Crystallization and Emplacement of the Monte Amarelo Dikes: Magma Storage Assessment on Fogo, Cape Verde Islands

Abstract: The volcanic island of Fogo belongs to the Cape Verde archipelago, a two-tiered chain of islands situated 500 km west of the African coast. Fogo is regarded as one of the most active volcanoes in the world with 10 eruptions during the last 250 years. The former shield volcano Monte Amarelo reached 3500 m.a.s.l. before it collapsed into the Atlantic Ocean. The massive landslide event occurred between 124 and 86 ka, forming the Bordeira cliffs and the high plateau Cha das Caldeiras on Fogo. We have collected rock samples from the Bordeira dikes, which intruded into the Bordeira wall prior to collapse. The purpose of the project is to produce a magmatic storage model for Fogo using mineral chemistry and thermobarometric methods. Additionally, I aim to determine the processes prevailing in the magmatic system, the link between the volcanic and plutonic system. Previous studies on the magma storage beneath Fogo have focused on the volcanics, which show crystallization pressures between 0.45 to 0.68 GPa using clinopyroxene-melt thermobarometry on rims. The Bordeira dikes are basanitic to nephelinitic in composition. The mineral assemblage of the 20 dike samples consist of phenocrystic clinopyroxene ± olivine ± plagioclase ± xenocrystic amphibole. Accessory minerals are titanomagnetite, apatite, nepheline, plagioclase and alkali feldspar in a microcrystalline groundmass. Clinopyroxene displays a large compositional variation, ranging from Mg#38 to Mg#85, with a mean of Mg#71±10 2s.d. (n=614). Xenocrystic amphibole varies from Mg#37 to Mg#72, with a mean of Mg#62±15 2s.d. (n=78). Interstitial feldspar forms two groups, one of An#24 to An#79, with a mean of An#66±19 2s.d., (n=125) and a second with Or#19 to 100 with a mean of Or#69±42 2s.d.(n=71). Bulk geochemistry of the 20 samples range from 1.82 to 11.5 MgO wt%. Our clinopyroxene-melt thermobarometry show crystallization pressures ranging from 0.02 to 0.85 GPa, with a mean of 0.47±0.29 2s.d. (n=502) (Putirka et al. 2003). Structural data from the intrusive dikes in the Bordeira contain three preferred orientations, N-S, NW-SE and E-W (n=371). The main process occurring in the magmatic system is fractional crystallization, however there is some evidence for phenocryst accumulation and magma recharge. Our magma storage model show that clinopyroxene crystallization initiates in the lithospheric mantle, between 15 to 28 km depth. Significant clinopyroxene rim and microcryst crystallization occur above Moho, between 9 to 12 km, implying that magma storage levels do exist in the oceanic crust. The intrusive and extrusive rocks present on Fogo show common storage levels, suggesting that they are formed in the same system but the difference being their residence time in the crustal level storage. Our structural data and 3D model suggest that the Monte Amarelo rift zone was composed of three components, being oriented NW-SE, N-NE and E-W. The flank collapse was caused by dike intrusions of N-S orientation which enabled a E-W extension of the shield volcano.