Lithium systematics in the Krafla volcanic system: comparison between surface rhyolites and felsic cuttings from the Iceland deep drilling project -1 (IDDP-1)

• Main Authors: Cortes-Calderon, Edgar A., Ellis, Ben S., Magna, Tomáš, Tavazzani, Lorenzo, Ulmer, Peter, id_orcid:0 000-0001-9131-0669
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Springer 2024
• Subjects: Lithium; Rhyolite; Post-eruption; Fractional crystallisation; Degassing; IDDP-1; Iceland
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/668669; https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000668669

The unexpected discovery of felsic magma by the Iceland Deep Drilling Project-1 (IDDP-1) in the Krafla volcanic system (KVS) presents a unique opportunity to investigate pre-eruptive lithium (Li) dynamics and establish a more direct connection between magma reservoirs and volcanic deposits. Our study provides new insights into Li abundances and isotope compositions in bulk-rock, minerals, and groundmass glass from rhyolitic lavas at KVS, encompassing various stages of groundmass crystallisation. Additionally, we examined felsic cuttings retrieved from the IDDP-1 well, comprising crystal-poor obsidian and crystal-bearing to -rich ‘felsite’ particles. Groundmass glasses from surface lavas show limited variability in K/Na, indicating limited secondary hydration of the glasses and that their Li contents seem to not be affected by this post-eruptive process. Lithium inventories in groundmass glasses and minerals within lavas exhibit variations consistent with the cooling history of the deposit, resembling patterns seen in Snake River Plain ignimbrites. Lithium contents of glassy rhyolitic lavas, whether bulk-rock (avg. 27.2 ± 3.1 μg/g) or groundmass glass (average 28.4 ± 4.7 μg/g), and their bulk isotopic compositions (avg. δ7Li =+ 4.4 ± 0.2‰) overlap with those observed in IDDP-1 obsidian cuts (avg. 24.9 μg/g Li in bulk, 28.6 ± 1.5 μg/g in groundmass glass, and δ7Li = 4.5 ± 0.2‰). Glassy lavas lacking spherulites may potentially preserve pristine magmatic Li element and isotope compositions, while areas with extensive groundmass crystallisation reveal Li enrichments in phenocrysts. Plagioclases in slowly cooled parts of the deposit record a two-fold increase in Li contents compared to plagioclase found in glassy counterparts, along with evidence of open-system degassing marked by heavier bulk Li isotope compositions and lower bulk Li contents of the crystallised lava portions (avg. δ7Li = +7.2 ± 0.1‰ and 7 ± 0.8 μg/g Li) relative to bulk glassy lithologies (avg. δ7Li = +4.1 ± 0.1‰ and 28 ± 2 μg/g Li). Partition ...