Date of Graduation

Summer 2024

Degree

Master of Science, Geology

Department

Earth, Environment and Sustainability

Committee Chair

Gary Michelfelder

Abstract

The Mogollon-Datil volcanic field which is located in southwestern New Mexico, is the result of punctuated volcanism and the transition between arc and rift magmatism. The resurgent domes within the 28 Ma Bursum caldera records the transition from rhyolitic to basaltic andesite volcanism that occurred between 27-26 Ma. Using a combination of new zircon U-Pb ages using chemical abrasion isotope dilution thermal ionization mass spectrometry (CA-ID-TIMS) with zircon U-Pb geochronology and trace element contents by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) and whole rock and mineral trace element contents and isotope geochemistry this study investigates the temporal and spatial relationship of the resurgent domes of the Bursum caldera. This study found that the Bloodgood Canyon Tuff (BCT), the caldera forming eruption, the Apache Spring Tuff (AST), the intra caldera fill, and the Fanney Rhyolite (FR), the main unit of the resurgent domes share crystallization ages of ~28.4 Ma show a continuous crystallization sequence from the same source reservoir. However, the whole rock geochemistry and stratigraphic analysis indicates that the AST erupted before the FR, where the source became more compositionally zoned over time, creating two end members of FR. Additionally, the Deadwood Gulch member of FR and the Rhyolite of Hay Canyon have ages significantly younger than the BCT, AST, and FR, and are sourced from a different reservoir. Geochemical analyses also suggest that the Deadwood Gulch member of the FR is made up of two distinct end members. A mixing model determined from Sr isotopes show the possible transition from ignimbrite eruptions to basaltic andesite eruptions, due to the continued injection of basalt into the source magma.

Keywords

zircon, geochronology, geochemistry, MDVF, New Mexico

Subject Categories

Geochemistry | Geology | Volcanology

Available for download on Wednesday, August 13, 2025

Open Access

Share

COinS