Geochemistry, petrogenesis, and tectonic setting of the Los Tuxtlas Volcanic Field, Mexico

Abstract

We present new major and trace element geochemical data, including the rare‐earth elements (REE), platinum group elements and Au, and combine them with the published information to constrain the highly debated origin of magmas in the Los Tuxtlas Volcanic Field (LTVF) of the Late Miocene to historic age. The LTVF magmas originated in the garnet‐bearing mantle as confirmed from the partial melting models of the REE. The mantle‐derived magmas may have subsequently undergone fractional crystallization of mainly olivine. The controversial tectonic setting of the LTVF was solved by log‐ratio transformed major as well as combined major and trace element data as a continental strike‐slip fault setting during the Miocene–Pliocene. During the Pleistocene to Holocene, the more numerous samples having only major elements alone indicated the continental strike‐slip fault setting, whereas the lesser number of samples having combined major and trace elements were more consistent with the continental extension. Importantly, no geochemical evidence for the involvement of the subducting slab in the magma genesis of the LTVF could be inferred. The inferences presented in this work were consistent with the entirety of geological, geochemical, and geophysical evidence. The multidimensional models also showed that the monogenetic volcanic field of the Xalapa region of the easternmost part of the Mexican Volcanic Belt represents a continental extension setting.

The triple junction of the North America, Cocos, and Caribbean plates. What we know, what we don’t

“…Los Tuxtlas volcanic field (e.g., Robin and Tournon, 1978;Nelson et al, 1995;Ferrari et al, 2005) is the easternmost area of the TMVB. It differs from the rest of the volcanic arc in that it is an alkaline mafic volcanic field (Nelson et al, 1995, Verma et al, 2020, as opposed to the andesitic-dacitic TMVB.…”

“…The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB) extends for about 1000 to 1200 km, in an E-W orientation, overlying the subducted Rivera and Cocos plates (Figure 1). It is a volcanic belt of predominantly andesitic and dacitic rocks, spanning from middle Miocene to Holocene (Mooser, 1972;Nixon, 1982;Urrutia-Fucugauchi and Böhnel, 1988;Ferrari et al, 2012, Verma et al, 2020. Los Tuxtlas volcanic field (e.g., Robin and Tournon, 1978;Nelson et al, 1995;Ferrari et al, 2005) is the easternmost area of the TMVB.…”

Microtextures and trapped diatoms on quartz grain surfaces in the Acapulco Beach, Mexican Pacific: An insight into palaeoenvironment

“…(3) sedimentary rocks of Mesozoic to Tertiary ages; and (4) Quaternary alluvium. Sediments in the Acapulo beach are supposed to derive from the Guerrero terrane (Verma et al, 2017(Verma et al, , 2020. The Guerrero terrane is associated with Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous igneous and sedimentary rocks considered to be developed in an intra-oceanic setting (Ortega-Gutiérrez, et al, 2004).…”

Comment on: “Microtexture and U–Pb geochronology of detrital zircon grains in the Chachalacas beach, Veracruz State, Gulf of Mexico” by Armstrong‐Altrin, J. S., Ramos‐Vázquez, M. A., Hermenegildo‐Ruiz, N. Y., and Madhavaraju, J. (2020). Geological Journal

“…However, these localities only represent the southern part of the EAP. On the other hand, some authors consider that Los Tuxtlas and the Tlanchinol-Tantima-Alamo Fields are rather part of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB; Nelson & González-Caver, 1992;Orozco-Esquivel, Petrone, Ferrari, Tagami, & Manetti, 2007;Verma, 2006;Verma, L opez-Loera, Subramanyam, & Manikyamba, 2020).…”