Timescales for pluton growth, magma-chamber formation and super-eruptions

Generation of silicic magmas leads to emplacement of granite plutons, huge explosive volcanic eruptions and physical and chemical zoning of continental and arc crust(1-7). Whereas timescales for silicic magma generation in the deep and middle crust are prolonged(8), magma transfer into the upper crust followed by eruption is episodic and can be rapid(9-12). Ages of inherited zircons and sanidines from four Miocene ignimbrites in the Central Andes indicate a gap of 4.6 Myr between initiation of pluton emplacement and onset of super-eruptions, with a 1-Myr cyclicity. We show that inherited zircons and sanidine crystals were stored at temperatures <470 degrees C in these plutons before incorporation in ignimbrite magmas. Our observations can be explained by silicic melt segregation in a middle-crustal hot zone with episodic melt ascent from an unstable layer at the top of the zone with a timescale governed by the rheology of the upper crust. After thermal incubation of growing plutons, large upper-crustal magma chambers can form in a few thousand years or less by dike transport from the hot-zone melt layer. Instability and disruption of earlier plutonic rock occurred in a few decades or less just before or during super-eruptions.

Automated summary

The generation of silicic magmas can result in granite pluton emplacement, explosive volcanic eruptions, and zoning of the continental and arc crust. While the timescales for silicic magma generation in the deeper and middle crust are prolonged, the transfer and eruption of magma into the upper crust are episodic and rapid. The ages of inherited zircons and sanidines from Miocene ignimbrites in the Central Andes reveal a time gap of 4.6 million years between pluton emplacement initiation and the onset of super-eruptions, with a cyclic pattern of 1 million years. The storage of inherited zircons and sanidine crystals at temperatures below 470 degrees Celsius in these plutons before their incorporation into ignimbrite magmas suggests a possible mechanism involving silicic melt segregation in a hot zone of the middle crust, with episodic melt ascent from an unstable layer at the top of this zone regulated by the rheology of the upper crust. The formation of large upper-crustal magma chambers can occur within a few thousand years or less through dike transport from the hot-zone melt layer after thermal incubation of growing plutons. The instability and disruption of previous plutonic rocks occur within a few decades or less prior to or during super-eruptions.