Rapid cooling and cold storage in a silicic magma reservoir recorded in individual crystals

Rubin, A.E., Cooper, K.M., Till, C.B., Kent, A.J., Costa, F., Bose, M., Gravley, D., Deering, C. and Cole, J., 2017, Rapid cooling and cold storage in a silicic magma reservoir recorded in individual crystals: Science, v. 356, p.1154-1156. DOI: 10.1126/science.aam8720

U-Th and trace element concentrations in zircon were investigated from the Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand, to determine the thermal history zircon crystallization. The authors found that zircons resided in the magmatic system for 1,000- 100,000 years, however they experienced magmatic temperatures of >650-750 C for only years to centuries. The results of this study indicate magma reservoirs likely exist in a “cold,” near-solidus state for most of their lifetimes, punctuated by periods of rapid heating and remobilization prior to eruptions.