Conditions of Phlogopite Crystallization in Ultrapotassic Volcanic Rocks

A. D. Edgar and M. Arima
Department of Geology, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada N6A 5B7

Abstract: Phlogopite occurs as an early crystallizing mineral in many ultrapotassic lavas of basaltic affinities. Based on high-pressure experiments in lavas of these compositions, the early crystallization of phlogopite is controlled in large part by the bulk compositions of the liquids from which it crystallizes but also by the total pressure and by the aH2O, with early phlogopite forming under a narrow range of aH2O, less than that represented by H2O-saturated conditions. Variations in fO2 do not appreciably affect phlogopite crystallization but high aCO2 suppresses its crystallization. In ultrapotassic magmas, phlogopite will preferentially incorporate K2O, TiO2, MgO, and Al2O3 relative to the coexisting early silicate minerals, olivine and clinopyroxene, and thus, on fractionation of these minerals, phlogopite will be more effective in reducing these oxides in residual liquids. Phenocrysts and microphenocrysts of phlogopite in ultrapotassic lavas are directly related with respect to their K/Ti, K/Al, K/(K + Na), and Mg/(Mg + Fe) ratios. Textural relations suggest phlogopite may form by reaction relationships involving liquid with olivine, and/or clinopyroxene. Such relationships are supported by the experimental studies on ultrapotassic rock compositions.

Mineralogical Magazine; March 1983 v. 47; no. 342; p. 11-19; DOI: 10.1180/minmag.1983.047.342.02
© 1983, The Mineralogical Society
Mineralogical Society (www.minersoc.org)