on comparison with co-erupted melt compositions and textural criteria, four zircon compositional groups are identified that record different stages along a continuous magmatic evolution from trace element-poor rhyolite at high temperatures to extremely fractionated rhyolite where zircon trace elements are highly enriched (e.g., > 1000 ppm U). These latter zircon domains are dark in cathodoluminescence images and show broadened Raman peaks relative to near-endmember zircon, indicating that substitution of non-stoichiometric trace elements into zircon leads to distortion of the crystal lattice. Some of these zircon domains contain inclusions of U-Th-REE-phases, likely originating from coupled dissolution–reprecipitation of metastable trace element-rich zircon in the presence of a fluid phase. Rhyolite-MELTS simulations indicate that at the conditions required to produce the observed enrichment in trace elements, a fluid phase is likely present. These findings illustrate that zircons can be assembled from a variety of co-existing magmatic environments in the same magma reservoir, including near-solidus volatile-rich melts close to the magmatic–hydrothermal transition.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alekseev V, Polyakova E, Machevariani M, Marin YB (2014) Evolution of zircons from postorogenic intrusive series with Li–F granites, Russian Far East. Geol Ore Deposits 56(7):513–530
Allaz J, Raschke MB, Persson PM, Stern CR (2015) Age, petrochemistry, and origin of a REE-rich mineralization in the Longs Peak-St. Vrain batholith, near Jamestown, Colorado (USA). Am Mineral 100(10):2123–2140
Åmli R, Griffin W (1975) Microprobe analysis of REE minerals using empirical correction factors. Am Mineral 60:599–606
Anderson AJ, Wirth R, Thomas R (2008) The alteration of metamict zircon and its role in the remobilization of high-field-strength elements in the Georgeville granite, Nova Scotia. Can Mineral 46(1):1–18
Barboni M, Boehnke P, Schmitt AK, Harrison TM, Shane P, Bouvier A-S, Baumgartner L (2016) Warm storage for arc magmas. Proc Natl Acad Sci 113(49):13959–13964
Bindeman I (2008) Oxygen isotopes in mantle and crustal magmas as revealed by single crystal analysis. Rev Mineral Geochem 69(1):445–478
Bindeman IN, Valley JW (2001) Low-δ18O Rhyolites from Yellowstone: magmatic evolution based on analyses of Zircons and individual phenocrysts. J Petrol 42(8):1491–1517
Bindeman IN, Fu B, Kita NT, Valley JW (2008) Origin and evolution of silicic magmatism at yellowstone based on ion microprobe analysis of isotopically zoned zircons. J Petrol 49(1):163–193. https://doi.org/10.1093/petrology/egm075
Black LP, Kamo SL, Allen CM, Davis DW, Aleinikoff JN, Valley JW, Mundil R, Campbell IH, Korsch RJ, Williams IS (2004) Improved 206 Pb/238 U microprobe geochronology by the monitoring of a trace-element-related matrix effect; SHRIMP, ID–TIMS, ELA–ICP–MS and oxygen isotope documentation for a series of zircon standards. Chem Geol 205(1):115–140
Blundy J, Wood B (1994) Prediction of crystal-melt partition coefficients from elastic moduli. Nature 372(6505):452–454
Bryan SE, Ferrari L, Reiners PW, Allen CM, Petrone CM, Ramos-Rosique A, Campbell IH (2008) New insights into crustal contributions to large-volume rhyolite generation in the mid-Tertiary Sierra Madre Occidental province, Mexico, revealed by U–Pb geochronology. J Petrol 49(1):47–77
Buret Y, Wotzlaw J-F, Roozen S, Guillong M, von Quadt A, Heinrich CA (2017) Zircon petrochronological evidence for a plutonic-volcanic connection in porphyry copper deposits. Geology 45(7):623–626
Castor SB, Henry CD (2000) Geology, geochemistry, and origin of volcanic rock-hosted uranium deposits in northwestern Nevada and southeastern Oregon, USA. Ore Geol Rev 16(1):1–40
Chakhmouradian AR, Zaitsev AN (2012) Rare earth mineralization in igneous rocks: sources and processes. Elements 8(5):347–353
Chamberlain K, Wilson C, Wooden JL, Charlier B, Ireland T (2013) New perspectives on the Bishop Tuff from zircon textures, ages and trace elements. J Petrol 55(2):395–426
Charlier B, Wilson C, Lowenstern J, Blake S, Van Calsteren P, Davidson J (2005) Magma generation at a large, hyperactive silicic volcano (Taupo, New Zealand) revealed by U–Th and U–Pb systematics in zircons. J Petrol 46(1):3–32
Christiansen RL (2001) The quaternary and pliocene yellowstone plateau volcanic field of Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana. USGS Professional Paper 729-G
Cooper KM, Kent AJ (2014) Rapid remobilization of magmatic crystals kept in cold storage. Nature 506(7489):480
Corfu F (2003) Atlas of zircons textures. Rev Mineral Geochem 53:469–500
Driesner T, Heinrich CA (2007) The system H 2 O–NaCl. Part I: Correlation formulae for phase relations in temperature–pressure–composition space from 0 to 1000 °C, 0–5000 bar, and 0–1 X NaCl. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 71(20):4880–4901
Ellis B, Mark D, Troch J, Bachmann O, Guillong M, Kent A, von Quadt A (2017) Split-grain 40 Ar/39 Ar dating: Integrating temporal and geochemical data from crystal cargoes. Chem Geol 457:15–23
Ferriss E, Ewing R, Becker U (2010) Simulation of thermodynamic mixing properties of actinide-containing zircon solid solutions. Am Mineral 95(2–3):229–241
Ferry J, Watson E (2007) New thermodynamic models and revised calibrations for the Ti-in-zircon and Zr-in-rutile thermometers. Contrib Mineral Petrol 154(4):429–437
Förster H-J (2006) Composition and origin of intermediate solid solutions in the system thorite–xenotime–zircon–coffinite. Lithos 88(1):35–55
Geisler T, Schaltegger U, Tomaschek F (2007) Re-equilibration of zircon in aqueous fluids and melts. Elements 3(1):43–50
Grubbs FE (1969) Procedures for detecting outlying observations in samples. Technometrics 11(1):1–21
Hanchar JM, Finch RJ, Hoskin PW, Watson EB, Cherniak DJ, Mariano AN (2001) Rare earth elements in synthetic zircon: Part 1. Synthesis, and rare earth element and phosphorus doping. Am Mineral 86(5–6):667–680
Hayden LA, Watson EB (2007) Rutile saturation in hydrous siliceous melts and its bearing on Ti-thermometry of quartz and zircon. Earth Planet Sci Lett 258(3):561–568
Hildreth W, Christiansen RL, O’Neil JR (1984) Catastrophic isotopic modification of rhyolitic magma at times of caldera subsidence, Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field. J Geophys Res 89(B10):8339. https://doi.org/10.1029/JB089iB10p08339
Holland HD, Gottfried D (1955) The effect of nuclear radiation on the structure of zircon. Acta Crystallogr A 8(6):291–300
Hoskin PW (2005) Trace-element composition of hydrothermal zircon and the alteration of Hadean zircon from the Jack Hills, Australia. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 69(3):637–648
Hoskin P, Kinny P, Wyborn D (1998) Chemistry of hydrothermal zircon: investigating timing and nature of water–rock interaction. Water Rock Interact 9:545–548
Hoskin PW, Kinny PD, Wyborn D, Chapell BW (2000) Identifying accessory mineral saturation during differentiation in granitoid magmas: an integrated approach. J Petrol 41(9):1365–1396
Husen S, Smith RB, Waite GP (2004) Evidence for gas and magmatic sources beneath the Yellowstone volcanic field from seismic tomographic imaging. J Volcanol Geotherm Res 131(3):397–410
Jowitt SM, Medlin CC, Cas RA (2017) The rare earth element (REE) mineralisation potential of highly fractionated rhyolites: a potential low-grade, bulk tonnage source of critical metals. Ore Geol Rev 86:548–562
Kovaleva E, Harlov D, Klötzli U (2017) Complicated secondary textures in zircon record evolution of the host granitic rocks: Studies from Western Tauern Window and Ötztal-Stubai Crystalline Complex (Eastern Alps, Western Austria). Lithos 284:381–400
Lenz C, Nasdala L, Talla D, Hauzenberger C, Seitz R, Kolitsch U (2015) Laser-induced REE3+ photoluminescence of selected accessory minerals—an “advantageous artefact” in Raman spectroscopy. Chem Geol 415:1–16
Li XH, Long WG, Li QL, Liu Y, Zheng YF, Yang YH, Chamberlain KR, Wan DF, Guo CH, Wang XC (2010) Penglai zircon megacrysts: a potential new working reference material for microbeam determination of Hf–O isotopes and U–Pb age. Geostand Geoanal Res 34(2):117–134
London D, Hervig RL, Morgan GB (1988) Melt-vapor solubilities and elemental partitioning in peraluminous granite-pegmatite systems: experimental results with Macusani glass at 200 MPa. Contrib Mineral Petrol 99(3):360–373
Lünsdorf N, Lünsdorf J (2016) Evaluating Raman spectra of carbonaceous matter by automated, iterative curve-fitting. Int J Coal Geol 160:51–62
Matthews N, Vazquez J, Calvert A (2013) Concordant ages for the Lava Creek Tuff from high-spatial-resolution U-Pb dating of zircon rim faces and single-crystal sanidine 40Ar/39Ar dating. AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts 1:06
Matthews NE, Vazquez JA, Calvert AT (2015) Age of the Lava Creek supereruption and magma chamber assembly at Yellowstone based on 40Ar/39Ar and U-Pb dating of sanidine and zircon crystals. Geochem Geophys Geosyst 16(8):2508–2528
Miller JS, Wooden JL (2004) Residence, resorption and recycling of zircons in Devils Kitchen rhyolite, Coso Volcanic field, California. J Petrol 45(11):2155–2170
Murakami T, Chakoumakos BC, Ewing RC, Lumpkin GR, Weber WJ (1991) Alpha-decay event damage in zircon. Am Mineral 76:1510–1532
Obradovich JD (1992) Geochronology of the Late Cenozoic volcanism of Yellowstone National Park and adjoining areas, Wyoming and Idaho. USGS Open-File Report 92–408, pp 45
Park C, Song Y, Chung D, Kang I-M, Khulganakhuu C, Yi K (2016) Recrystallization and hydrothermal growth of high U–Th zircon in the Weondong deposit, Korea: record of post-magmatic alteration. Lithos 260:268–285
Pearce NJ, Perkins WT, Westgate JA, Gorton MP, Jackson SE, Neal CR, Chenery SP (1997) A compilation of new and published major and trace element data for NIST SRM 610 and NIST SRM 612 glass reference materials. Geostand Geoanal Res 21(1):115–144
Pettke T, Audétat A, Schaltegger U, Heinrich CA (2005) Magmatic-to-hydrothermal crystallization in the W–Sn mineralized Mole Granite (NSW, Australia): Part II: evolving zircon and thorite trace element chemistry. Chem Geol 220(3):191–213
Reid MR, Vazquez JA, Schmitt AK (2011) Zircon-scale insights into the history of a Supervolcano, Bishop Tuff, Long Valley, California, with implications for the Ti-in-zircon geothermometer. Contrib Mineral Petrol 161(2):293–311
Rivera TA, Schmitz MD, Crowley JL, Storey M (2014) Rapid magma evolution constrained by zircon petrochronology and 40Ar/39Ar sanidine ages for the Huckleberry Ridge Tuff, Yellowstone, USA. Geology 42(8):643–646
Rivera TA, Schmitz MD, Jicha BR, Crowley JL (2016) Zircon petrochronology and 40Ar/39Ar sanidine dates for the mesa falls tuff: crystal-scale records of magmatic evolution and the short lifespan of a large yellowstone magma chamber. J Petrol 57(9):1677–1704
Robock A (2002) Volcanic eruptions and climate. Clim Change 38:305
Rubatto D, Hermann J (2007) Experimental zircon/melt and zircon/garnet trace element partitioning and implications for the geochronology of crustal rocks. Chem Geol 241(1):38–61
Rubin AE, Cooper KM, Till CB, Kent AJ, Costa F, Bose M, Gravley D, Deering C, Cole J (2017) Rapid cooling and cold storage in a silicic magma reservoir recorded in individual crystals. Science 356(6343):1154–1156
Schaltegger U (2007) Hydrothermal zircon. Elements 3(1):51–79
Shannon RD (1976) Revised effective ionic radii and systematic studies of interatomic distances in halides and chalcogenides. Acta Crystallogr Sect A 32(5):751–767
Spandler C, Hermann J, Rubatto D (2004) Exsolution of thortveitite, yttrialite, and xenotime during low-temperature recrystallization of zircon from New Caledonia, and their significance for trace element incorporation in zircon. Am Mineral 89(11–12):1795–1806
Speer J (1980) Zircon. Rev Mineral Geochem 5(1):67–112
Stelten ME, Cooper KM, Vazquez JA, Calvert AT, Glessner JJ (2015) Mechanisms and timescales of generating eruptible rhyolitic magmas at Yellowstone Caldera from zircon and sanidine geochronology and geochemistry. J Petrol 56(8):1607–1642
Stelten ME, Champion DE, Kuntz MA (2017) The timing and origin of pre-and post-caldera volcanism associated with the Mesa Falls Tuff, Yellowstone Plateau volcanic field. J Volcanol Geotherm Res 350:47–60
Szymanowski D, Wotzlaw J-F, Ellis BS, Bachmann O, Guillong M, von Quadt A (2017) Protracted near-solidus storage and pre-eruptive rejuvenation of large magma reservoirs. Nat Geosci 10(10):777
Thomas R, Webster J, Heinrich W (2000) Melt inclusions in pegmatite quartz: complete miscibility between silicate melts and hydrous fluids at low pressure. Contrib Mineral Petrol 139(4):394–401
Troch J, Ellis BS, Mark DF, Bindeman IN, Kent AJR, Guillong M, Bachmann O (2017) Rhyolite generation prior to a Yellowstone supereruption: Insights from the Island Park-Mount Jackson rhyolite series. J Petrol 0(0):1–24
Van Lichtervelde M, Melcher F, Wirth R (2009) Magmatic vs. hydrothermal origins for zircon associated with tantalum mineralization in the Tanco pegmatite, Manitoba, Canada. Am Mineral 94(4):439–450
Vazquez JA, Kyriazis SF, Reid MR, Sehler RC, Ramos FC (2009) Thermochemical evolution of young rhyolites at Yellowstone: evidence for a cooling but periodically replenished postcaldera magma reservoir. J Volcanol Geotherm Res 188(1–3):186–196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2008.11.030
Vazquez JA, Velasco NO, Schmitt AK, Bleick HA, Stelten ME (2014) 238 U–230 Th dating of chevkinite in high-silica rhyolites from La Primavera and Yellowstone calderas. Chem Geol 390:109–118
Veksler IV, Thomas R, Schmidt C (2002) Experimental evidence of three coexisting immiscible fluids in synthetic granitic pegmatite. Am Mineral 87(5–6):775–779
Wang D, Wang X-L, Cai Y, Chen X, Zhang F-R, Zhang F-F (2017) Heterogeneous conservation of zircon xenocrysts in late jurassic granitic intrusions within the Neoproterozoic Jiuling Batholith, South China: a magma chamber growth model in deep crustal hot zones. J Petrol 58(9):1781–1810
Watson EB (1985) Henry’s law behavior in simple systems and in magmas: criteria for discerning concentration-dependent partition coefficients in nature. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 49(4):917–923
Weber WJ, Ewing RC, Wang L-M (1994) The radiation-induced crystalline-to-amorphous transition in zircon. J Mater Res 9(3):688–698
Webster J, Holloway J, Hervig R (1989) Partitioning of lithophile trace elements between H2O and H2O + CO2 fluids and topaz rhyolite melt. Econ Geol 84(1):116–134
Wiedenbeck M, Alle P, Corfu F, Griffin W, Meier M, Oberli FV, Quadt AV, Roddick J, Spiegel W (1995) Three natural zircon standards for U-Th-Pb, Lu-Hf, trace element and REE analyses. Geostand Geoanal Res 19(1):1–23
Wiedenbeck M, Hanchar JM, Peck WH, Sylvester P, Valley J, Whitehouse M, Kronz A, Morishita Y, Nasdala L, Fiebig J (2004) Further characterisation of the 91500 zircon crystal. Geostand Geoanal Res 28(1):9–39
Wotzlaw J-F, Bindeman IN, Stern RA, D’Abzac F-X, Schaltegger U (2015) Rapid heterogeneous assembly of multiple magma reservoirs prior to Yellowstone supereruptions. Sci Rep 5:14026
Yin R, Wang RC, Zhang A-C, Hu H, Zhu JC, Rao C, Zhang H (2013) Extreme fractionation from zircon to hafnon in the Koktokay No. 1 granitic pegmatite, Altai, northwestern China. Am Mineral 98(10):1714–1724
Zajacz Z, Halter WE, Pettke T, Guillong M (2008) Determination of fluid/melt partition coefficients by LA-ICPMS analysis of co-existing fluid and silicate melt inclusions: controls on element partitioning. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 72(8):2169–2197
Zeng L-J, Niu H-C, Bao Z-W, Yang W-B (2017) Chemical lattice expansion of natural zircon during the magmatic-hydrothermal evolution of A-type granite. Am Mineral 102(3):655–665
Zhang M, Salje EK, Farnan I, Graeme-Barber A, Daniel P, Ewing RC, Clark AM, Leroux H (2000) Metamictization of zircon: Raman spectroscopic study. J Phys Condens Matter 12(8):1915
Acknowledgements
This work has been supported by an ETH research grant (ETH-05 13-2 covering J.T.). The HIP facility at Heidelberg University is operated under the auspices of the DFG Scientific Instrumentation and Information Technology programme. We thank Christie Hendrix and Stacey Gunther from the Yellowstone National Park Service for their assistance with research permits (Yellowstone permit YELL-05940), Lukas Martin and Julien Allaz (ETH) for assistance with EPMA and Jörn-Frederik Wotzlaw for discussions. We are grateful to Ilya Bindeman, Matt Loewen and an anonymous reviewer for their constructive and careful reviews, and to Othmar Müntener for editorial handling. John Wolff, Mark Stelten, Paul Nex and Matthieu Galvez are thanked for providing additional comments on the manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Communicated by Othmar Müntener.
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Troch, J., Ellis, B.S., Schmitt, A.K. et al. The dark side of zircon: textural, age, oxygen isotopic and trace element evidence of fluid saturation in the subvolcanic reservoir of the Island Park-Mount Jackson Rhyolite, Yellowstone (USA). Contrib Mineral Petrol 173, 54 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00410-018-1481-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00410-018-1481-2