Amphibole stability in primitive arc magmas: Effects of temperature, H ₂O content, and oxygen fugacity

The water-saturated phase relations have been determined for a primitive magnesian andesite (57 wt% SiO ₂, 9 wt% MgO) from the Mt. Shasta, CA region over the pressure range 200-800 MPa, temperature range of 915-1,070 °C, and oxygen fugacities varying from the nickel-nickel oxide (NNO) buffer to three log units above NNO (NNO+3). The phase diagram of a primitive basaltic andesite (52 wt% SiO ₂, 10. 5 wt% MgO) also from the Mt. Shasta region (Grove et al. in Contrib Miner Petrol 145:515-533; 2003) has been supplemented with additional experimental data at 500 MPa. Hydrous phase relations for these compositions allow a comparison of the dramatic effects of dissolved H ₂O on the crystallization sequence. Liquidus mineral phase stability and appearance temperatures vary sensitively in response to variation in pressure and H ₂O content, and this information is used to calibrate magmatic barometers-hygrometers for primitive arc magmas. H ₂O-saturated experiments on both compositions reveal the strong dependence of amphibole stability on the partial pressure of H ₂O. A narrow stability field is identified where olivine and amphibole are coexisting phases in the primitive andesite composition above 500 MPa and at least until 800 MPa, between 975-1,025 °C. With increasing H ₂O pressure (P _H2O), the temperature difference between the liquidus and amphibole appearance decreases, causing a change in chemical composition of the first amphibole to crystallize. An empirical calibration is proposed for an amphibole first appearance barometer-hygrometer that uses Mg# of the amphibole and f _O2 This barometer gives a minimum P _H2O recorded by the first appearance of amphibole in primitive arc basaltic andesite and andesite. We apply this barometer to amphibole antecrysts erupted in mixed andesite and dacite lavas from the Mt. Shasta, CA stratocone. Both high H ₂O pressures (500-900 MPa) and high pre-eruptive magmatic H ₂O contents (10-14 wt% H ₂O) are indicated for the primitive end members of magma mixing that are preserved in the Shasta lavas. We also use these new experimental data to explore and evaluate the empirical hornblende barometer of Larocque and Canil (2010).