Plagioclase-hosted melt inclusions as indicators of inhibited rhyolitic melt beneath a mafic volcano: a case study of the Izu-Omuroyama monogenetic volcano, Japan

We conducted textural and chemical analyses of melt inclusions and their host plagioclase crystals in the scoria of the Izu-Omuroyama monogenetic volcano, erupted at similar to 4 ka in the Higashi-Izu monogenetic volcanic field, Japan. The groundmass melt was andesitic with similar to 59-61 wt% SiO2, and it contained abundant microphenocrysts of olivine and plagioclase. In contrast, similar to 59% of the plagioclase-hosted melt inclusions have rhyolitic compositions with similar to 70-75 wt% SiO2. The host plagioclase phenocrysts have cores with An# of 44.7 +/- 4.2 [An# = 100Ca/(Ca + Na) in mol] and rims with An# of 68-78, and the calcic rims have compositions similar to the microphenocrysts. The cores of the host plagioclase phenocrysts have FeO* and K2O contents that are in equilibrium with the rhyolitic melt inclusions. Using the plagioclase-melt geohygrometers and assuming temperatures of 790-850 degrees C, we estimated the H2O contents of the rhyolitic melt inclusions to be similar to 4.4-10.2 wt%, indicating H2O-saturation depths of >4.5 km. Our results suggest that an inhibited reservoir of plagioclase-bearing rhyolitic melt existed beneath the monogenetic volcano at the time of the scoria eruption, which was similar to 800 years earlier than the first rhyolitic eruption in the volcanic field. Plagioclase content in the silicic reservoir is estimated to be less than 35.8%, suggesting the magma was eruptible. Our results demonstrate the potential usefulness of plagioclase-hosted melt inclusions for indicating the existence of such an inhibited silicic magma.