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Magmatic processes recorded in crystals from intraplate basalt volcanoes, Kaikohe-Bay of Islands volcanic field, New Zealand

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

Late Quaternary, porphyritic basalts erupted in the Kaikohe-Bay of Islands volcanic field (KBIVF), New Zealand, provide an opportunity to explore the crystallisation and ascent history of small volume magmas in an intra-continental monogenetic volcanic field. The plagioclase, clinopyroxene and olivine phenocrysts all represent a diverse crystal cargo. Plagioclase have relic cores that are more sodic and more calcic than the equilibrium groundmass crystals. They have 87Sr/86Sr ratios that are either mantlelike (~0.7030) or crustal-like (~0.7040-0.7060), indicating some are antecrysts formed in melts fractionated from plutonic basaltic forerunners, while others are true xenocrysts from greywacke basement and/or Miocene arc volcanics. The cores of clinopyroxene phenocrysts variously grew in a magma comparable to that of the host rock (cognate) and in melts that were more evolved or more primitive (antecrysts); and display textures indicative of magma mixing. Crystal-melt equilibria indicate formation pressures of 430±170 MPa (2σ) (=16±6 km depth) and 730±160 MPa (=28±6 km depth). The olivine population also comprises cognate crystals and antecrystic/xenocrystic components from both more evolved and more primitive melts. Their δ18O mean values (5.60 ‰; range 5.12-6.20 ‰) are higher than that of olivine from MORB-HIMU sources and overlap those associated with subduction sources. These values could reflect a relic subduction-induced contamination of the shallow mantle. The character of the crystal phases demonstrates that the KBIVF magmatic system is likely to be a crystal mush column extending vertically through the crust. This is surprisingly similar to that proposed for intermediate arc volcanoes, but the KBIVF system would have been ephemeral. Geophysical data indicates the presence of a body of partial melt at 10-19 km and the Moho at ~28 km depths, which coincide with depths calculated from clinopyroxene thermobarometry. Thus, it can be inferred that buoyancy and/or rheology contrasts may have caused basalt magmas to temporarily or permanently stall, promoting crystallisation and interaction with earlier magmas or intrusions. The magmas are derived from the mantle or the deep crust, but their crystals and crystal textures are a product of crustal inheritance and modification.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
PhD
Level thesis:degree_level
Doctoral
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Geology
Grantor dc:publisher
ResearchSpace@Auckland
Year dc:date.issued
2019

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Coote, Alisha
Advisors dc:contributor.advisor
  • Shane, P
  • Cronin, S

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated. Previously published items are made available in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher.

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Handle dc:identifier.uri
https://hdl.handle.net/2292/49662
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:researchspace.auckland.ac.nz:2292/49662

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
University of Auckland
Base URL
researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/server/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
related terms
citation

Coote, Alisha. Magmatic processes recorded in crystals from intraplate basalt volcanoes, Kaikohe-Bay of Islands volcanic field, New Zealand. Doctoral thesis, ResearchSpace@Auckland, 2019. https://hdl.handle.net/2292/49662