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Biotite composition as a tool for the identification of Quaternary tephra beds

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Phil Shane ,
Victoria Smith  and
Ian Nairn
Phil Shane
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand
Victoria Smith
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand
Ian Nairn
Affiliation:
45 Summit Rd., RD5, Rotorua, New Zealand
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Abstract

Stratigraphically important Quaternary rhyolitic tephra deposits that erupted from the Okataina and Taupo volcanic centers in New Zealand can be geochemically identified using the FeO and MgO contents of their biotite phenocrysts. The FeO/MgO ratio in biotite does not correlate with FeO/MgO in the coexisting glass phase so that tephra beds with similar glass compositions can be discriminated by their different biotite compositions. Some individual tephra deposits display sequential changes in biotite composition that allow separate phases of the eruption to be identified, greatly increasing the potential precision for correlation. In addition, devitrified lavas that are unsuitable for glass analysis can be correlated to coeval tephra deposits by their biotite compositions. Biotite is common in high-K2O (>4 wt%) tephra beds and is widely dispersed in ash plumes because of its platy form, thus making it important in correlation studies.

Keywords

TephrostratigraphyTephraBiotiteOkatainaTaupoTarawera
Type
Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 59 , Issue 2 , March 2003 , pp. 262 - 270
Copyright
Elsevier Science (USA)

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