A mantle origin for Pliocene SiO₂-rich ignimbrites in the modern Colombian magmatic arc

The generation of voluminous SiO₂-rich magmas has been extensively investigated due to their petrologic implications and because they pose a significant natural hazard. Two main petrogenetic models have been proposed to explain these volcanic products: partial melting of the continental crust and fractional crystallization and assimilation of mantle-derived magmas. In the central segment of the modern Colombian magmatic arc, the northernmost Andean magmatic arc, the eruption of voluminous rhyolitic pyroclastic rocks occurred at 2.6 Ma, covering an area of ∼3000 km². This contribution presents Hf-Nd-Sr-Pb whole-rock isotopes, zircon U[sbnd]Pb geochronology, and major/trace-element data from Pliocene rhyolitic ignimbrites and Quaternary andesitic lava flows from the modern Colombian magmatic arc to understand the mechanisms responsible for the formation of high-silica magmas. The whole-rock and zircon geochemistry and Nd-Sr-Pb-Hf isotopic signatures indicate that this high-silica magmatism is mantle-derived and underwent extensive crystal fractionation and limited assimilation of the continental crust. Extreme magma fractionation at low temperatures and crustal thicknesses above 45 km could have favored the production of cumulates and fast (< 5 Ma) crustal thickening. These results highlight the major role of the mantle in generating high-silica magmatism and the associated crustal thickening, a process that has been poorly understood in the Northern Andes.