Localized rejuvenation of a crystal mush recorded in zircon temporal and compositional variation at the Lassen Volcanic Center, northern California

Zircon ages and trace element compositions from recent silicic eruptions in the Lassen Volcanic Center (LVC) allow for an evaluation of the timing and conditions of rejuvenation (reheating and mobilization of crystals) within the LVC magmatic system. The LVC is the southernmost active Cascade volcano and, prior to the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, was the site of the only eruption in the Cascade arc during the last century. The three most recent silicic eruptions from the LVC were very small to moderate-sized lava flows and domes of dacite (1915 and 27 ka eruptions of Lassen Peak) and rhyodacite (1.1 ka eruption of Chaos Crags). These eruptions produced mixed and mingled lavas that contain a diverse crystal cargo, including zircon. ²³⁸U-²³⁰Th model ages from interior and surface analyses of zircon reveal ages from ∼17 ka to secular equilibrium (>350 ka), with most zircon crystallizing during a period between ∼60–200 ka. These data support a model for localized rejuvenation of crystal mush beneath the LVC. This crystal mush evidently is the remnant of magmatism that ended ∼190 ka. Most zircon are thought to have been captured from “cold storage” in the crystal mush (670–725°C, Hf >10,000 ppm, Eu/Eu* 0.25–0.4) locally remobilized by intrusion of mafic magma. A smaller population of zircon (>730°C, Hf <10,000 ppm, Eu/Eu* >0.4) grew in, and are captured from, rejuvenation zones. These data suggest the dominant method to produce eruptible melt within the LVC is small-scale, local rejuvenation of the crystal mush accompanied by magma mixing and mingling. Based on zircon stability, the time required to heat, erupt and then cool to background conditions is relatively short, lasting a maximum of 10 s–1000 s years. Rejuvenation events in the LVC are ephemeral and permit eruption within an otherwise waning and cooling magmatic body.

Small-Scale Convective Instability and Upper Mantle Viscosity Under California

Thermal calculations and convection analysis, constrained by seismic tomography results, suggest that a small-scale convective instability developed in the upper 200 kilometers of the mantle under California after the upwelling and cooling of asthenosphere into the slab window associated with the formation of the San Andreas transform boundary. The upper bound for the upper mantle viscosity in the slab window, 5 x 10(19) pascal seconds, is similar to independent estimates for the asthenosphere beneath young oceanic and tectonically active continental regions. These model calculations suggest that many tectonically active continental regions characterized by low upper mantle seismic velocities may be affected by time-dependent small-scale convection that can generate localized areas of uplift and subsidence.