40Ar/39Ar dating, geochemistry, and isotopic analyses of the quaternary Chichinautzin volcanic field, south of Mexico City: implications for timing, eruption rate, and distribution of volcanism

Monogenetic structures located at the southern and western ends of the Chichinautzin volcanic field (Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, Central Mexico) yield 40Ar/39Ar ages ranging from 1.2 Ma in the western portion of the field to 1.0-0.09 Ma in the southern portion, all of which are older than the < 0.04 Ma age previously established for the entire volcanic field. These new ages indicate: (1) an eruption rate of 0.47 km(3)/kyr, which is much lower than the 11.7 km(3)/kyr previously estimated; (2) that the Chichinautzin magmatism coexisted with the Zempoala (0.7 Ma) and La Corona (1.0 Ma) polygenetic volcanoes on the southern edge of Las Cruces Volcanic Range (Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt); and confirm (3) that the drainage system between the Mexico and Cuernavaca basins was closed during early Pleistocene forming the Texcoco Lake. Whole-rock chemistry and Sr, Nd, and Pb isotopic data indicate heterogeneous magmatism throughout the history of Chichinautzin activity that likely reflects variable degrees of slab and sediment contributions to the mantle wedge, fractional crystallization, and crustal assimilation. Even with the revised duration of volcanism within the Chichinautzin Volcanic Field, its eruption rate is higher than most other volcanic fields of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt and is comparable only to the Tacambaro-Puruaran area in the Michoacan-Guanajuato Volcanic Field to the west. These variations in eruption rates among different volcanic fields may reflect a combination of variable subduction rates of the Rivera and Cocos plates along the Middle America Trench, as well as different distances from the trench, variations in the depth with respect to the subducted slab, or the upper plate characteristics.