Geochemical evidence for waning magmatism and polycyclic volcanism at Crater Flat, Nevada

Petrologic and geochemical studies of basaltic rocks in the Yucca Mountain region are currently focused on understanding the evolution of volcanism in the Crater Flat volcanic field and the mechanisms of polycyclic volcanism at the Lathrop Wells volcanic center, the youngest center in the Crater Flat volcanic field. Geochemical and petrologic data indicate that the magma chambers which supplied the volcanic centers in Crater Flat became situated at greater crustal depths as the field evolved. Deep magma chambers may be related to a waning magma flux that was unable to sustain upper crystal magma conduits and chambers. Geochemical data from the Lathrop Wells volcanic center indicate that eruptive units identified from field and geomorphic relationships are geochemically distinct. The geochemical variations cannot be explained by fractional crystallization of a single magma batch, indicating that several magma batches were involved in the formation of the Lathrop Wells center. Considering the low magma flux in the Yucca Mountain region in the Quaternary, the probability of several magma batches erupting essentially simultaneously at Lathrop Wells in considered remote. It is more likely that the Lathrop Wells center was formed by a series of eruptions that took place over many thousands of years. The geochemical data from Lathrop Wells is consistent with the concept of a complex, polycyclic volcano, which was originally proposed based on geomorphic and soil-development data.