EPSL

ELSEVIER Earth and Planetary Science Letters 144 ( 1996) 547-561

Rb-Sr ages and Nd isotopic compositions of melt inclusions from

the Bishop Tuff and the generation of silicic magma
John N. Christensen *, Alex N. Halliday ’
Deparrmenr of Geological Sciences, Unirersin; of Michigan, 2534 C.C. Little Building, Ann Arbor. MI 48109.1063, USA

Received 22 February 1996; revised 4 September 1996; accepted 13 September 1996

Abstract

Rb-Sr ages of melt inclusions in quartz have the potential to provide a unique and illuminating record of the
differentiation and accumulation history of silicic magmas. Here we report the first Sr and Nd isotopic measurements of melt
inclusion bearing quartz (MIBQ), extracted from the Bishop Tuff (BT), representing what is arguably the world’s most
controversial yet classic zoned silicic magmatic system. Early erupted BT airfall pumice, representing material from the top
of the magma chamber, yields individual quartz crystals with Rb/Sr > 70 and variable apparent differentiation ages of
1,420 f 80 ka, 2,100 f 100 ka, 2,150 f 150 ka and 2,500) 200 ka. A bulk quartz separate has an apparent age of
1,900 f 300 ka, while a quartz separate from an individual airfall pumice has an apparent age of 1,330 f 80 ka. These ages
are similar to the Rb-Sr differentiation ages (2,047-1,894 ka) and k-Ar eruption ages (2,100-1,300 ka) of the adjacent
early pre-caldera rhyolites at Glass Mountain (GM), indicating that the upper portions of the BT magma chamber included
components that episodically differentiated over the same time interval as early Glass Mountain volcanism. However, at this
stage the magmatic systems were separate, as indicated by lNd of - 1 for airfall melt inclusions, similar to the BT and late
GM rhyolites, compared to lNd of - 3 for early GM rhyolites. In contrast to BT airfall, melt inclusions from intermediate
and later erupted BT ignimbrite pumice, from deeper levels of the magma chamber, give younger apparent differentiation
ages: 1,040 f 140 ka (late erupted), 1,180 +_80 ka (intermediate erupted clast l), and 1,060 * 110 ka, 1080 f 110 ka
(intermediate erupted clast 2, two quartz size fractions). These ages are indistinguishable from the Rb-Sr differentiation age
of the late pre-caldera GM rhyolites, 1,140 f 80 ka. The eNd of intermediate and late erupted melt inclusions is - 1, the
same as BT airfall melt inclusions.
These data are consistent with an early episodic development of the evolved upper portions of the BT magma chamber.
However, we find no evidence that most of the differentiation took place at around 2 Ma, as recently suggested on the basis
of 40Ar-39Ar dating. Most of the Bishop Tuff magma, particularly the later erupted portions, differentiated in major events at
around 1.0-1.2 Ma. Early differentiated melts repeatedly accumulated in the upper portions of the chamber concomitantly
with differentiation, accumulation and eruption in the nearby Glass Mountain magma reservoir, which possibly represented a
separate cupola to a larger complex system. By _ 1.2 Ma the Bishop Tuff magmatic system expanded to include the Glass
Mountain region. We find no evidence for differentiation younger than _ 1.0 Ma in any samples from the Bishop Tuff (or

* Corresponding author. Tel.: + 1 313 763 4767. E-mail: jnchris@umich.edu

’ Tel.: + 1 313 764 1482. E-mail: anh@umich.edu

0012-821X/96/$12.00 Copyright 0 1996 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

PII SOO12-821X(96)001 81-1
548 J.N. Christensen, A.N. Hallida!,/ Earth and Planetav Science Letters 144 C1996) 547-561
Glass Mountain), confirming the view that over the > 300,000 years that elapsed before eruption of the Bishop Tuff, the
stratified magmatic system remained largely stable.
Keswords: Rb-Sr; Nd/Nd; Bishop Tuff: magmatic differentiation;
1. Introduction
The chemical compositions of large (> 10’ km3)
high silica rhyolitic ignimbrites commonly change
during the course of eruption, a feature thought to
reflect eruption from a vertically zoned or layered
volume of magma. The processes responsible for the
generation of such large volumes of chemically zoned
magma have been fiercely debated [l-4]. Two end-
member models can be considered. In the first, shal-
low level silicic magma chambers develop and per-
sist over a considerable period of time (> 10’ yr),
during which time differentiation and episodic erup-
tion can occur [5-71. In the second, such magma
chambers are transient phenomena in which magma
rapidly differentiates then freezes or erupts on a
much shorter time scale (< 10’ yr). In this case
episodic volcanism is merely the product of multiple
pulses of magma rising from the deep crust in sepa-
rate melting events [S]. Knowledge of the timescales
over which these magmas are produced and stored is
therefore critical to understanding the processes gov-
erning their origin, but has also been contentious
[5--7,9-l 11. Most of the recent debate over the ori-
gins of high silica rhyolite has focused on the Long
Valley magmatic system in eastern California, which
produced one large pyroclastic eruption, the Bishop
Tuff [ 1,2], at 760 ka [4,27,28]. Prior to this time
there were eruptions of small volumes of highly
evolved rhyolite over a period of about 1.4 Myr
[ 12,131. These are now exposed at Glass Mountain
on the northeast side of the caldera wall. The Bishop
Tuff (BT), then, provides a snapshot of the contents
of the Long Valley magma chamber at a particular
point in time, whereas the lavas forming Glass
Mountain (GM) appear to provide samples of evolved
portions of the magma system prior to the eruption
of the BT.
Unique insights into the differentiation history of
this system are afforded by the unusually high Rb/Sr
ratios (in some cases > 3,000) of these rhyolites.
Over very short timescales (IO3 yr), measurable
differences in s7Sr/ 86Sr can develop between differ-
absolute age
entiated magma batches or between melt and phe-
nocrysts. As a result of such studies it was concluded
that highly evolved silicic magma was produced in
short-lived (lo4 yr) pulses [25] but that large vol-
umes of this fractionated magma resided in the upper
crust for as much as 300 kyr before eruption, during
which time there was little crystal growth [5-71.
Although such conclusions have been debated
[9-l I], recent melt inclusion data have been used to
argue for even longer residence times for Bishop
Tuff magma [14]. Quartz phenocrysts in the BT
commonly contain inclusions of glass, representing
melt trapped during crystal growth. These inclusions
have been extensively studied for their major and
trace element composition as well as volatile content
[15-IS]. Melt inclusion bearing quartz (MIBQ) from
the Bishop Tuff yields “‘Ar- 39Ar ages of 1.96 -t 0.06
(1 cr) Ma from airfall pumice, and 2.3 f 0.4 (1 a)
Ma from early ignimbrite pumice [14]. These ages
are similar to the Rb-Sr differentiation ages of the
earliest Glass Mountain rhyolites, previously thought
to be part of an earlier magma system [5,7]. It has
now been suggested [14] that they are part of the
Bishop Tuff magma that resided as evolved melt in
the upper crust for > 1.1 Myr.
In this paper we present Sr and Nd isotopic data
for glass inclusions in Bishop Tuff quartz in order to
elucidate accurately their origin, test these hypothe-
ses, and clarify how such evolved roof zones of
silicic magmas differentiate. Early Long Valley sili-
tic magmas have such high Rb/Sr that the Rb-Sr
model age of trapped melt should be totally domi-
nated by the age of the differentiation that produced
the elevated Rb/Sr ratio. Only if that differentiation
occurred close in time to the growth of all the quartz,
would this age also represent the age of the quartz.
We assume that quartz contributes little to the total
Sr and Nd of the MIBQ samples and that our analy-
ses represent essentially the melt inclusions. Diffu-
sion of Sr in quartz appears to be sufficiently slow
that, subsequent to trapping, the included melts are
protected against potential pre- and post-eruption
contamination or re-equilibration. This has been
 J.N. Christensen. A.N. Hallida?/ Earth and Planetam Science Letters 144 (1996) 547-561 549

tested using Sr in biotite inclusions in quartz [5]. Fe-Ti oxide temperature, “C

Measurements of the Nd isotopic compositions of 700 720 740 760 780 8
I. I. I. I. 1.
the melt inclusion bearing quartz are invaluable for e Pyroxene bearing+
LVlsll
testing whether they were indeed co-genetic with the Airfall ..-I..

early GM rhyolites, since these have compositions

which are distinct from those of the BT and late GM
rhyolites [5.7,19].
Gorges
6
Early 'amm
San Joaquin k
2. Background geology and sampling

Volcanism in the immediate Long Valley region
extends back to 4 Ma [20],[21]. Between 4.0 and 3.5
Ma, basaltic flows were erupted which are composi-
tionally and isotopically very similar to much younger
(60 ka) flows erupted within the post-Bishop Tuff
caldera. The early basaltic activity was followed by
the building of dacite/quartz latite domes between
3.0 and 2.7 Ma. The earliest volcanism which may
be directly associated with the Bishop Tuff produced
the rhyolites of Glass Mountain [ 12,131. These rhyo-
lites were erupted between 2.1 and 0.8 Ma and can
be divided, on the basis of chemical and isotopic
composition and time of eruption, into early (2.1- 1.3
Ma) and late (1.2-0.8 Ma) suites. The two suites can
also be distinguished on the basis of their age of
differentiation, which in some cases was 2 lo5 yr
before eruption [5,7]. The Bishop Tuff consists of
1750 km3 [22] of high silica (75 wt%) rhyolite
erupted to form a series of airfall tuffs and large
ignimbrite outflow sheets, leading to caldera collapse
[2]. The ignimbrite flows can be divided into early,
intermediate and late Bishop Tuff (BT), representing
approximately an inverted stratigraphy of the magma
chamber [2]. Early ignimbrite flows are underlain
and intercalated with a co-erupted Plinian airfall
pumice sequence [23].
Samples discussed in this paper are from: early
erupted BT: airfall, Gorges Lobe, and San Joaquin
Lobe (lower cooling unit); intermediate erupted BT:
Tableland Lobe; and late erupted BT: Adobe Lobe
and Mono Lobe (Fig. 1, locations in Appendix A).
MIBQ was separated from pumice samples repre-
senting early erupted Plinian airfall (LV/8/ l), inter-
mediate erupted ignimbrite (pyroxene free, Tableland
Lobe) 0.5 m above airfall (BT-38) and from late
erupted ignimbrite (pyroxene bearing) of the Adobe
Lobe (BT-20). Quartz was separated from both indi-
Tableland
l-
BT-38
Adobe
r I$mic
Mono
c
Early Late
Fig. 1. Schematic representation of the eruption sequence of the
Bishop Tuff based on apparent Fe-Ti oxide temperature. figure
modified from [2] to show sample positions in the eruptive
sequence. The position of sample BT-20 within the Adohe Lobe
stratigraphy is uncertain. Dashed line for airfall represents the
results of recent stratigraphic observations, indicating that eruption
of Plinian airfall was synchronous and continuous with interca-
lated early ignimbrite flows [23].
vidual pumice clasts and from multiple-pumice sam-
ples. For the airfall sample (LV/g/l), quartz sepa-
rates from multiple pumice clasts as well from a
single clast were analyzed. In addition, four individ-
ual inclusion-bearing quartz grains (Qtz A, Qtz B,
Qtz C and Qtz D) were selected from the multiple-
clast quartz separate for individual analysis. These
quartz phenocrysts contained large (- 200 Frn di-
ameter) glass inclusions. The quartz separates from
the intermediate ignimbrite sample (BT-38) are from
a multiple pumice clast sample, and two discrete
pumice clasts (clast 1 and clast 2). The quartz sepa-
rate from pumice clast 2 was divided into two size
fractions (1.4- 1.7 mm and 0.85- 1.40 mm) for anal-
ysis. For the late ignimbrite sample (BT-20), a quartz
separate from a multiple pumice clast sample was
analyzed. Individual, large (3-4 mm) crystals of
sanidine and plagioclase were also analyzed from
samples BT-38 pumice clast 2 and LV/8/ 1 pumice
clast 1.
Quartz phenocrysts from the samples are bi-
pyramidal in form and range in size from about 0.5
550 J.N. Christensen, A.N. Halliday/ Earth and Planetary Science Letters I44 (1996) 547-561
mm to 3 mm in greatest dimension. Crystal edges are
generally sharp. Melt inclusions in quartz from the
airfall pumice (LV/8/1) are clear and colorless,
showing no sign of devitrification. Most inclusions
are rounded, or roughly cylindrical, and up to 200
pm in size. Quartz from the intermediate ignimbrite
sample (BT-38) contains melt inclusions that are
variably devitrified. Small inclusions show no sign
of devitrification, while larger inclusions can be a
pale green color, indicating nascent devitrification.
Inclusions that were open to the outside of the
crystal or were ruptured on eruption are brown in
color. Melt inclusions in quartz from the late erupted
ignimbrite sample (BT-20) are smaller, commonly
have negative crystal shape and are white, indicating
significant devitrification.
3. Techniques
Quartz phenocrysts with glass inclusions were
hand picked from crushed and sieved pumice clasts.
Care was taken to avoid quartz phenocrysts with
glass inclusions exposed by fractures or glass inclu-
sions connected to the exterior of the crystal (hour
glass inclusions [24]). After ultrasonic cleaning in
de-ionized water, the quartz separates were weighed
and leached in a HF-HCl mixture to remove glass
adhering to the outside of the crystals. The leached
quartz separates were rinsed, dried and a final pick
was made and between 80 and 400 mg of glass
inclusion bearing quartz was dissolved for each bulk
sample. For dissolution, 2 ml HF/lOO mg quartz
was used. In addition, for the airfall multiple pumice
sample, four quartz crystals bearing large melt inclu-
sions were selected from the bulk separate for indi-
vidual analysis. These crystals were dissolved in 200
~1 each of HF and HNO,. The samples were dried
down, redissolved in 30% HNO,, dried down, and
taken up again in 2.5 N HCI.
To determine sample 87Rb/ “Sr, 5- 10% aliquots
of the sample solutions were split then spiked with a
mixed 87Rb-s4Sr spike. Due to their small sample
size, the four individual quartz grains were totally
spiked. Sr was separated from the spiked sample
splits and the unspiked portions for Sr isotopic anal-
ysis using Sr-spec (Eichrom 1nd.s Inc.) resin. Total
chemistry blanks for the bulk quartz samples were
approximately 50 pg Sr and 10 pg Rb, representing
I 1% of those samples. No blank corrections were
made to the bulk quartz analyses. The total chemistry
blank for the individual quartz phenocryst analyses
was 15 pg Sr with a measured s7Sr/ 86Sr of 0.7062
f 2. Because of their small size, blank corrections to
the analyses of the individual quartz phenocrysts
were made using this blank composition. The uncer-
tainty in this correction is included in the uncertain-
ties reported for the measured s7Sr/ “Sr of these
samples. For three of the samples, REEs were sepa-
rated from the unspiked portions using TRU-spec
resin before separation of Sr. This REE cut was
passed through a column containing H-DEHP coated
PTFE beads to isolate Nd for isotopic analysis.
Sr was loaded on Re filaments with a TaCl solu-
tion, Rb was loaded onto the side filament of a Ta
triple filament assembly, and Nd was loaded on a Ta
side filament with a Re center filament. Sr and Nd
isotopic compositions were measured on a VG Sec-
tor mass spectrometer equipped with seven Faraday
detectors and using multidynamic data acquisition.
The Sr isotopic compositions of the individual MIBQ
phenocrysts were measured using static multiple col-
lection. Sr and Rb isotope dilution data were also
collected using static multiple collection. During the
course of the analyses, the average measured
s7Sr/86Sr for NIST SRM 987 was 0.710245 fr: 16
for multidynamic analysis and 0.710252 + 34 (2 u,
n = 8) for static analysis. The average 143Nd/ ‘44Nd
for the LaJolla Nd standard was 0.5 11859 + 6 (2 cr,
n = 3). Isochrons were fitted using ISOPLOT [16].
4. Results
4.1. Melt inclusion ages
The age of differentiation of the melt trapped as
inclusions in the quartz can be estimated assuming
an initial 87Sr/ 86Sr of 0.7060 & 1 for the Bishop
Tuff (BT) magma based on analysis of low Rb/Sr
feldspar from late BT fiamme [6,19]. This is within
the uncertainties of the initial 87Sr/ 86Sr of isochrons
for early Glass Mountain rhyolites (0.7063 + 2,
0.7062 f 2 [7]) and late Glass Mountain rhyolites
(0.7061 * 3 [S]). The uncertainties in the calculated
model ages include the uncertainty in the assumed
 J.N. Chrisiensen. A.N. Hallida?/ Earth and Planetav Science Letters 144 (19%) 547-561 551

initial *‘Sr/ “Sr and the uncertainties in the mea-
sured “Sr/ 86Sr and “Rb/*‘Sr (* 1%). All age
uncertainties are stated at the 2a level.
The bulk MIBQ separate from the multiple pumice
airfall (LV/8/1) sample yields a model age of
1,900 +_300 ka (Table 1). The four individual MIBQ
crystals reserved from this population have model
ages of 2,100 + 100 ka, 2,150 + 150 ka, 2,500 ? 200
ka and 1,420 + 80 ka, with a weighted average of
2,000 + 700 ka, indistinguishable from the apparent
age of the bulk MIBQ separate of the multiple
pumice clast sample (Table 1). The variation in
apparent age of the individual crystals indicates that
the bulk quartz separate derived from multiple airfall
pumice clasts consisted of a mixed population of
crystals. A single airfall pumice clast yielded a bulk
MIBQ separate with a model age of 1,330 _t 80 ka,
supporting the conclusion that, for the airfall, there
may be clast to clast variation in melt inclusion age.
This age is within error of the model age, 1,420 _t 80
ka, of one of the individual MIBQ crystals.
In contrast to the MIBQ separates from the airfall
sample, samples of intermediate and late erupted
ignimbrite yield MIBQ with younger model ages
(Table 1). Again, model ages are calculated assum-
ing an initial 87Sr/ “Sr of 0.7060 -+ 1. The bulk
MIBQ separate from the late ignimbrite pumice sam-
ple (BT-20) has a model age of 1.040 + 140 ka.
MIBQ separates from individual intermediate ign-
imbrite pumice lumps (BT-38) give similar results.
The bulk MIBQ separate from pumice clast 1 has a
model age of 1,180 + 80 ka. Two size fractions of
MIBQ crystals from pumice clast 2 give identical
model ages (and similar Rb/Sr) of 1,080 + 110 ka
(1.4-1.7 mm) and 1,060 & 110 ka (0.85-1.4 mm).
On a Rb-Sr isotopic diagram (Fig. 2a). three of
the MIBQ samples (BT-20, BT-38 pumice clast 2
MIBQ separates) define a linear array indicating an
age of 1,140 ka. These samples fall along the same
line defined by late BT fiamme (Mono Lobe) glass
and feldspar (BT-27 and BT-22, data from [6]).
Together they form an isochron indicating an age of
1,100 k 30 ka (MSWD = 0.86) and an initial
“Sr/ 86Sr of 0.70594 _t 5 (Fig. 2a). The MIBQ sam-
ple from pumice clast 1 of BT-38 falls outside the
error envelope of this isochron. Instead, it falls on
the isochron defined by late GM rhyolites which
gives an age of 1,140 k 80 ka and a initial *‘Sr/ 86Sr
of 0.7061 + 3 [5].
None of the individual MIBQ crystals from the
airfall sample (LV/8/1) plot near a late GM
isochron nor near the ignimbrite isochron (Fig. 2b).
However, two of the four individual MIBQ analyses
(Qtz A 2,100 ka and Qtz C 2.150 ka) fall near the
isochron for early GM inner lavas (2,047 _t 13 ka).
Analyses of bulk airfall glass and sanidine (sample

Table I
Rb-Sr isotopic data
Sample Rb L Sr L: R7Rb/ 86Sr s7Sr/shSr Apparent age
(ppm) (PPm) (f2u) (Ma k2a)
LV/8/ 1 MIBQ multi-clast _ 32.62 0.706857 f 17 1.9 f 0.3
LV/8/ 1 qtz A 256.9 0.71354 + 33 2.07 f 0.10
LV/8,‘1 qtz B 214.1 0.71356 f 32 2.5 + 0.2
LV/8/1 qtz C 280.0 0.71453 + 34 2.15 + 0.15
LV/S/ I qtz D 298.3 0.7 1199 + 29 I .42 f 0.08
LV/8/1 I MIBQ single clast _ 211.7 0.709992 & 85 I .33 & 0.08
LV/S/ 1 1 plagioclase A 2.432 22.42 0.3140 0.706398 + 20 1.20+ 0.05
LV/8/ 1 1 plagioclase B 2.402 28.79 0.24 I5 0.706334 +_ 10 1.22 & 0.04
BT-38- I MIBQ clast 1 143.2 0.708405 + 52 1.18 kO.08
BT-38-2A MIBQ d clast 2 134.7 0.708069 f 91 1.08 f 0. I I
BT-38-2B MIBQ e clast 2 129.5 0.707955 + 82 1.06 + 0.1 I
BT-38-2 sanidine clast 2 109.7 24.44 12.99 0.706564 k 20 0.87 + 0.08 ‘, 0.84 & 0.07 b
BT-38-2 plagioclase clast 2 2.926 36.98 0.2290 0.706342 f 11 0.90 f 0.06 d. 0.88 + 0.06 b
BT-20 MIBQ 89.16 0.707318 * 64 1.04&0.14

’ Age calculated using data for BT-38-2A MIBQ. b Age calculated using data for BT-38.2B MIBQ. ’ No absolute concentrations are
reported for MIBQ because the weights of analyzed inclusions are uncertain. d 1.4-1.7 mm size fraction. ’ 0.85-1.4 mm size fraction.
552 J.N. Christensen, A.N. Halliday/Earth and Planetary Science Letters 144 (19961 547-561

4.2. Average ages of feldspar crystallization

The Rb-Sr isotopic data (Table 1) for feldspar

and coexisting glass can be used to calculate appar-
ent ages of feldspar growth (e.g. [7,26]). For the
individual pumice BT-38-2 (intermediate ignimbrite)
there are two bulk MIBQ analyses to use as repre-
sentative of the melt from which the feldspars crys-
tallized. For the sanidine crystal this yields apparent
ages of 870 + 80 ka (qtz separate A) and 840 + 70
ka (qtz separate B) and for the plagioclase yields
ages of 900 k 60 ka (qtz separate A) and 880 * 60
0.705 ka (qtz separate B). The uncertainties for the ages
0 100 200
were calculated from the uncertainties of both the
S’RbPSr
feldspar and the MIBQ analyses. The apparent age of
sanidine growth for BT-38-2 is indistinguishable from
the average time of growth of sanidine from early
BT fiamme (820 _+ 30 ka and 810 f 50 ka, BT-29
and BT-39 [26]) and from the apparent age of bulk
sanidine from a late GM inner lava (810 + 20 ka,
calculated from data for sample YG of [5], cf. Fig.
5). The difference in relative time between the aver-
age growth of the BT-38-2 plagioclase and sanidine
is 35 _+ 10 kyr (Fig. 3a). In this case the uncertainty
is based on those of the feldspar analyses alone [7].
The average ages of BT-38-2 sanidine and plagio-
clase growth are resolvable from both the eruption
I
100 200 300 age of the BT (760 + 1 ka [4,19,20]) and the BT
87Rb86Sr ignimbrite MIBQ/late fiamme isochron age (1,100
Fig. 2. Rb-Sr isotopic diagrams for MIBQ. data from Table I. (a) f 30 ka). With Sr diffusivities in the range of
MIBQ from bulk airfall pumice (0 ), bulk MIBQ from ignimbrite 10~‘7-10-‘x cm’/sec [29-321, the age of the
pumice ( n ), and late Bishop Tuff feldspar and glass [6] (grey feldspar crystals on eruption (90 and 125 kyr) may
squares). Isochrons for early Glass Mountain inner and outer lavas represent 85- > 90% of their true ages [6,7]. The two
[7] and for late Glass Mountain outer lavas [5] are shown for
plagioclase crystals from LV/8/1 pumice clast 1
reference. MIBQ from Adobe lobe (BT-20) pumice, and Table-
land Lobe (BT-38) clast 2 form an isochron with late erupted have identical apparent ages of 1,200 & 50 ka and
Bishop Tuff fiamme glass and feldspar, indicating an age of 1,220 _+40 ka. For this airfall sample the age differ-
1.lO+O.O3 Ma. MIBQ from Tableland lobe (BT-38) clast 1 falls ence between the apparent ages of the plagioclase
on the isochron for Late Glass Mountain outer lavas. (b) Composi-
phenocrysts and the MIBQ is 120 f 90 kyr (Fig. 3b).
tions of individual MIBQ crystals A, B, C and D (grey circles)
and bulk MIBQ (0). See text for discussion of MIBQ apparent
Since the analyzed crystals are nearly complete
ages. Isochrons as shown in (a). individual phenocrysts of sanidine and plagioclase,
the apparent ages represent the weighted average age
of crystal growth. How that average is weighted
depends on the history of crystal growth; that is,
whether growth was continuous or discontinuous and
whether it was at a constant rate of change of mass,
BT-6, [6]) also fall along the early GM isochrons area, or radius. Nonetheless, the average age of
within their error envelopes, and yield a feldspar growth for the early and intermediate BT
sanidine/glass apparent age of 1,820 k 50 ka [6,26]. ignimbrite samples suggests that BT magma was in a
 J.N. Christensen, A.N. Hallida!/ Earth and Planetan, Science Letters 144 (1996) 547-561 553

liquid state between 1.1 Ma and eruption at 0.76 Ma

BT-38 pumice clast 2
(cf. [7,9- 111).
0.708 Tableland lobe
It has been shown that phenocrysts in pre-Mazama
rhyodacites were largely derived from admixed crys-
tal mush, perhaps from the chamber margins [38].
There is little or no petrographic evidence in the BT
for such a process. although the latest erupted BT
pumice does contain extremely rare, small crystal
clots. There is geochemical evidence as well against
admixed crystal mush in the BT. The sanidine/glass
0.706
Sr partition coefficient (Ds, = 10.3 [26]) derived from
analyses of bulk sanidine and glass from early erupted
fiamme is in excellent agreement with that derived 0.5 eruption 1 .o 1.5
from ion microprobe analyses of melt inclusions and time, Ma
their sanidine hosts (Dsr = 11 [39]). If random crys-
tals from a mush were admixed into the magma, it
\
would not be expected that the results of bulk and LV/S/l Pumice Clast 1
0.710 Plinian airfall
micoprobe techniques would be in such agreement;
especially considering that the concentrations of Sr
in BT feldspar and glass ranges over an order of
magnitude.

4.3. Relationships between the Bishop Tuff and the

Glass Mountain rhyolite magmas

From an 1”‘Ar-“9Ar study of MIBQ from BT
airfall and early ignimbrite, Bogaard and Schirnick
[14] concluded that quartz had resided in the BT
magma for - 1.1 m.y. before eruption and, there-
fore. that the entire BT magma volume had existed
for that period. The Rb-Sr isotopic data reported
here for MIBQ requires some modification of this
conclusion. The 4”Ar-39Ar isochron age for MIBQ
from airfall is 1,930 5 12 (2 a) ka, while that for
MIBQ from early erupted Gorges Lobe ignimbrite is
2,300 + 800 ka [14]. These ages are supported by the
Rb-Sr age of the airfall bulk MIBQ sample, 1,900 +
30 ka, and by two of the individual MIBQ single-
crystal Rb-Sr ages (Qtz A, 2,100 + 100 ka and Qtz
C, 2,150 f 150 ka) (Fig. 4). Total fusion ‘OAr-‘YAr
ages of individual airfall MIBQ crystals range from
1,590 k 400 ka to 2,300 _t 340 ka [14] with a
weighted average of 1,890 5- 60 (2 a) ka. Although
the J”Ar-‘9Ar data yield an isochron with a MSWD
of 2.2, the range of individual 10Ar-3YAr apparent
ages is sufficiently broad that it encompasses the
Rb-Sr ages of individual MIBQ phenocrysts Qtz B
(2,500 + 200 ka), Qtz D (1,420 * 80 ka) and the
0.706 L
0.0 0.5 rrupBo” 1 .o tdiff. I .5 2.0
time, Ma
Fig. 3. Sr evolution diagrams for individual feldspars and inclu-
sion glass (MIBQ) from BT-38 clast 2 (a) and LV/8/1 clast 1
(b). The symbol t dlff stands for the apparent age of the MIBQ for
those samples assuming an initial “Sr/ XhSr of 0.706, shown by
the horizontal black lines. The eruption of the Bishop Tuff was at
0.760 Ma [14,27.28]. In (a) the difference in apparent age between
the sanidine and plagioclase crystals is calculated based on the
uncertainties in the isotopic compositions of the feldspars alone
171.
bulk MIBQ from LV/8/ 1 pumice clast 1 ( 1,330 _+
80 ka). Thus it is possible that there are components
in the early erupted BT both older and younger than
-2Ma.
In contrast to the early erupted BT, the Rb-Sr
data for MIBQ from both intermediate and late
ignimbrite indicate ages around 1,100 ka (Fig. 4).
Clearly, not all melt inclusions in the Bishop Tuff
are N 2,000 ka. Melt inclusions of that age appear to
554 J.N. Christensen, A.N. Halliday/ Earth and Planetaw Science Letters 144 (19%) 547-561
be confined to the early erupted BT. The greater
portion of the BT, represented by the intermediate
and late ignimbrite pumice samples, is characterized
by MIBQ of N 1,100 ka age (340 kyr residence
time).
There is a correspondence between the BT melt
inclusion apparent ages and Rb-Sr isochron ages for
early and late Glass Mountain (GM) rhyolites. Rhyo-
lites of GM were erupted prior to the Bishop Tuff
between 2,100 and 800 ka and can be divided chemi-
cally into an early (eruption ages 2,100-1,300 ka)
and late (eruption ages 1,200-800 ka) series of flows
[ 12,131. The later GM rhyolites are more differenti-
ated than the Bishop Tuff but show a chemical trend
toward early BT compositions [ 12,131 and have Nd
and Pb isotopic compositions indistinguishable from
the BT, suggesting that the BT magma and late GM
rhyolites were tapped from the same magma body
[5]. Rb-Sr isotopic studies have shown [5,7] that GM
lavas erupted at various times fall along distinct
isochrons, indicating ages corresponding to the ages
of the oldest lavas erupted in the early and late
series, respectively. These authors interpret these
isochrons as representing two major episodes (at ca.
2 Ma and ca. 1.1 Ma) of differentiation and produc-
tion of high Rb/Sr rhyolitic magma in the Long
Valley system. Early GM lavas close to the present
caldera rim (inner lavas) define an isochron of 2,047
Fig. 4. A schematic presentation of the Rb-Sr ages of MIBQ. 40Ar-79Ar ages for MIBQ from airfall and the Gorges Lobe ignimbrite from
[4] are represented by grey triangles. Rb-Sr isochron ages (0) for early Glass Mountain and late Glass Mountain rhyolites are from [7] and
[I], respectively. The age of the Bishop Tuff eruption is from [14.27,28].
+ 13 ka (“Sr/ 86Sr initial of 0.7063 k 2) while a set
further from the rim (outer Iavas) define a 1,894 _t 13
ka isochron (“Sr/ “Sr initial of 0.7062 + 2). These
ages correspond with the Rb-Sr model ages of bulk
MIBQ from the airfall (1900 k 300 ka), individual
MIBQ phenocrysts Qtz A and Qtz C (2,100 & 100 ka
and 2,150 + 150 ka).
Late GM lavas can also be geographically divided
into inner and outer lavas. They give younger Rb-Sr
isochron ages of 1,090 f 50 ka (“Sr/ 86Sr initial of
0.7057 + 2) for inner lavas (G.R. Davies and A.N.
Halliday, unpubl. data, [33]) and 1,140 & 80 ka (ini-
tial “Sr/ *‘Sr of 0.7061 + 3) for outer lavas [5].
These ages correspond to the model ages of MIBQ
from the ignimbrite pumice samples thought to rep-
resent a large potion of the BT (BT-20 bulk quartz
1,040 f. 140 ka, BT-38-l bulk quartz 1,180 + 80 ka,
BT-38-2 1,080 f. 110 ka and 1,060 + 110 ka). The
model ages of LV/8/1 pumice clast 1 bulk MIBQ
(1,330 _t 80 ka) and airfall individual MIBQ Qtz D
(1,420 F 80 ka) do not correspond to ages recorded
by Glass Mountain rhyolites, and may represent
pre-late GM magmatic events in the Long Valley
system. The temporal relationships between the BT
and the early and late GM rhyolites are summarized
in Fig. 4.
Some early erupted ignimbrite may be directly
related to magmas erupted as late GM inner rhyo-
Individualmeltindwion bear@
quark grainsfrom&fall
Bulk meltindusion bearing
quark separatesfmm &fall
BulkmeltInelusionbearing
quark separatesfromignimbrik
“Arl’gAr meltinclusion
bearingquark,
Bogaardand Schirnick, 1995
 J.N. Christensen, A.N. Halliday/Earth
I guishable from each other. Taken together, these
100 200 300
8’RbPSr
Fig. 5. Rb-Sr isotopic diagram. Shown are the compositions of
early Bishop Tuff (BT) fiamme (grey squares) glass (g) and
sanidine (s), and of late Glass Mountain inner lava YG (0).
whole rock (ujr). glass (g) and sanidine (3). Isochrons for late
Glass Mountain outer and inner lavas are from [5] and 1331,
respectively. Model whole rock composition for early BT fiamme
(indicated by arrow) falls on the late Glass Mountain outer lavas
isochron. Glass and sanidine from early BT fiamme and late Glass
Mountain lava YG form an isochron indicating an age of 0.820f
0.008 Ma. representing the average age of sanidine growth in
those samples. Data for early Bishop Tuff fiamme from [6] and for
late Glass Mountain inner lava YG from [5.33].
lites. In Fig. 5 Rb-Sr isochrons are plotted for late
GM outer lavas [5] and inner lavas (G.R. Davies and
A.N. Halliday, unpubl. data, [33]) along with the
compositions for glass and sanidine from early BT
fiamme (BT-39 and BT-29 [6,26]) and a late GM
inner lava (YG, G.R. Davies and A.N. Halliday,
unpubl. data. [5,33]). Using the observed modal
abundances and Rb-Sr isotopic compositions of
minerals and glass of early BT fiamme, a whole rock
“Rb/ 86Sr of 214 can be calculated [26] which can
then be used to calculate a model whole rock
“Sr/ 86Sr. This model whole rock Rb-Sr isotopic
composition plots (Fig. 5) on the late GM inner
isochron c8’Sr/ 86Sr intercept = 0.70570 + 16, age
= 1,090 _t 50 ka, G.R. Davies and A.N. Halliday,
unpubl. data, [33]). The “Sr/ 86Sr intercept of this
isochron is resolvably lower than the intercept of the
BT ignimbrite MIBQ/late fiamme isochron by 2.4
_+ I .7 X 1O-‘. Therefore, the early BT fiamme sam-
ples (BT-39 and BT-29) may have a differentiation
age of - 1,100 ka but represent an isotopically
and Planeran Science Letters 144 (19961547-561 555
distinct volume from the stratigraphically higher in-
termediate and late ignimbrite pumice samples (BT-
38-2 and BT-20) discussed above (“Sr/ 86Sr inter-
cept of 0.70594 & 5). Although the relative positions
in the eruptive sequence of the Bogaard and Schir-
nick Gorges sample and the early BT fiamme sam-
ples is uncertain, the transition from - 2 Ma ages to
- 1.1 Ma ages may lie between them.
The Rb-Sr isochron ages of the late GM outer
lavas (1,140 + 80 ka), late Glass Mountain inner
lavas (1.090 f 50 ka) and the BT ignimbrite
MIBQ/late fiamme (1,100 + 30 ka) are indistin-
geochronologic observations provide strong links be-
tween events recorded by GM rhyolites and events
recorded by the magma erupted as the Bishop Tuff
(Fig. 4). In terms of initial “Sr/ 86Sr, however, there
may be a distinction between the magmas erupted as
early BT fiamme/late GM inner lavas and the mag-
mas erupted as the rest of the BT and the late GM
outer lavas.
4.4. Continuous uersus episodic differentiation
A major question that may be addressed by the
isotopic data for GM lavas and the BT is whether the
generation of high Rb/Sr magma is episodic or
continuous. Christensen and DePaolo [6] modeled
the isotopic evolution of a growing magma volume
continuously fed from the time of inception to the
time of eruption by newly differentiated magma with
the same initial “Sr/ 86Sr. They showed that the rate
of increase of “Sr/ *‘Sr in the layer would be l/2
the rate calculated from the “Rb/ 86Sr of the magma
volume. They applied this model to the observed
difference in *‘Sr/ 86Sr on eruption between early
BT fiamme and late BT fiamme and deduced a
timescale of ca. 500 kyr for the development of
layering in the BT magma chamber. Christensen and
DePaolo [6] suggested that this model could also
apply to late Glass Mountain rhyolites.
The Christensen and DePaolo continuous growth
model can be tested using samples from the GM
isochrons with similar Rb/Sr and Sr concentration,
presumably therefore tapping the same volume of
magma. but with different eruption ages (data from
[51, cf. trace and major element data in [13]). Fig. 6
shows the Sr isotopic evolution of pairs of GM lavas
556 J.N. Christensen. A.N. Hallida.v/Earth and Planetary Science Letters 144 11996) 547-561

intercept, indicating an “Rb/ 86Sr of 217, in good

agreement with their actual “Rb/ 86Sr (198 and
197). The eruption 87Sr/86Sr of YA and YE alone,
however, define a line indicating a 87Rb/ 86Sr of
0.72
257 + 25, higher than their “Rb/ *‘Sr. This can be
accounted for if YA was produced - 50 kyr later
than YE, a period of time within the uncertainty of
0.71 the Rb-Sr isochron age of late Glass Mountain outer
lavas. Late GM lavas YK and YO have fairly dissim-
ilar “Rb/ ‘“Sr and so should be considered sepa-
rately. Using the initial ratio of the late GM isochron
. I. I . I. I
0.701.5
I 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 .I 2.0 with their eruption “Sr/ 86Sr, lavas YK (87Rb/ “Sr
Age, Ma = 397) and YO (” Rb/ 86Sr = 437) define evolution
0.7074, . I . I . I I . , lines with slopes corresponding to *‘Rb/ 86Sr of 359
I and 449, respectively, again in good agreement with
their actual R7Rb/86Sr (Fig. 5b). Thus the data are
0.7070 -
consistent with the episodic model of differentiation
and production of the early and late GM lavas within
periods of - 25-50 kyr, as concluded by [5,7].

4.5. Nd isotopic composition of melt inclusions

’ Late Glass Mt. The Nd isotopic compositions of MIBQ also have

0.7062 -
implications for the history and geometry of the
Long Valley magma chamber. The Nd isotopic data
0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2 for bulk MIBQ separates from airfall pumice
Age, Ma
(LV/8/ 1). intermediate ignimbrite pumice (BT-38)
Fig. 6. Sr evolution diagrams for (a) selected early Glass Moun- and late ignimbrite pumice (BT-20) are given in
tain whole rocks and (b) selected late Glass Mountain whole Table 2. For comparison, the Nd isotopic composi-
rocks. Sample s’Sr/ 86Sr at eruption are plotted against eruption
tions of the BT [ 191, and early and late Glass Moun-
age. Numbers in parentheses are sample whole rock 87Rb/ 86Sr.
while numbers next to evolution lines represent their “Rb/ s6 Sr. tain rhyolites [5] are also given. All three bulk MIBQ
Also shown are the initial *‘Sr/ 86Sr plotted against ages which samples have identical ‘43Nd/ ‘44Nd within error,
are interpreted as times of differentiation. Data from 151. corresponding to a weighted average eNd of -0.96
f 0.14.
The Nd isotopic compositions of the bulk MIBQ
with similar Rb/Sr ratios and isochron ages. If the
magma volumes were growing continuously, then
the slopes of evolution lines defined by the sample Table 2
pairs would not correspond to their “Rb/ 86Sr but, Nd isotopic data
instead, to approximately l/2 their “Rb/ 86Sr. In Sample “‘Nd/ 14’Nd ENd
the case of early GM lavas OJ and OK erupted 290 120 +2u
kyr apart [ 121, the slope of the evolution line defined LV/S/ 1 MIBQ 0.5 12588 k 23 - 0.98 f 0.45
by their eruption 87Sr/ R6Sr corresponds to an BT-38 MIBQ 0.512591 f 10 - 0.92 + 0.20
87Rb/ 86Sr of 3230 and agrees well with their actual BT-20 MIBQ 0.5 12586 + I1 - 1.01 kO.22
“Rb/ 86Sr (3211 and 33 15) (Fig. 6a). Similarly Average BT - 1.22f0.16 a
Average early GM -3.21 f0.38 b
(Fig. 6b), for the late GM pair YA and YE, erupted
Average late GM - 0.98 i0.24 h
170 kyr apart [12], fall along an evolution line
passing through the late GM isochron 87Sr/ 86Sr ’ Data from [19]. ’ Data from [5].
 J.N. Christensen, A.N. Halliday/Earth and Planeta? Science Letters 144 (1996) 547-561 557

from the airfall sample (Ed,, = - 1) matches the Nd Future Caldera

isotopic composition of the Bishop Tuff [19] and the
late Glass Mountain Rhyolites [5]. The early GM
rhyolites, which have a differentiation age essentially
identical to the airfall MIBQ, have a distinctly differ-
ent lNd of -3 [5,7]. Since no Glass Mountain
eruptive material has been identified with both the
Nd isotopic composition and differentiation age of
the MIBQ found in the airfall, that magma can not
have been present beneath the site of Glass Mountain
and could not have been parental to the early GM
rhyolites. The isotopic data and geologic relation-
ships, therefore, can give both spatial and temporal
information. Based on lithic fragments found in the
airfall and the earliest ignimbrite units, Hildreth and
Mahood [22] concluded that the initial vent for erup-
tion of the BT was located in the south-central
portion of the present caldera, probably near the
intersection of the Hilton Creek Fault with the caldera
ring fault. This scenario and the isotopic data suggest
that, at about 1900 ka there were two separate bodies
of magma, one erupted to form the early GM rhyo-
lites with eNd of - 3 and the other with eNd = - 1
Fig. 7. Schematic view of the Long Valley area at three different
stored until the eruption of the Bishop Tuff at 760
periods: 1.8-2.0 Ma; 1.1 Ma; and 0.76 Ma. The oval represents
ka. This is illustrated in Fig. 7. the caldera outline, the light grey circle represents the early Glass
Mountain magma body with lNd = - 3. while the patterned circle
4.6. Magma residence times represents the magma erupted as the Bishop Tuff initial airfall
with eNd = - 1. At around 1.l Ma the late Glass Mountain
magmas with eNd = - 1 were differentiated and emplaced, the
From the Rb-Sr isotopic data, the residence time previous early Glass Mountain magmas having been erupted or
for the magma erupted as the early BT is N 1,200 crystallized. At 0.76 Ma the Bishop Tuff erupted with accompany-
kyr, while the residence time of the high Rb/Sr ing caldera collapse. The initial vent for the Bishop Tuff airfall
intermediate BT ignimbrite magma is 340 f 30 kyr was located in the south-central portion of the present caldera,
near the intersection of the Hilton Creek fault with the caldera
(the difference between the eruption age of the BT
ring fault 1221. See text for complete discussion.
760 -t 1 ka and the 1,100 + 30 ka isochron). This
residence time appears to be much longer than the
duration of differentiation; that is, production of high
Rb/Sr magma seems to have been episodic. In order The observation that the average age of feldspar
to remain liquid between 1,100 ka and 760 ka re- growth in early and intermediate erupted BT is N 850
quires an input of heat from below, perhaps from ka, intermediate between the differentiation age, N
subjacent basaltic magma, as has been suggested 1.1 Ma, and eruption at 760 ka, indicates that these
previously [2,5,10,6]. Since differentiation presum- magmas developed their crystal content over that
ably requires some sort of crystal fractionation (e.g. w 300 ka period. In contrast, the 1,820 ka apparent
sidewall crystallization), this implies short episodes age for bulk airfall sanidine suggests that portions of
of cooling, perhaps due to a decrease in the basaltic the early BT may have been thermally rejuvenated
flux to the system. On the basis of Sr isotopic some time prior to eruption (cf. [l 11). Measurement
analyses of the cores and rims of early GM feldspars, of Sr isotopic profiles of BT feldspar phenocrysts are
it has been argued that those magmas remained needed to establish whether or not pre-eruption crys-
relatively crystal poor for timescales of 10’ yr [7]. tal contents varied due to alternating growth and
558 J.N. Christensen. A.N. Hallida_v/ Earth and Planetary Science Letter.9 144 (1996) 547-561
resorption episodes in response to variations in ther-
mal input to the system.
The Rb-Sr isochrons and model ages of MIBQ
apply only to the production of high Rb/Sr liquid in
the BT magma chamber. Because of their low Rb/Sr,
it is less certain how long the less evolved (magma)
portions of the BT existed in the Long Valley magma
chamber. The feldspar/glass ages for late BT fi-
amme (relatively low Rb/Sr) range from 1.400 F
400 ka (sanidine BT-27) to 1,130 f 240 ka (sanidine
BT-22) and 1,150 + 240 ka (plagioclase BT-22) (data
from [6]). These ages are consistent with the average
age of feldspar growth in late BT fiamme magma,
correlating with the differentiation episode that pro-
duced the high Rb/Sr magmas represented by inter-
mediate BT ignimbrite and late Glass Mountain lavas.
4.7. Anomalies in the late erupted Bishop Tuff
Melt inclusions from the late erupted BT have
higher Rb/Sr than glass from late erupted BT (31
(Table 1) vs. 2.2-7.2 [6]), contrary to expectation.
This is consistent with the observation that melt
inclusions from the late erupted BT have trace ele-
ment compositions that are more evolved than the
host glass [34]. Other anomalous features of the late
erupted BT include: sanidine phenocrysts with Sr-
and Ba-rich rims [ 16,341; chemical disequilibrium
between pyroxenes and Fe-Ti oxides [35]; elevated
87Sr/ “Sr of latest erupted (Fig. 1) BT pumiceous
glass (BT-24) [6,26]; and Fe-Ti oxide inclusions in
quartz that are similar to those in early erupted BT
rather than those in the host glass [36]. These fea-
tures have been attributed to the mixing of two
different rhyolitic magmas [36,35.6,26]. However,
the compositional range of late erupted quartz-hosted
melt inclusions is consistent with fractional crystal-
lization, not magma mixing [34]. In addition, from
the observation that, for late erupted quartz with
multiple inclusions, higher concentrations of COZ ,
which are correlated with higher compatible element
concentration, are found in inclusions closer to the
crystal rims, Lu et al. [34] inferred that late-erupted
quartz settled into less differentiated melt during
their growth.
The proportion of the BT that has been effected
by the above processes is unclear. From its Sr iso-
topic composition, the latest erupted BT pumice
glass (BT-24) appears to have been the most affected
by the proposed magma mixing event, with perhaps
as much 30% less differentiated pyroxene-bearing
rhyolite mixed in 16,261. Late and intermediate
erupted melt inclusions do not appear to record this
mixing event [34]. Therefore, the majority of melt
inclusions in quartz formed prior to the putative
mixing event, and so the inferred MIBQ ages would
not be affected. The observation that late erupted
fiamme glass and feldspar lie on an isochron with
late and intermediate erupted MIBQ suggests that
these samples have Sr isotopic compositions little
affected by magma mixing.
4.8. Lack of evidence for assimilation
The agreement between “Ar-“‘Ar and Rb-Sr
techniques for a N 2000 ka BT airfall MIBQ negates
the need for assimilation [26,37] to explain the Sr
isotopic contrast at eruption between the early BT
airfall and the rest of the BT. The magma erupted as
early BT airfall is not necessarily contaminated, it
was simply older at 760 ka than later erupted BT
magma. Other considerations indicate that assimila-
tion was insignificant in the BT magma chamber.
Low Sr concentrations in the GM rhyolites and early
BT suggest assimilation of Sr-rich wall rock could
not have been important [6,19,22,26]. Consideration
of the Sr evolution plots for GM rhyolites (Fig. 4a,b)
also suggests minimal assimilation, a conclusion also
reached by others [5,7] based on the robustness of
the GM Rb-Sr isochrons. Therefore, it appears that
there was no roofward increase in assimilation in the
BT magma chamber, as has been suggested by some
]371.
5. Conclusions
The Sr isotopic data provide evidence that the
Bishop Tuff (BT) consists of several components
with different differentiation ages. The BT airfall has
melt inclusion bearing quartz (MIBQ) with a range
of Rb-Sr ages with an average of N 2000 ka, in
agreement with the ““Ar-39Ar results of Bogaard and
Schimick [ 141. MIBQ from intermediate and late
ignimbrite pumice have Rb-Sr ages of N 1,100 ka,
suggesting that other portions of the BT magma were
 J.N. Christensen. A.N. Halliduy/Eurth
Long Valley Magmatic History
A B
I ?
1.1Ma Late
,,,d&Glass
Mountin
I II
Fig. 8. Schematic cross sections along line A-B in Fig. 7,
showing the magmatic history of the Long Valley magma cham-
ber (cf. [5,14]). The last two panels depict the eruption of the BT,
first from a single vent then from the ring-fracture during caldera
collapse [22]. During the later phase of eruption in response to
caldera collapse, hotter, less evolved magma may have been
forced (shown by arrow in the last panel) from deeper levels and
erupted [22].
differentiated in the same event that produced the
late Glass Mountain (GM) high Rb/Sr rhyolites.
The eNd of MIBQ from air-fall pumice is - 1, in
contrast to early GM rhyolites which have eNd = - 3.
This, together with the age of MIBQ from the BT
airfall, suggests the existence at N 2 Ma of two
spatially separate and isotopically distinct magma
bodies: eruption from one produced the early GM
rhyolites, while the other was preserved for a period
of N 1.2 m.y. until it was erupted as the early
Plinian airfall of the Bishop Tuff. Previous observa-
tions [7] showed that the early GM rhyolites had
been stored for periods ranging from 60 to 360 kyr
before eruption. The data presented here provide
and Planetarv Science Letters 144 (19961 547-561 559
evidence that the magma erupted as intennediate and
late BT ignimbrite had resided for 340 * 30 kyr.
Thus, the results for the Bishop Tuff air-fall sample
greatly extend the possible time period for pre-erup-
tion magma storage (cf. [1411.
The history and geometry for the Long Valley
Magma chamber from IV 2,000 ka to eruption of the
BT at 760 ka are summarized in Fig. 8. This history
provides a framework for considering the chemical
evolution of the Long Valley magmatic system. Pre-
viously, it has been assumed that the observed chem-
ical variation within the Bishop Tuff (and so by
inference the variation that existed vertically within
the magma chamber) was developed by a process
operating over a single period of time. However, the
observation that a portion of the early Bishop Tuff
was differentiated nearly 1 m.y. earlier than later
erupted BT precludes the necessity of assimilation to
explain its Sr isotopic composition and observed
reversals in trace element content. In order to make
sense of chemical and isotopic patterns within a
single eruption or series of eruptions requires a
knowledge and consideration of the time transgres-
sive (or episodic) nature of magma production as
exemplified by the Long Valley system.
The isotopic analysis of melt inclusion bearing
phenocrysts, as demonstrated by this paper, provides
a means to see through effects of post-eruption alter-
ation, magma mixing and crystal settling. Given the
low concentration of Sr in the BT melt inclusions,
similar techniques should be readily applicable as
well to other melt inclusion bearing phenocrysts,
such olivine from MORB or OIB, which have far
higher Sr concentrations.
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by NSF grants EAR
911238, 9205435, 9304159, 9405503, 9406248 to
ANH. Reviews by C. Bacon, G. Mahood and R.
Carlson improved the manuscript and are gratefully
acknowledged. Thanks are due to Wes Hildreth for
discussions in the field of the eruption sequence of
the Bishop Tuff. The authors would also like to
thank Gail Mahood and Diane Nielsen for their
assistance in the collection of sample LV/8/1, [CL]
560 f.N. Christensen, A.N. ~allida~/~art~ and Planetar?, Science Lettem 144 /I9961 547-561
Appendix A
Locations of analyzed and discussed Bishop Tuff
samples. Indicated 15’ quadrangle topographic maps
are published by the United States Geological Sur-
vey.
LV/8/1 airfall - Bishop 15’ Quadrangle (j79’,
4’475) Chalfant Quarry (a.k.a. Bishop Quarry), 1.4
km west of US Hwy 6
BT-38 Tableland Lobe - Bishop 15’ Quadrangle
(3722, 4’417)
BT-20 Adobe Lobe - Glass Mt. 15’ Quadrangle
(3498, 4’979) on US Hwy 120
Bogaard and Schirnick [14] airfall - Approxi-
mately same location as LV/8/1
Bogaard and Schimick [14] Gorges Lobe - Casa
Diablo Mt. 15’ Quadrangle approximately (3615,
4’5 15>,Owens River Gorge
BT-27 16,261 Mono Lobe fiamme, Mono Craters
15’ Quadrangle (’ 17g, 41928), Aeolian Buttes, eleva-
tion = 7080’
BT-22 [6,26] Mono Lobe fiamme, Mono Craters
15’ Quadrangle (3202, 4’855)
BT-24 [6,26] Mono Lobe pumice, Mono Craters
15’ Quadrangle (3 17‘, 41923), Aeolian Buttes, eleva-
tion = 7340’
BT-39 [6,26] Gorges Lobe fiamme, Casa Diablo
Mt. 15’ Quadrangle (3568, 4’532), Rock Creek Gorge
BT-29 [6,26] San Juaquin Lobe, fiamme, lower
cooling unit, Devil’s Postpile 15’ Quadrangle (3 17’,
4’653)
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