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Processes and Timescales of Magma Genesis and Differentiation Leading to

the Great Tambora Eruption in 1815

Article in Journal of Petrology · February 2012

DOI: 10.1093/petrology/egr062

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JOURNAL OF PETROLOGY VOLUME 53 NUMBER 2 PAGES 271^297 2012 doi:10.1093/petrology/egr062

Processes and Timescales of Magma Genesis and

Differentiation Leading to the Great Tambora
Eruption in 1815

RALF GERTISSER1*, STEPHEN SELF2, LOUISE E. THOMAS2,

HEATHER K. HANDLEY3, PETER VAN CALSTEREN2 AND
JOHN A. WOLFF4

Downloaded from http://petrology.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of East Anglia on January 18, 2012

1
SCHOOL OF PHYSICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCES, KEELE UNIVERSITY, KEELE ST5 5BG, UK
2
DEPARTMENT OF EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES, THE OPEN UNIVERSITY, WALTON HALL, MILTON
KEYNES MK7 6AA, UK
3
GEMOC, DEPARTMENT OF EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCES, MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY, SYDNEY, NSW 2109,
AUSTRALIA
4
SCHOOL OF EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES, WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY, PULLMAN, WA 99164-2812,
USA

RECEIVED JULY 10, 2010; ACCEPTED NOVEMBER 7, 2011

ADVANCE ACCESS PUBLICATION DECEMBER 15, 2011

The cataclysmic eruption of Tambora volcano (Sumbawa,
Indonesia) in 1815 has long been recognized as one of the largest
explosive eruptions in historical time. It yielded extensive pyroclastic
deposits from the emptying of a 30^33 km3 trachyandesite (latite)^
tephriphonolite (herein referred to as trachyandesite) magma body.
The parental trachybasalt magma of the trachyandesite erupted in
1815 can be produced by 2% partial melting of a garnet-free,
Indian-type mid-ocean ridge basalt (I-MORB)-like mantle source
contaminated with 3% fluids from altered oceanic crust and
51% sedimentary material, preserving small 238U excesses in the
Tambora rocks. Magmatic differentiation from primary trachybasalt
to trachyandesite occurred during two-stage, polybaric differentiation
at depth(s) around the Moho and in a shallow-level crustal
magma reservoir, emplaced at a maximum depth of 7·5 km (and,
possibly, as shallow as 2·3 km). This crustal reservoir grew by
influx of basaltic trachyandesite (shoshonite) magma, which
originated predominantly by partial crystallization of primary
trachybasalt in the inferred deep reservoir. Subsequent magmatic
differentiation dominated by fractional crystallization, magma
recharge^mixing and convection over timescales of 4000^4500
years led to the trachyandesitic (and ultimately phonolitic) melts
erupted in 1815. Highly calcic, corroded plagioclase crystals in
226
Ra^230Th equilibrium (48000 years old) provide physical
evidence for incorporation of ‘antecrystic’ material into the 1815
magma. Magma accumulation and differentiation at shallow depth
prior to the eruption were accompanied by continuous degassing of
sulphur (and other volatile species), which is thought not to have
accumulated within or towards the top of the magma reservoir to
contribute to the volatile budget of the eruption, but to have escaped
to the surface passively through the permeable wall rocks.
KEY WORDS: Tambora; Sumbawa; Sunda arc; 1815 eruption; potassic
magma; Hf isotopes; U-series disequilibria; volatiles
I N T RO D U C T I O N
The 10^11 April 1815 eruption of Tambora volcano
(Sumbawa, Indonesia) was one of the largest explosive
eruptions in historical time (Self et al., 1984; Stothers, 1984;
Sigurdsson & Carey, 1989, 1992a). It was the main con-
tributor to ‘the year without a summer’ in 1816, which had

 The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press. All

*Corresponding author. Telephone: þ44 (0)1782 733181. Fax: þ44 rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@
(0)1782 733172. E-mail: r.gertisser@esci.keele.ac.uk oup.com
 JOURNAL OF PETROLOGY VOLUME 53
a mean global temperature decrease of 1·0^1·58C
(e.g. Rampino & Self, 1982; Stothers, 1984; Sigurdsson &
Carey, 1992a; Mann et al., 1998; Cole-Dai et al., 2009).
Tephra volume estimates of the eruption have varied
widely between 95 and 175 km3 (Self et al., 1984;
Stothers, 1984; Sigurdsson & Carey, 1989, 1992a); here we
adopt the most recent volume estimate of 107^113 km3
[30^33 km3 dense rock equivalant (DRE)] (Self et al.,
2004), making it the largest eruption of at least the past
500 years, and perhaps even the past 1000 years.
A remarkable feature of the 1815 eruption is that it
involved a fairly homogeneous batch of trachyandesite
(latite)^tephriphonolite (herein referred to as trachyande-
site) magma (Self et al., 1984; Foden, 1986; Heyckendorf &
Jung, 1992), a comparatively rare magma type in volcanic
arc settings. An understanding of how such large bodies of
potassic magmas are generated requires knowledge of the
processes and timescales involved in magma genesis and
subsequent magma accumulation and differentiation in
crustal reservoirs. Such information has implications for
volcanic hazard assessment and long-term eruption fore-
casting at Tambora and other K-rich volcanoes located in
rear-arc (i.e. between the arc front and the back-arc) and
other geodynamic settings.
Despite its significance and notoriety, no recent compre-
hensive geochemical and isotopic study has been con-
ducted on the products of the 1815 Tambora eruption.
Foden (1986, 1987) proposed that the 1815 eruption followed
exsolution of a volatile phase during gradual, closed-system
cooling and crystallization of a hydrous magma in a
high-level magma chamber emplaced at a depth of at
least 1·5^4·5 km (see Self & Wolff, 1987). At nearby
Sangeang Api volcano, which produces potassic magma
compositions similar to those of Tambora, it has been
proposed that magmatic differentiation, inferred from
U^Th^Ra disequilibria, has occurred on timescales of
2000 years (Turner et al., 2003a). Based on similarities in
composition and liquid line of descent to the Sangeang
Api magmas, Turner et al. (2003a) proposed a crustal
residence time of 5000^6000 years for the 1815 Tambora
magma.
Here we present the results of a detailed petrological,
geochemical and isotopic (Sr, Nd, Hf and U-series disequi-
libria) investigation of Tambora based on samples that
span most of the volcanic succession of the 1815 eruption,
plus pre-1815 lava flows erupted from the central vent or
from parasitic (flank) vents (Self et al., 1984). These data
help constrain the processes of potassic arc magma genesis
and evolution and the timescales of these processes that
culminated in the 1815 eruption. The major element and
volatile compositions of melt inclusions within minerals
and the groundmass glass of the 1815 pumices are utilized
to trace magmatic differentiation and degassing processes
prior to (and during) the eruption.
272
NUMBER 2 FEBRUARY 2012
T EC TON IC S ET T I NG A N D
G E O L O G Y O F TA M B O R A
VO L C A N O
Tambora is a large shield-like alkaline volcano on
Sumbawa in the eastern part of the Sunda arc (Fig. 1),
associated with the northward subduction of the
Indo-Australian plate beneath the Eurasian plate at
6^7 cm a1 (Hamilton, 1979). The volcano is located at
the rear of the main volcanic front 180 km above the
Benioff Zone, where the crust is relatively young, compos-
itionally immature and 14^17 km thick (Hamilton, 1979).
On Sumbawa, the upper portion of this crust consists of
Cenozoic sedimentary sequences of siliciclastic marine
Downloaded from http://petrology.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of East Anglia on January 18, 2012
sediments and limestones, as well as volcanic and intrusive
rocks (van Bemmelen, 1949).
Tambora is one of several large Quaternary volcanoes
on Sumbawa that have produced magma compositions
ranging from calc-alkaline andesites to highly silica-
undersaturated leucitites (Foden & Varne, 1980). The
eruptive products of Tambora are predominantly potassic,
silica-undersaturated lavas and pyroclastic rocks ranging
from nepheline-normative alkali basalt to trachyandesite
(Foden, 1986). Compositions found at Tambora are in
many respects similar to those of other K-rich Sunda arc
volcanoes (Fig. 1), including Muriah and Ringgit-Beser on
Java (Edwards et al., 1991, 1994), Sangeang Api off the
NE coast of Sumbawa (Turner et al., 2003a) and Batu
Tara to the north of Flores (Stolz et al., 1988; van Bergen
et al., 1992).
The volcano occupies most of the Sanggar Peninsula in
north^central Sumbawa (Fig. 2). It has a sea-level diameter
of 60 km and an elevation of 2850 m. The summit is now
the rim of the 6 km diameter (41000 m deep) 1815 caldera,
although prior to 1815, Tambora was 4300 m high and
capped by a steeper sloped cone. Some 20 parasitic cones
are distributed over the flanks of the volcano (Self et al.,
1984). On the basis of present knowledge, the 1815 eruption
products are among the most evolved rock types erupted
in the history of the volcano (Fig. 3). The stratigraphy
exposed in the walls of the 1815 caldera includes four
major pre-1815 volcanic formations (Sigurdsson & Carey,
1992b). Barberi et al. (1987) reported a K^Ar age of 43 ka
for the lowermost series of lava flows that fill a pre-existing
caldera. These lavas are overlain by two pyroclastic units,
the Black Sands and Brown Tuff formations. The latter
consists of interbedded pyroclastic surge and fall deposits
and represents the latest activity prior to 1815.
Radiocarbon ages obtained from the lower and upper
parts of the Brown Tuff formation suggest that it formed
by intermittent volcanic activity between 5900 and 1210
14
C years BP (Sigurdsson & Carey, 1992b), indicating a
period of inactivity of at least 1000 years before the 1815
eruption.
 GERTISSER et al. PETROGENESIS OF THE 1815 TAMBORA MAGMA

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Fig. 1. Map of the Indonesian volcanic arc system, showing the general tectonic setting (after Hamilton, 1979) and distribution of active
volcanoes (open circles) (after Siebert et al., 2010). The enlarged map shows the location of Tambora on Sumbawa in the eastern Sunda arc,
highlighting the active (double open circles) and extinct (filled circles) potassic alkaline Sunda arc volcanoes. The former includes Tambora.

C H RO N O L O GY A N D D E P O S I T S O F (Fig. 2c), which was formed by fallout from an umbrella

T H E 18 15 E RU P T I O N
Eruptive activity at Tambora began in the early evening
of 5 April 1815 with minor and intermittent pyroclastic
emissions including a short, high-intensity Plinian column
(Self et al., 1984; Sigurdsson & Carey, 1989, 1992a; Self
et al., 2004). Intermittent explosive eruptions continued
until the evening of 10 April, when the volcano went
into a climactic phase that lasted for about a day (Self
et al., 1984; Stothers, 1984). At the onset of the climax,
a high-intensity Plinian column produced pumice fall
deposits in proximal areas (Fig. 2a), but within an hour
column collapse occurred, generating pyroclastic flows
that reached the coast (Fig. 2b).
The occurrence of intra-ignimbrite pumice fall layers
(Self et al., 1984, 2004) indicates that for much of
Tambora’s climactic phase pyroclastic fall and flow depos-
ition was simultaneous or alternating (Fig. 2a). The most
voluminous 1815 eruption deposit was the distal ash fall
cloud fed by a sustained, but partially collapsing eruption
column and co-ignimbrite ash clouds that were recycled
back into the main eruption column (Self et al., 2004).
Caldera collapse probably occurred at the end of the
climactic phase, and intermittent explosions continued
into the evening of 11 April, when reports show the ash
cloud reached as far as western Java, 1300 km from the
source (Fig. 2c). Ash fall in distal areas ceased between 14
and 17 April, although minor activity may have continued
until 23 August (Stothers, 1984).
A N A LY T I C A L T E C H N I Q U E S
Fifty-two samples were selected that are representative of
most of the stratigraphic sequence of the 1815 deposits (see
designation of samples given in Table 1 keyed to the deposit
sequence in Fig. 2a). The analysed dataset also includes
some older lava flows from Tambora.

273
 JOURNAL OF PETROLOGY VOLUME 53 NUMBER 2 FEBRUARY 2012

(a) DEPOSIT CHARACTERISTICS

Welded zone
(b)
Satonda

Moyo

Tambora Sumbawa
E. UPPER IGNIMBRITE
5-30 m Surges/cross-bedded
E
ignimbrite with interbedded
pumice fallout
Sanggar
Gulf of Saleh Peninsula
Sanggar

D
D. INTRA-IGNIMBRITE FALLOUT
Plinian pumice fallout Area covered
10 km Doro Labumbum
by 1815 ignimbrite

(c) Sulawesi
C. LOWER IGNIMBRITE Kalimantan

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5-30 m Non-welded to incipiently
C
welded ignimbrite with 1
interbedded pumice fallout
5

20

25
Ground layer (surge) Java 50
Bali 100

B
B. LOWER PLINIAN FALLOUT Flores
0.5 m Pumice fallout (3 sub-units) Lombok Sumbawa

A A. EARLY PHREATOMAGMATIC FALLOUT 500 km Sumba

Fine ash/lapilli fallout
Soil

Fig. 2. (a) Characteristics and generalized, composite stratigraphic section of the 1815 Tambora eruptive products. (b) Sketch map of Tambora
illustrating the distribution of ignimbrite from the 1815 eruption on the Sanggar Peninsula (after Self et al., 1984). (c) Distribution of the distal
ash fall from the eruption (after Self et al., 1984). Isopach thicknesses are given in centimetres.

14
Post AD 1815
Tephri-
12 phonolite AD 1815
Pre AD 1815

10
Na2O + K2O (wt.%)

Phono-
tephrite Trachyte

Trachy- Rhyolite
8 Tephrite/
andesite
(Latite)
Basanite
Basaltic
trachyandesite
Trachybasalt
6 (K-trachybasalt)
(Shoshonite)

Dacite

4 Andesite

Basaltic
andesite
2 Picro-
Basalt
Basalt

0
35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80
SiO2 (wt.%)
Fig. 3. Total alkalis vs SiO2 diagram for the Tambora rocks. Analyses from this study are shown by filled symbols. Open symbols denote data
from other researchers (Whitford et al., 1978; Foden, 1986; Varne & Foden, 1986; Grall-Johnson, 1997; Turner & Foden, 2001). Tambora rocks
of more ‘calc-alkaline’ affinity are distinguished from the predominantly alkaline series rocks by triangles with bold outlines. All analyses are
normalized to 100 wt %, free of volatiles. Potassic rock names are added in parentheses.

274
 GERTISSER et al. PETROGENESIS OF THE 1815 TAMBORA MAGMA

Table 1: Selected whole-rock major element (XRF), trace element (ICP-MS) and Sr, Nd and Hf isotopic (TIMS) data for
pumices from the 1815 eruption, as well as some older (pre-1815) lava flows

Sample: T07 T16 T25 T28 T37 T39 T52 T55 T57/58 T04 T06 T18 T35
Age: AD 1815 AD 1815 AD 1815 AD 1815 AD 1815 AD 1815 AD 1815 AD 1815 AD 1815 Pre-1815 Pre-1815 Pre-1815 Pre-1815
Unit:1 C C E B C C C D B – – – –

wt %
SiO2 54·42 56·35 55·49 55·93 55·22 56·04 55·04 56·32 56·29 52·01 51·72 47·21 48·89
TiO2 0·68 0·62 0·66 0·60 0·65 0·63 0·62 0·61 0·60 0·89 0·77 1·04 0·97
Al2O3 19·32 19·77 19·50 19·62 19·62 19·77 19·39 19·71 19·67 16·23 15·39 17·58 16·35
Fe2O3* 6·48 5·58 6·05 5·53 6·14 5·79 5·67 5·53 5·49 8·54 10·79 11·19 10·47

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MnO 0·18 0·18 0·18 0·19 0·19 0·19 0·18 0·19 0·18 0·15 0·19 0·22 0·20
MgO 2·10 1·61 1·89 1·54 1·85 1·71 1·78 1·61 1·55 8·80 7·03 4·37 5·88
CaO 5·47 4·15 4·67 3·98 4·65 4·40 4·29 4·07 4·02 9·44 11·16 11·06 11·08
Na2O 4·76 5·29 4·63 5·26 4·83 5·23 5·58 5·23 5·27 2·95 2·42 3·75 3·03
K2O 4·78 5·77 5·53 5·73 5·37 5·62 5·48 5·74 5·77 0·90 0·85 0·92 1·86
P2O5 0·43 0·43 0·45 0·41 0·44 0·45 0·43 0·42 0·41 0·22 0·16 0·56 0·31
LOI 0·53 0·13 1·33 0·53 1·00 0·26 1·38 0·58 0·36 0·19 0·40 1·78 1·51
Total 99·15 99·88 100·38 99·32 99·96 100·09 99·84 100·01 99·61 99·94 100·08 99·68 100·55
ppm
Cs 3·56 4·47 n.d. 4·30 3·79 4·32 3·77 4·40 4·31 1·77 1·44 2·30 1·33
Li 18·9 19·8 n.d. 25·1 18·6 19·4 22·4 19·2 18·8 9·8 9·8 9·3 8·9
Rb 146·2 157·3 n.d. 175·6 134·9 150·5 153·4 154·4 151·8 22·1 25·4 130·3 34·3
Ba 1177 1227 n.d. 1292 1096 1215 1197 1199 1171 213 233 702 725
Sr 1101 989 n.d. 1048 944 1002 1024 939 919 486 341 1429 965
Mo 3·35 3·62 n.d. 3·95 2·96 3·43 3·75 3·52 3·43 0·75 0·72 0·72 0·93
Sn 1·26 1·02 n.d. 1·35 0·93 1·02 1·35 1·02 0·98 0·92 0·84 0·95 0·76
Pb 17·32 16·79 n.d. 18·84 18·85 16·23 17·39 16·55 16·12 11·23 8·18 7·86 8·17
Zr 149·8 166·5 n.d. 167·9 146·8 162·3 155·5 163·0 160·1 98·2 71·2 119·1 86·0
Nb 8·36 8·79 n.d. 9·51 7·64 9·68 8·76 8·65 8·46 6·73 3·21 5·14 4·15
Hf 3·31 3·66 n.d. 3·67 3·23 3·55 3·44 3·58 3·48 2·27 1·82 2·79 2·22
Ta 0·59 0·47 n.d. 0·50 0·40 0·76 0·47 0·46 0·44 0·43 0·20 0·51 0·23
Th 12·80 12·83 n.d. 15·26 11·44 12·52 13·24 12·55 12·28 2·96 3·52 6·92 2·02
U 3·22 3·72 n.d. 3·73 3·27 3·62 3·37 3·64 3·55 1·12 1·00 1·75 1·06
Y 27·4 27·0 n.d. 30·2 25·3 26·8 27·2 26·2 25·8 21·7 21·2 27·4 18·1
Cu 42·7 23·1 n.d. 23·7 41·9 34·7 86·8 20·2 19·8 67·8 131·3 135·0 108·6
Zn 103·5 98·2 n.d. 105·1 93·8 97·1 101·8 95·1 93·8 76·8 88·3 102·3 96·3
Ni 7·4 0·5 n.d. 0·7 1·8 2·2 15·4 0·6 0·6 154·5 45·4 13·1 27·7
Cr 15·6 1·1 n.d. 0·6 2·1 0·4 2·6 0·6 0·9 365·7 135·3 15·5 76·9
Co 14·9 10·0 n.d. 10·5 11·5 10·9 11·3 9·5 9·3 38·6 43·3 33·8 34·9
Sc 9·8 8·2 n.d. 6·1 9·0 8·5 6·2 7·6 8·3 31·8 46·8 27·5 7·2
V 153·7 104·7 n.d. 106·1 118·0 114·0 112·4 100·8 98·6 235·5 320·2 314·8 329·0
La 42·18 40·48 n.d. 48·38 36·70 40·10 43·21 39·64 38·96 12·79 11·53 35·22 29·47
Ce 71·56 74·97 n.d. 81·21 69·05 75·00 72·68 73·46 72·08 24·64 22·88 71·71 43·33
Pr 8·25 8·36 n.d. 9·14 7·68 8·34 8·25 8·16 7·99 3·09 2·90 8·70 5·05
Nd 30·21 28·58 n.d. 32·90 26·48 28·63 30·05 27·87 27·32 12·90 12·36 32·44 19·09
Sm 6·06 5·99 n.d. 6·54 5·56 6·03 5·99 5·83 5·75 3·24 3·13 7·46 4·65
Eu 1·80 1·71 n.d. 1·88 1·61 1·72 1·75 1·65 1·62 1·09 0·97 2·19 1·40
Gd 5·60 5·47 n.d. 6·00 5·13 5·57 5·52 5·36 5·23 3·54 3·34 7·02 4·46

(continued)

275
 JOURNAL OF PETROLOGY VOLUME 53 NUMBER 2 FEBRUARY 2012

Table 1: Continued

Sample: T07 T16 T25 T28 T37 T39 T52 T55 T57/58 T04 T06 T18 T35
Age: AD 1815 AD 1815 AD 1815 AD 1815 AD 1815 AD 1815 AD 1815 AD 1815 AD 1815 Pre-1815 Pre-1815 Pre-1815 Pre-1815
Unit:1 C C E B C C C D B – – – –

Tb 0·79 0·75 n.d. 0·85 0·70 0·75 0·78 0·73 0·71 0·58 0·55 0·92 0·63
Dy 4·47 4·26 n.d. 4·78 3·98 4·28 4·41 4·15 4·08 3·53 3·42 4·89 3·58
Ho 0·92 0·89 n.d. 0·99 0·83 0·90 0·90 0·87 0·86 0·76 0·74 0·95 0·74
Er 2·55 2·54 n.d. 2·76 2·33 2·54 2·52 2·48 2·43 2·12 2·09 2·47 2·01
Yb 2·41 2·52 n.d. 2·71 2·30 2·50 2·46 2·47 2·42 2·01 1·98 2·09 1·82
Lu 0·38 0·39 n.d. 0·42 0·36 0·39 0·38 0·39 0·38 0·32 0·31 0·31 0·28
87
Sr/86Sr 0·704000 0·704049 n.d. 0·703992 0·704100 0·703984 0·704029 0·704021 0·703989 0·704497 0·704606 0·704151 0·704081

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2s 0·000001 0·000004 n.d. 0·000001 0·000005 0·000001 0·000002 0·000001 0·000002 0·000013 0·000008 0·000008 0·000007
143
Nd/144Nd 0·512744 0·512809 n.d. 0·512810 0·512803 0·512808 0·512800 0·512822 0·512800 0·512911 0·512823 0·512907 0·512811
2s 0·000001 0·000010 n.d. 0·000001 0·000001 0·000001 0·000001 0·000001 0·000001 0·000010 0·000010 0·000001 0·000001
176
Hf/177Hf 0·283102 0·283125 n.d. 0·283099 0·283099 0·283169 0·283103 0·283110 0·283104 0·283137 0·283149 0·283083 0·283128
2s 0·000009 0·000018 n.d. 0·000011 0·000010 0·000065 0·000011 0·000014 0·000008 0·000008 0·000011 0·000023 0·000015

1
Keyed to Fig. 2a.
*Total iron given as Fe2O3.
n.d., not determined.

Whole-rock major element concentrations (Table 1) were
determined on fused discs by X-ray fluorescence (XRF)
spectrometry at The Open University. Reproducibility
and accuracy, monitored using several international rock
standards, are better than 1% and 5% for major elem-
ents. Loss on ignition (LOI) was determined by weight
difference on heating 1g of rock powder to 10008C for
1h. LOI, as reported in Table 1, is the net effect of dehydra-
tion (loss of weight) and oxidation (gain of weight).
A subset of whole-rock samples was selected for trace
element analysis (Table 1) by inductively coupled plasma
mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) using an Agilent 7500s
quadrupole mass spectrometer at The Open University.
Calibration was based on up to six reference materials
(BCR1, BIR1, AC, RGM1, BHVO1-2 and AGV1), using
recommended element concentrations. Instrumental drift
was monitored by and corrected using an internal standard
solution containing Be, In, Rh, Tm, Re and Bi introduced
on-line during analysis. Residual drift in single elements
was corrected externally using replicate determinations
of a representative sample after every 10 unknowns.
Precision was assessed from replicate analyses of a selected
unknown sample (T4) and an appropriate reference
material. Within single runs, relative precision was gener-
ally about 1% for elements above Cs (mass 133) and
1^3% for elements below this mass.
For Sr and Nd isotopic analysis (Table 1), whole-rock
powders were not leached prior to dissolution as previous
experiments had shown no significant difference between
unleached and leached samples. Following separation of
Sr and Nd using standard ion exchange techniques, Sr
and Nd isotopic ratios were determined by thermal ioniza-
tion mass spectrometry (TIMS) on a Finnigan Triton
system at The Open University using static collection
procedures. Sr and Nd were fractionation corrected to
86
Sr/88Sr ¼ 0·1194 and 146Nd/144Nd ¼ 0·7219. The measured
isotopic ratios were normalized with respect to determined
values of the NBS 987 Sr standard [87Sr/86Sr ¼
0·710235  9 (2s); n ¼ 25] and the Johnson Matthey Nd
standard [143Nd/144Nd ¼ 0·511822  2 (2s); n ¼ 20] run
during the period of these analyses. Quoted uncertainties
are two standard deviations. Total procedural blanks for
Sr and Nd were typically 51ng and 500 pg, respectively,
and trivial compared with the amounts of Sr and Nd
analysed.
Hf isotope analysis (Table 1) was undertaken by
multi-collector (MC)-ICP-MS using a ThermoElectron
Neptune system at the Arthur Holmes Isotope Geology
Laboratory (AHIGL), University of Durham, following
sample preparation techniques and instrument operating
conditions described by Handley et al. (2007) and refer-
ences therein. Instrumental mass bias was corrected for
using a 179Hf/177Hf ratio of 0·7325 and an exponential law.
Samples were analysed on two separate occasions with
average JMC 475 176Hf/177Hf values and 2s uncertainties
of 0·282143  5 (n ¼11, reproducibility ¼18·2 ppm) and
0·282143  4 (n ¼ 8, reproducibility ¼13·4 ppm), respect-
ively, and lie within error of the long-term JMC 475

276
 GERTISSER et al. PETROGENESIS OF THE 1815 TAMBORA MAGMA

average value of 0·282145 7 (Nowell et al., 2003). Data are
reported relative to an accepted JMC 475 176Hf/177Hf value
of 0·282160 (Nowell et al., 1998). Total procedural blanks of
573 pg Hf were determined by ICP-MS on the
PerkinElmer ELAN 6000 quadrupole system at the
University of Durham.
U, Th and 226Ra concentrations and isotope activity
ratios of three bulk pumice samples from the 1815 deposits,
mineral separates (plagioclase, clinopyroxene, biotite,
titanomagnetite) and groundmass glass (Table 2) were
determined at The Open University using a Finnigan
MAT 262 mass spectrometer equipped with an RPQ-II
energy filter. Samples were spiked with a mixed
229
Th^236U tracer and a 228Ra tracer, respectively.
Th standard gave (230Th/232Th) ¼ 1·015  0·0005 (n ¼ 2).
Repeated analysis of the ‘in house’ uranium solution stand-
ard U456 yielded (234U/236U) ¼ 0·097495  0·000680,
a 2s deviation of 0·7%, and (235U/236U) ¼ 13·272  0·029,
a 2s deviation of 0·21%. Replicate analyses of the Mt
Lassen rock standard yielded values of 226Ra ¼1·080 
0·026 fg g1 and 1·065  0·010 fg g1, within error of pub-
lished values (Volpe et al., 1991). Reproducibility is
1% (2s), as determined on an in-house standard. Total
procedural blanks for 226Ra were 50·1fg g1. Chemical
preparation blanks were 50 pg for Th and 70 pg for U.
The analytical error of the U/Th ratios is 0·5%.
Decay constants (a^1) used in the calculation of activity
ratios were 238U ¼1·551 1010, 234U ¼ 2·835 106,

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Sample dissolution and column procedures for Th and U
used in this study follow those described in detail elsewhere
(Turner et al., 1997; Thomas et al., 1999). Ra was extracted
using a cation exchange column followed by separation
from Ba on a Sr spec resin column. During the period
of this study, multiple determinations of the Th‘U’ standard
(van Calsteren & Schwieters, 1995) gave 230Th/232Th ¼
6·131 0·021 106 (n ¼ 22), a 2s standard deviation of
1%, whereas duplicate determinations of the ATHO
232
Th ¼ 4·948 1011, 230Th ¼ 9·195 106 and 226Ra ¼
4·332 104. The reported whole-rock (226Ra/230Th)
ratios are age corrected back to the time of eruption.
Mineral major element compositions for several 1815
samples (Table 3) were determined using a CAMECA SX
100 electron microprobe at The Open University. Peak
counting times per element were 20 s using a 5^10 mm
defocused beam, an acceleration voltage of 20 kV and
a beam current of 20 nA. Major element analyses of

Table 2: U-series data for whole-rock samples, constituent mineral phases and groundmass glass from the 1815 Tambora
eruptive products

Type U (ppm) Th (ppm) (234U/238U) 2s (238U/232Th) 2s (230Th/232Th) 2s (230Th/238U) 2s 226

Ra (fg g1) (226Ra/230Th)

Sample T07
wr 3·35 11·11 1·002 0·003 0·914 0·008 0·902 0·001 0·987 0·001 2079·8 1·985
bio 0·29 1·03 1·010 0·005 0·854 0·004 0·811 0·001 0·950 0·001 704·0 8·036
mt 0·77 2·81 1·007 0·006 0·830 0·004 0·829 0·002 1·000 0·003 366·7 1·507
pl 0·52 2·03 1·003 0·004 0·784 0·003 0·798 0·002 1·018 0·002 203·8 1·204
gm 3·58 13·16 1·008 0·005 0·824 0·005 0·722 0·013 0·876 0·016 1165·9 1·173
Sample T39
wr 3·29 11·60 0·998 0·003 0·860 0·002 0·776 0·001 0·902 0·001 1202·8 1·527
bio 0·41 1·66 1·001 0·006 0·740 0·007 0·785 0·003 1·066 0·004 112·2 0·963
mt 0·81 3·45 1·060 0·007 0·712 0·006 0·816 0·001 1·145 0·006 306·6 1·184
pl 0·52 1·44 1·000 0·003 1·090 0·012 0·797 0·002 1·364 0·002 204·4 0·569
cpx 0·46 2·01 1·004 0·003 0·689 0·001 0·788 0·002 1·103 0·004 n.d. n.d.
gm 3·56 12·62 0·993 0·004 0·855 0·003 0·788 0·006 0·875 0·007 1149·9 1·547
Sample T57/58
wr 3·42 12·36 1·015 0·028 0·840 0·006 0·819 0·002 0·974 0·006 1219·1 1·152
bio 0·25 0·97 1·012 0·024 0·783 0·004 0·790 0·000 1·009 0·005 n.d. n.d.
mt 0·67 2·66 1·005 0·005 0·758 0·002 0·800 0·000 1·055 0·002 315·4 1·415
pl 0·63 2·43 1·003 0·006 0·791 0·001 0·808 0·003 1·021 0·004 1294·8 6·303
cpx 0·45 1·91 1·006 0·013 0·714 0·002 1·014 0·006 1·420 0·009 1683·5 8·318
gm 3·70 13·64 0·996 0·005 0·823 0·004 0·721 0·001 0·875 0·002 1025·3 0·997

wr, whole rock; bio, biotite; mt, magnetite; pl, plagioclase; cpx, clinopyroxene; gm, groundmass glass.

277
 JOURNAL OF PETROLOGY VOLUME 53 NUMBER 2 FEBRUARY 2012

Table 3: Mineral compositions in pumice clasts from the 1815 Tambora eruption

Mineral: pl cpx ol mt bio

Description: ph-c ph-r m ph ph ph ph

No. of analyses (n):1 1 155 (1s) 9 (1s) 98 (1s) 13 (1s) 71 (1s) 116 (1s)

wt %
SiO2 45·85 53·34 (1·41) 60·01 (1·68) 50·97 (0·72) 37·94 (0·14) 36·83 (0·34)
TiO2 0·01 0·03 (0·01) 0·24 (0·10) 0·68 (0·14) 7·47 (0·20) 5·08 (0·19)
Al2O3 33·99 28·86 (0·98) 22·35 (1·76) 3·60 (0·61) 5·27 (0·20) 15·26 (0·18)
Cr2O3 0·01 (0·01) 0·04 (0·01) 0·01 (0·01)

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FeO* 0·54 0·57 (0·05) 1·52 (0·76) 7·90 (0·51) 25·20 (0·22) 77·22 (0·34) 12·01 (0·21)
MnO 0·43 (0·07) 1·18 (0·02) 0·78 (0·05) 0·16 (0·02)
MgO 0·02 0·06 (0·02) 0·26 (0·16) 13·88 (0·48) 35·75 (0·26) 3·65 (0·13) 16·26 (0·23)
NiO 0·00 (0·01)
BaO 0·02 0·08 (0·03) 0·41 (0·19)
SrO 0·70 0·79 (0·05) 0·44 (0·23)
CaO 17·91 11·79 (1·16) 5·28 (1·77) 22·01 (0·20) 0·22 (0·01) 0·03 (0·09)
Na2O 1·00 4·31 (0·58) 5·44 (0·35) 0·46 (0·04) 0·01 (0·01) 0·76 (0·03)
K2O 0·06 0·60 (0·15) 4·38 (1·46) 0·01 (0·01) 0·01 (0·02) 8·74 (0·11)
Total 100·10 100·43 (0·36) 100·35 (0·62) 99·95 (0·32) 100·31 (0·36) 94·43 (0·28) 95·14 (0·49)
Cations (oxygens) (8) (8) (8) (6) (4) (4) (22)
Si 2·122 2·425 (0·057) 2·732 (0·074) 1·892 (0·022) 1·001 (0·002) 5·435 (0·031)
Al 1·853 1·546 (0·057) 1·041 (0·391) 0·157 (0·027) 0·226 (0·008) 2·655 (0·024)
Ti 0·000 0·001 (0·000) 0·167 (0·473) 0·019 (0·004) 0·204 (0·006) 0·565 (0·022)
Cr 0·000 (0·000) 0·000 (0·000) 0·001 (0·000) 0·001 (0·001)
Fe3þ 2
0·058 (0·015) 1·365 (0·010)
Mg 0·002 0·004 (0·001) 0·018 (0·011) 0·767 (0·025) 1·406 (0·007) 0·198 (0·007) 3·577 (0·044)
Fe2þ 0·021 0·022 (0·002) 0·058 (0·029) 0·187 (0·013) 0·556 (0·005) 0·982 (0·009) 1·482 (0·028)
Mn 0·013 (0·002) 0·026 (0·000) 0·024 (0·002) 0·020 (0·002)
Ni 0·000 (0·000)
Ba 0·000 0·001 (0·000) 0·007 (0·003)
Sr 0·019 0·021 (0·001) 0·012 (0·006)
Ca 0·888 0·574 (0·058) 0·257 (0·086) 0·874 (0·007) 0·006 (0·000) 0·005 (0·014)
Na 0·090 0·380 (0·050) 0·480 (0·028) 0·033 (0·003) 0·001 (0·000) 0·218 (0·010)
K 0·004 0·035 (0·008) 0·255 (0·086) 0·000 (0·000) 0·000 (0·001) 1·646 (0·022)
Total 4·999 5·009 (0·057) 5·027 (0·024) 4·000 2·996 (0·002) 3·000 15·604 (0·031)

pl, plagioclase; cpx, clinopyroxene; ol, olivine; mt, Ti-magnetite; bio, biotite; ph, phenocrysts (including crystals of
apparent xenocrystic origin); ph-c, core of compositionally zoned crystals; ph-r, phenocryst rim; m, microlites.
1
All data are averages of n analyses, except for the plagioclase core composition, where only the most calcic composition
is reported. Standard deviations for single elements are shown in parentheses.
2
Fe3þ determined stoichiometrically for clinopyroxene (cpx) and Ti-magnetite (mt).
*Total iron given as FeO.

plagioclase-hosted melt inclusions (Table 4) were obtained
using a 20 kV accelerating voltage, 10 nA beam current, a
defocused beam (10^20 mm diameter) and peak counting
times per element between 10 and 30 s chosen to minimize
total counting times per analysis. Extended counting
times were used for sulphur and chlorine measurements
(Table 4). Natural silicate minerals were used as primary
standards to calibrate the instrument. Smithsonian basalt
VG-2, USGS basalt BCR-2G and KE-12, a peralkaline
obsidian from Kenya, were used as secondary, in-run
standards to monitor precision and accuracy during
glass analyses.

278
 GERTISSER et al. PETROGENESIS OF THE 1815 TAMBORA MAGMA

Table 4: Major element and volatile contents (with 1s
standard deviation) of melt inclusions (MI) in calcic
plagioclase cores (pl-c), more sodic plagioclase rims (and
compositionally similar plagioclase cores) (pl-r) and
groundmass (gm) glasses from 1815 Tambora pumices
(e.g. Gottsmann & Dingwell, 2002). For all calculations,
a molar absorption coefficient at 3550 cm1 of
64  8 l mol1 cm1 was assumed (Cioni, 2000). No CO2
concentrations above the FTIR spectroscopy detection
limit (100 ppm) were found in the analysed melt
inclusions.

Type1 MI (pl-c) MI (pl-r) (1s)2 gm (1s)2 R E S U LT S

Petrography and mineral chemistry
Major elements (wt %) n¼1 n ¼ 30 n ¼ 126 The major component in the 1815 pyroclastic deposits
SiO2 53·12 56·17 (0·64) 58·30 (0·49) is vesicular (30^50 vol. %), brown to black, latitic to
TiO2 0·79 0·66 (0·09) 0·53 (0·03) tephriphonolitic pumice (Fig. 3), with crystal contents
that rarely exceed 15 vol. %. The mineral assemblage

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Al2O3 19·33 18·90 (0·36) 19·32 (0·26)
Fe2O3* 6·16 5·36 (0·37) 5·05 (0·28) includes plagioclase4clinopyroxene4magnetite, with
MnO 0·21 0·18 (0·18) 0·18 (0·02) small amounts of apatite and occasional biotite and olivine
MgO 1·97 1·52 (0·17) 1·37 (0·11)
set in a glassy or, rarely, microcrystalline groundmass.
CaO 3·97 3·27 (0·25) 3·24 (0·33)
Ranges of mineral compositions in the 1815 eruptive
products are reported in Table 3.
Na2O 5·58 5·39 (0·40) 5·43 (0·27)
Plagioclase spans a wide compositional range from An43
K2O 5·81 6·06 (0·26) 6·25 (0·31)
to An91. It occurs as two distinctive populations giving
P2O5 0·64 0·49 (0·12) 0·35 (0·04)
rise to the bimodal distribution shown in the inset in
Total 97·57 98·00 100·02
Fig. 4a. These consist of (1) small, unzoned crystals of
Volatiles (ppm) n ¼ 26 n ¼ 78
near-uniform composition (An58  6) and (2) zoned crystals
S 1255 689 (80) 290 (74)
with (in some cases resorbed) calcic cores (up to An91)
Cl 2440 1720 (169) 1511 (132)
and variably thick and finely zoned rims of An58  6
1
(Self et al., 2004). Both populations may contain melt
All data are averages of n analyses, except for melt (glass) inclusions (Fig. 4b and c). Microlites of ternary
inclusions in calcic plagioclase cores for which only the
most primitive and volatile-rich composition is reported. feldspar occur occasionally in the pumice groundmass
Standard deviations for single elements are shown in (Fig. 4a; Table 3). Augitic to salitic clinopyroxene pheno-
parentheses. crysts are typically euhedral to subhedral, with little
2
After Self et al. (2004).
*Total iron given as Fe2O3. compositional variation within and between crystals:
Wo44^47, En36^42 and Fs13^18. Euhedral biotite with a very
narrow range of compositions (Mg-number ¼ 69·4^72·3)
occurs as a minor phase in some of the 1815 Tambora
rocks. Rare unzoned and homogeneous olivine micro-
Fourier Transform infrared (FTIR) spectra of a few melt phenocrysts (Fo71^72) are also occasionally present.
inclusions and small obsidian fragments in the 1815 deposits Titanomagnetite is the ubiquitous oxide phase present in
were collected with a Thermo Nicolet Nexus FTIR spec- trace amounts; this often occurs as inclusions in plagio-
trometer coupled with a Continumm IR microscope at clase, clinopyroxene and biotite. Like clinopyroxene
The Open University. For all spectra, standard EverGlo and biotite, titanomagnetite is uniform in composition
mid-IR source optics, a Ge-on-KBr beamsplitter and with ulvo«spinel contents ranging from 22 to 25 mol %.
a liquid nitrogen-cooled MCT-A* detector (11700^ Apatite is a common accessory mineral and occurs
750 cm1) were used. Concentrations of H2O were calcu- as microphenocrysts or inclusions in plagioclase,
lated from the height of the total water (i.e. molecular clinopyroxene and titanomagnetite crystals.
H2O þ OH) peak at 3550 cm1, using the Beer^Lambert
law: H2O (wt %) ¼ 100  (MA/rde), where M is the Whole-rock major and trace element
molecular weight of H2O (18·02), A is the height of the ab- geochemistry
sorption peak, r is the sample density (g l1), d is the Representative major and trace element compositions of
sample thickness (cm) and e is the molar absorption coeffi- the 1815 Tambora products are listed in Table 1 along with
cient (l mol1 cm1). Sample thicknesses (3 mm) were analyses of some older lava flows. Our dataset is comple-
measured using a Mitutoyo Digimatic Indicator. mented by major element analyses of a few accessory or ac-
Calculated glass densities (2575 g l1) are those for the cidental lithic clasts (xenoliths) from the 1815 deposits,
average 1815 pumice clast composition (see Table 1), assum- which, for the purpose of this study, are grouped together
ing a nonlinear temperature dependence of melt volume with the other pre-1815 eruptive products of the volcano.

279
 JOURNAL OF PETROLOGY VOLUME 53 NUMBER 2 FEBRUARY 2012

(a) An In the total alkali vs SiO2 diagram (Fig. 3) most of the

Tambora rocks define a mildly alkaline basalt to trachyan-
desite (latite) series, although a few older samples, marked
by a bold outline, display a more ‘calc-alkaline’ character.
pheno-
crysts
The dominant Tambora compositions are similar to those
from other potassic Sunda arc volcanoes such as
75
rims cores
Sangeang Api, but are less K-rich than those from

Number of analyses
(n = 155) (n = 157) Muriah and Batu Tara (Stolz et al., 1988; Edwards et al.,
50 1991; van Bergen et al., 1992; Turner et al., 2003a). The 1815
products range between trachyandesite (latite) and tephri-
1000
25 phonolite, exhibiting a restricted range from 55 to 57 wt
% SiO2 (Table 1).
microlites 0 Excluding some samples with low alkali contents, most
900 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
major element oxides show well-defined and systematic

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An (mol%)
800 correlations with SiO2 (Fig. 5). TiO2, Fe2O3*, CaO and
700
MgO abundances show an overall decrease with increas-
ing SiO2, whereas Na2O and K2O contents increase.
Ab Or The Al2O3 and P2O5 data are more scattered, although
there is a general increase at low SiO2 contents and
nearly constant concentrations at more elevated SiO2
(b) An contents for Al2O3 and decreasing abundances for P2O5.
56-63
The trace element patterns of the 1815 Tambora volcanic
An rocks normalized to normal mid-ocean ridge basalt
77-83
(N-MORB; Sun & McDonough, 1989) have a shape that
is similar to those for the products of the typical
calc-alkaline Sunda arc volcanoes from the main volcanic
front (e.g. Merapi; Gertisser & Keller, 2003) and magmas
from subduction-related tectonic settings in general
An An (Fig. 6). They are characterized by extreme enrichment in
77-85 57-61
large ion lithophile elements (LILE), U, Th and Pb,
and to a lesser extent in light rare earth elements (LREE)
relative to the heavy rare earth elements (HREE) and
high field strength elements (HFSE). Elements such as
Nb, Ta and Ti form distinct troughs in the trace element
400 µm patterns. The pre-1815 eruptive products display trace
element patterns similar to the juvenile 1815 material,
but have distinctly lower LILE contents (Fig. 6a).
In chondrite-normalized REE diagrams (Fig. 6b),
(c)
the Tambora rocks exhibit fractionated LREE and flat,
but enriched HREE patterns. The 1815 products display
MI LREE enrichment of 150^200 times chondritic values,
and (La/Sm)N and (La/Yb)N ratios of 4·3^4·8 and
An
11·5^12·8, respectively. The middle REE (MREE) and
72-86 HREE exhibit relatively flat patterns (GdN/YbN ¼1·8^
1·9). The REE concentrations of most of the pre-1815
MI

Isothermal sections of the dry ternary feldspar solvus are calculated

An55-63
200 µm
Fig. 4. Feldspars in the 1815 Tambora rocks. (a) Feldspar ternary
(Ab^An^Or) plot (filled symbols, phenocrysts; open symbols,
microlites) and histogram of plagioclase compositions (An mol %).
using SOLVCALC (Wen & Nekvasil, 1994). (See text for discussion.)
(b) Backscattered electron image of plagioclase crystals in the 1815
Tambora products: Ca-rich (up to An91) compositions (light grey)
are preserved in the cores of larger plagioclase crystals. The variably
thick rims of these larger crystals and smaller plagioclases (darker
grey) in the 1815 products are more Na-rich in composition (An58  6).
(c) Melt inclusions (MI) in a zoned plagioclase from the 1815
eruption.

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 GERTISSER et al. PETROGENESIS OF THE 1815 TAMBORA MAGMA

Post AD 1815
1.2 25
AD 1815
Pre AD 1815
1.0 23 Stage 2
(~60% cystallisation)

Al2O3 (wt.%)
TiO2 (wt.%)
(pl > cpx > mt)
21
0.8
19
0.6
17
Stage 1
0.4 15 (~30% cystallisation)
(ol > cpx > pl > mt)

0.2 13

13 10

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8
Fe2O3* (wt.%)

MgO (wt.%)
10
6

4
7
2

4 0

13 6

11 5
Na2O (wt.%)
CaO (wt.%)

9
4
7
3
5

3 2

1 1

8 0.7

6
P2O5 (wt.%)
K2O (wt.%)

0.5

0.3
2

0 0.1
46 50 54 58 46 50 54 58
SiO2 (wt.%) SiO2 (wt.%)
Fig. 5. Major element variation diagrams vs SiO2 (wt %) for the Tambora volcanic suite. All analyses are normalized to 100 wt %, free of
volatiles. Data sources and symbols as in Fig. 3. Arrows in the Al2O3 vs SiO2 plot illustrate a two-stage, polybaric crystallization trend
from low-Al2O3 trachybasalt to Al2O3-rich trachybasalt^basaltic trachyandesite and trachyandesite. The amount of crystallization and the
fractionating mineral assemblages (pl, plagioclase; cpx, clinopyroxene; ol, olivine; mt, Ti-magnetite) were determined by simple least-squares
mixing calculations.

281
 JOURNAL OF PETROLOGY
1000
AD 1815
Pre AD 1815
100
Rock / N-MORB
10
1 both the 1815 eruptive products and the Tambora suite as
(a)
0.1
Cs Ba U Ta La Pb Mo P Sm Hf Ti Tb Y Er Yb
Rb Th Nb K Ce Pr Sr Nd Zr Eu Gd Dy Ho Tm Lu
250
100
Rock / Chondrite
10
(b)
1 & Patchett, 1984; Woodhead et al., 2001).
La Ce Pr Nd Sm Eu Gd Tb Dy Ho Er Tm Yb Lu
Fig. 6. (a) N-MORB-normalized trace element and (b)
chondrite-normalized REE patterns for the Tambora volcanic
products. A calc-alkaline basaltic andesite from Merapi volcano in
the central portion of the Sunda arc with a SiO2 content similar to
the 1815 Tambora products (Gertisser & Keller, 2003) is shown for
comparison (grey line). The normalizing values are from Sun &
McDonough (1989).
eruptive products are lower than those of the 1815 products,
reflecting their less evolved or calc-alkaline character,
or both. The analysed samples display variable, but lower
LREE enrichment when compared with the 1815 volcanic
products [(La/Sm)N ¼ 2·4^3·0], lack of a pronounced
Eu anomaly and HREE concentrations of 410 times
chondritic values that are similar to the products from the
1815 eruption (Fig. 6b). The latter are also more
LREE-enriched than the previously mentioned Merapi
calc-alkaline basaltic andesite.
Whole-rock isotope geochemistry
The 87Sr/86Sr and 143Nd/144Nd ratios of the 1815 Tambora
pumices are fairly constant, in the range of 0·70398^
0·70410 and 0·51274^0·51282, respectively (Table 1). A previ-
ously published Sr isotope analysis for a sample from the
VOLUME 53 NUMBER 2 FEBRUARY 2012
1815 eruption yielded similar 87Sr/86Sr and 143Nd/144Nd
ratios of 0·70390 and 0·51291, respectively (Turner &
Foden, 2001). Our ranges for the entire Tambora suite are
87
Sr/86Sr ¼ 0·70398^0·70461 and 143Nd/144Nd ¼ 0·51274^
0·51291 (Table 1), similar to previously published data
(87Sr/86Sr ¼ 0·70385^0·70400; 143
Nd/144Nd ¼ 0·51281^
0·51283) (Whitford et al., 1978; Varne & Foden, 1986;
Grall-Johnson, 1997; Turner & Foden, 2001). There is a re-
stricted range of 176Hf/177Hf ratios of 0·28308^0·28317 for
a whole (Table 1). In the 143Nd/144Nd vs 87Sr/86Sr diagram
(Fig. 7a), the Tambora rocks form a cluster below the
Indian Ocean MORB field and within the Indian Ocean
ocean-island basalt (OIB) field. Compared with other po-
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tassic Sunda arc volcanoes, the Tambora rocks are charac-
terized by the highest 143Nd/144Nd ratios and the least
radiogenic 87Sr/86Sr ratios (Fig. 7b). In Hf^Nd isotopic
space (Fig. 8a), the Tambora rocks have amongst the high-
est Hf (and Nd) isotopic ratios of all Indonesian arc vol-
canic rocks and are close to, but distinct from, the Indian
Ocean MORB and OIB fields. Enlargement of the
176
Hf/177Hf vs 143Nd/144Nd diagram (Fig. 8b) shows the
separate fields for Indian and Pacific mantle domains
(e.g. Nowell et al., 1998; Pearce et al., 1999; Chauvel &
Blichert-Toft, 2001) and the primitive character of the
Tambora suite relative to most other Sunda arc volcanoes,
including Muriah, the only other potassic Sunda arc
volcano for which comparable data are available (White
Major element and volatile concentrations
in melt inclusions and groundmass glass
Among the crystal phases in the 1815 pumices, only
plagioclase contains abundant glassy melt inclusions
(Fig. 4c). Other crystals are either free of melt inclusions
or bear inclusions that are partly crystallized. The melt in-
clusions in plagioclase tend to be round or irregular
in shape, with sizes ranging from 510 mm to 50 mm.
Trapped in calcic plagioclase cores as well as more sodic
crystals or crystal zones, these inclusions provide a record
of the complex evolutionary history of the 1815 Tambora
magma. Those trapped near the plagioclase crystal rims
were previously considered to be the most representative
of the pre-eruptive melt composition and used to assess
the amount of volatiles released during the 1815 eruption
(Self et al., 2004).
Major element concentrations in plagioclase-hosted melt
inclusions in the 1815 products span a continuous compos-
itional range from latite to tephriphonolite (55^59 wt %
SiO2). The major element compositions follow and extend
the trend displayed by the 1815 whole-rock compositions,
except for TiO2 and P2O5, which are slightly higher
than in the whole-rocks at similar SiO2 contents (Fig. 9).
Groundmass glass compositions vary between 58 and
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 GERTISSER et al. PETROGENESIS OF THE 1815 TAMBORA MAGMA

0.5134
(a) Post AD 1815
0.5132 FMM AD 1815
Indian 2% 5% 10%
AOC Pre AD 1815
MORB
0.5130
143Nd/144Nd
Sunda arc (excl. Toba)
0.5128 1%
1%
Tambora Sed-3
bulk earth
0.5126 Indian OIB
1% 1%
Banda arc

0.5124 1% A

Global marine
0.5122 sediments
Sed-1, 2

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D C
B
0.5120

bulk earth
Sed-4

0.5118
0.700 0.705 0.710 0.715
87Sr/86Sr

0.5129
Tambora

0.5128 Ringgit-Beser
Sangenges
143Nd/144Nd

0.5127 Watukubu
bulk earth
Sangeang Api

0.5126 Muriah
Batu Tara

Soromundi
0.5125 Mantle
Array

0.5124
bulk earth

(b)
0.5123
0.7035 0.7045 0.7055 0.7065 0.7075
87Sr/86Sr
Fig. 7. (a) 87Sr/86Sr vs 143Nd/144Nd diagram showing data for Tambora, Indian Ocean MORB (I-MORB) and OIB, altered oceanic
crust (AOC), volcanic rocks from the Sunda and Banda arcs, and modern marine sediments. Three deep-sea turbidites from the Java trench
(Sed-1^3) and an Indian Ocean pelagic sediment (terrigenous clay) composition (Sed-4) are highlighted (McLennan et al., 1990; Vervoort
et al., 1999). Also illustrated are mixing curves between I-MORB mantle and sediments (mixing arrays A and B) and between a fluid-modified
I-MORB mantle (FMM) and selected sediment end-members (mixing arrays C and D). The ticks along the mixing curves indicate the
per cent of sediment in the mixture. Data sources: MORB, Indian Ocean, from Hamelin & Alle'gre (1985), Ito et al. (1987), Rehka«mper &
Hofmann (1997) and Chauvel & Blichert-Toft (2001); OIB, Indian Ocean, from White & Hofmann (1982), Hamelin et al. (1985), Dosso et al.
(1988), Barling & Goldstein (1990) and Yang et al. (1998); AOC from Staudigel et al. (1995); Sunda and Banda arcs from Whitford et al. (1981),
White & Patchett (1984), Varne & Foden (1986), Stolz et al. (1988, 1990), Edwards et al. (1991, 1993, 1994), Gerbe et al. (1992), Hoogewerff et al.
(1997), Turner & Foden (2001), Woodhead et al. (2001), Gertisser & Keller (2003), Turner et al. (2003a) and Handley et al. (2007, 2008, 2010, 2011);
global marine sediments from Ben Othman et al. (1989). End-member compositions used in the mixing calculations: I-MORB source mantle:
0·1 I-MORB values from Chauvel & Blichert-Toft (2001); AOC and AOC-derived fluid: after Handley et al. (2007); FMM: 3% AOC fluid^
97% I-MORB source; sediments: as above. (b) Enlargement of the 87Sr/86Sr vs 143Nd/144Nd diagram showing data from Tambora relative to
other potassic Sunda arc volcanoes and the mantle array. Published data sources: Tambora from Varne & Foden (1986), Grall-Johnson (1997)
and Turner & Foden (2001); Batu Tara from Stolz et al. (1988, 1990) and Hoogewerff et al. (1997); Muriah from Whitford et al. (1981) and
Edwards et al. (1991); Ringgit-Beser from Edwards et al. (1993, 1994); Sangeang Api from Turner et al. (2003a); Sangenges and Watukubu from
Edwards et al. (1993); Soromundi from Varne & Foden (1986). Symbols for Tambora as in Fig. 3.

283
 JOURNAL OF PETROLOGY VOLUME 53 NUMBER 2 FEBRUARY 2012

0.2834 (a) Indian MORB

Tambora
0.2832
Sunda arc

176Hf/177Hf
0.2830 Sed-3

Indian OIB
0.2828 B
A Banda arc
(Serua andesite)
0.2826
Global
marine sediments
Sed-4
0.2824 AD 1815

Downloaded from http://petrology.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of East Anglia on January 18, 2012

Sed-1
Pre AD 1815
Sed-2
0.2822
0.5118 0.5123 0.5128 0.5133
143Nd/144Nd

0.2833
Indian mantle Galunggung
Semeru Batur
Merapi Tambora
Krakatau Guntur
0.2831
176Hf/177Hf

Salak Ijen
Ungaran Lamongan
Sumbing

Gede
0.2829 Muriah

Papandayan

(b) Pacific mantle

0.2827
0.5124 0.5126 0.5128 0.5130
143Nd/144Nd
Fig. 8. (a) 176Hf/177Hf vs 143Nd/144Nd diagram showing data from Tambora in relation to Indian Ocean MORB (I-MORB) and OIB, volcanic
rocks from the Sunda and Banda arcs, and global marine sediments. Three deep-sea turbidites from the Java trench (Sed-1^3) and an Indian
Ocean pelagic (terrigenous) clay (Sed-4) are also shown (see Fig. 7). Mixing curves labelled A and B are bulk mixing arrays between
I-MORB mantle and selected sediment end-members. The ticks along the mixing curves indicate the per cent of sediment in the mixture.
Data sources: MORB, Indian Ocean, from Salters (1996), Nowell et al. (1998), Chauvel & Blichert-Toft (2001) and Kempton et al. (2002); OIB,
Indian Ocean, from Patchett (1983), Salters & Hart (1991) and Salters & White (1998); Sunda and Banda arcs from White & Patchett (1984),
Pearce et al. (1999), Woodhead et al. (2001) and Handley et al. (2007, 2008, 2011); global marine and highlighted regional (Indian Ocean)
sediments from Vervoort et al. (1999). End-member compositions (including data sources) used in the mixing calculations as in Fig. 7.
(b) Enlargement of the 176Hf/177Hf vs 143Nd/144Nd diagram showing data from Tambora relative to other Sunda arc volcanoes (Fig. 1).
The dashed line illustrates the boundary between Indian and Pacific mantle and is adapted from Pearce et al. (1999). Symbols for Tambora as
in Fig. 3.

60 wt % SiO2, reaching phonolitic compositions. They Melt inclusions in the more sodic plagioclase rims
overlap with the most evolved melt inclusion compositions and compositionally similar cores consistently contain
in the same sample and the 1815 products as a whole, 689  80 ppm sulphur and 1720 169 ppm chlorine.
when compared on an anhydrous basis (Fig. 9). In contrast, groundmass glasses contain lower average

284
 GERTISSER et al. PETROGENESIS OF THE 1815 TAMBORA MAGMA

AD 1815 melt inclusions

1.2 AD 1815 groundmass glass 22.5
AD 1815 whole rocks
1.0 21.5

Al2O3 (wt.%)
TiO2 (wt.%)

0.8 20.5

0.6 19.5

0.4 18.5

0.2 17.5

8 3.0

Downloaded from http://petrology.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of East Anglia on January 18, 2012

7
Fe2O3* (wt.%)

2.5

MgO (wt.%)
6
2.0
5
1.5
4

3 1.0

6 7

6
5
Na2O (wt.%)
CaO (wt.%)

5
4
4
3
3

2 2

8 0.9

7
0.7
P2O5 (wt.%)
K2O (wt.%)

6
0.5
5
0.3
4

3 0.1
53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
SiO2 (wt.%) SiO2 (wt.%)
Fig. 9. Major element variation diagrams vs SiO2 (wt %) for melt inclusions in calcic plagioclase cores (open diamonds) and more sodic
plagioclase rims (grey-shaded diamonds) plus groundmass glass of pumices (filled triangles) from the 1815 Tambora eruption. Small open circles
are 1815 whole-rock compositions from Fig. 5. All analyses are normalized to 100 wt %, free of volatiles.

285
 JOURNAL OF PETROLOGY VOLUME 53 NUMBER 2 FEBRUARY 2012

1600
25 S (ppm) plagioclase cores and more sodic outer crystal zones range
(a) 1200
from 1·8 to 2·5 wt %, averaging 2·1 0·2 wt % (1s;
n ¼10). Obsidian fragments of similar composition to the
20 1815 pumices are essentially degassed, containing between
Number of Analyses

800
0·11 and 0·15 wt % H2O (n ¼ 3). No systematic correlation
400
between water content in the melt inclusions and host
54 55 56 57 58 59 60 plagioclase compositions has been observed.
15 SiO2 (wt.%)
Groundmass U^Th^Ra isotopic data for 1815 pumices
glass
and constituent minerals
10 Melt Whole-rock and mineral U^Th^Ra data for the 1815
inclusions
pumices are reported in Table 2. The whole-rock data
vary in the range (230Th/232Th) ¼ 0·78^0·90 and
5 (238U/232Th) ¼ 0·84^0·91, and lie within the range of pub-

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lished data for the 1815 deposits (Gill & Williams, 1990;
Turner & Foden, 2001). 226Ra concentrations in the 1815
0 whole-rocks vary widely from 1200 to 2080 fg g1 and
(226Ra/230Th) varies from 1·15 to 1·99 (Table 2). Turner &
0 350 700 1050 1400
Foden (2001) reported a 226Ra concentration of 1279 fg g1
Sulphur (ppm) and a (226Ra/230Th) ratio of 1·20 for a single 1815 sample.
3000
Plagioclase, clinopyroxene, biotite and titanomagnetite
Cl (ppm) display both 238U and 230Th excesses, with (238U/232Th)
2500 and (230Th/232Th) ratios ranging from 0·69 to 1·09 and
2000
35 0·72 to 1·01, respectively (Table 2; Fig. 11a^c). The U and
Th contents of these minerals are much lower than in the
Number of Analyses

1500 30 whole-rock and groundmass glass. Also, with the exception

1000
of the plagioclase separate from sample T57/58, all mineral
54 55 56 57 58 59 60 25 phases are characterized by lower Ra concentrations than
SiO2 (wt.%) the whole-rock or groundmass glass. 226Ra^230Th disequi-
20 libria in the analysed mineral separates vary widely:
(226Ra/230Th) ¼ 0·57^8·32 (Table 2; Fig. 11d).
15 Groundmass glass compositions in three pumice samples
Melt show 238U excesses up to 15%, with (238U/232Th) and
10 Groundmass inclusions (230Th/232Th) ratios ranging from 0·82 to 0·86 and 0·72 to
glass
0·79, respectively. Two of the groundmass separates plot
5 close together and below the constituent mineral phases
(b) in the U^Th equiline diagram (Fig. 11b and c). The 226Ra
0 concentrations of the groundmass glasses vary from 1025
0 700 1400 2100 2800 to 1166 fg g1, with a spread of (226Ra/230Th) ratios
between 1·00 and 1·55 (Table 2; Fig. 11d).
Chlorine (ppm)
Fig. 10. Histograms of (a) sulphur and (b) chlorine concentrations in
plagioclase-hosted melt inclusions and groundmass glass in the 1815
DISCUSSION
eruptive products. The insets show sulphur and chlorine concentra- The role of crustal contamination in the
tions in melt inclusions in calcic plagioclase cores (open symbols) petrogenesis of the Tambora magmas
and more sodic plagioclase rims (grey-shaded symbols) as a function
of SiO2 content. The Tambora rocks appear to be ultimately derived from
a MORB-like mantle source (see below) and, therefore,
the slight shift in isotopic ratios from the MORB field
volatile concentrations (as a result of syn-eruptive degas- towards more ‘crustal’ values (Figs 7 and 8) may reflect
sing) of 290 74 ppm sulphur and 1511 132 ppm chlorine recycling of a crustal (subducted sediment) component
(see Self et al., 2004; Table 4). The more primitive inclusions into the mantle wedge or contamination by the arc crust
in the calcic plagioclase cores tend to be more volatile-rich, during magma ascent, or both. Owing to the younger age
with sulphur and chlorine concentrations up to 1255 and and ‘transitional to oceanic’ character of the overriding
2440 ppm, respectively (Table 4; Fig. 10). Water concentra- plate in the central and eastern portions of the Sunda
tions in a few analysed melt inclusions in both calcic arc compared with the western Sunda arc (Hamilton,

286
 GERTISSER et al. PETROGENESIS OF THE 1815 TAMBORA MAGMA

1.15 e 1.15
(a) T39 ilin (c) T7 ine
u uil
Eq Eq
1.05 1.05
(230Th/232Th)

(230Th/232Th)
0.95 0.95
wr

0.85 mt 0.85 mt bio

gm pl
pl
cpx bio wr Sample: T39
0.75 f(x) = -0.0093x + 0.7992 0.75
Equiline intercept = 0.7918
Slope age: 0 a gm

0.65 0.65
0.65 0.75 0.85 0.95 1.05 1.15 0.65 0.75 0.85 0.95 1.05 1.15
238 232
( U/ Th) 238 232
( U/ Th)

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1.15 10
e

Equil.
(b) T57/58 in (d)
uil T7
Eq T39
cpx T57/58
1.05 8 bio
cpx

(226Ra/230Th)
(230Th/232Th)

pl
0.95 6

0.85 4
mt pl
wr
bio wr
0.75 2 wr gm
gm mt
mt mt gm Equil.
pl pl wr gm
bio
0.65 0
0.65 0.75 0.85 0.95 1.05 1.15 0.5 0.7 0.9 1.1 1.3 1.5
(238U/232Th) (238U/230Th)
226 230 238 230
Fig. 11. (a^c) U^Th equiline diagrams and (d) ( Ra/ Th) vs ( U/ Th) plot for whole-rock, mineral and groundmass glass data from
three Tambora 1815 samples. The dashed line in (a) represents an isochron calculated for sample T39 that is within uncertainty of ‘zero’ age.
Mean analytical errors are smaller than the symbol size. wr, whole-rock; gm, groundmass glass; cpx, clinopyroxene; bio, biotite; mt,
Ti-magnetite; pl, plagioclase.

1979), assimilation and fractional crystallization (AFC)
processes (DePaolo, 1981) in these parts of the arc have
proved difficult to detect (see Turner & Foden, 2001;
Gertisser & Keller, 2003; Turner et al., 2003a; Chadwick
et al., 2007; Handley et al., 2007).
The absence of correlations between Sr, Nd and Hf
isotope ratios and indices of differentiation (e.g. SiO2;
Fig. 12) and the restricted ranges of these isotope ratios in
the Tambora products (with the exception of a few of
the older samples) suggest negligible input of isotopically
distinct crust during differentiation. However, as the
basement of Sumbawa at the eastern edge of the Sunda
arc is thought to comprise relatively thin (14^17 km),
compositionally immature crust (Hamilton, 1979), the iso-
topic composition may be similar to that of the underlying
mantle source. Therefore, assimilation of this crustal
material is difficult to distinguish using radiogenic isotope
systems alone. Upper crustal material typically possesses
elevated d18O values that are distinct from mantle values
and basaltic oceanic crust [d18O ¼ þ5·7  0·2ø (SMOW);
Harmon & Hoefs, 1995]. Whole-rock d18O values for
Tambora (Grall-Johnson, 1997) range between þ5·0 and
þ7·1ø (SMOW), although the majority of the samples lie
between þ5·6 and þ6·0ø (SMOW) and are indistin-
guishable from the mantle. This means that it is unlikely
that the Tambora magmas have been contaminated by
upper crustal material or, at least, that any upper crustal
component is relatively minor. By contrast, some level of
magma interaction with lower crustal lithologies cannot
be ruled out, although such a process may result in a
wider than observed range in d18O values. Accordingly, it
is assumed that interaction of the Tambora magmas with
the arc crust, if it occurred at all, has had a negligible
effect on their geochemical and isotopic composition. It
appears likely that the relatively thin eastern Sunda arc
crust on which the volcano is built does minimize the likeli-
hood of shallow-level crustal contamination (compared
with the central and, in particular, the western Sunda
arc). Thus, mantle source heterogeneity through recycling
of a crustal component into the mantle wedge beneath

287
 JOURNAL OF PETROLOGY VOLUME 53 NUMBER 2 FEBRUARY 2012

Post AD 1815 MORB-type mantle source (Indian-type or I-MORB)

0.7048 AD 1815 overprinted to various degrees by slab-derived fluid and
(a) Pre AD 1815 sediment components (e.g. Stolz et al., 1990; Edwards
FC et al., 1994; Hoogewerff et al., 1997; Turner & Foden, 2001;
0.7044 Gertisser & Keller, 2003; Handley et al., 2007). The origin
87Sr/86Sr

of the less voluminous potassic alkaline Sunda arc rocks,

typically found at volcanoes situated farthest away from
the trench in the rear arc (Fig. 1), is less clear. Contrasting
0.7040
models involving MORB-type (e.g. Turner et al., 2003a)
and metasomatized, enriched (or plume-type) mantle
source components (e.g. Wheller et al., 1987; Stolz et al.,
0.7036 1990; Edwards et al., 1991, 1994; van Bergen et al., 1992),
magma interaction with phlogopite-bearing lithospheric
0.5130 or ancient sub-continental mantle (Varne, 1985; Edwards

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(b) et al., 1991) and incongruent breakdown of amphibole
(Foden & Green, 1992) have been proposed. Moreover, it
143Nd/144Nd

0.5129 has been suggested that the potassic rear-arc volcanic

rocks reflect a higher subducted sediment contribution,
a weaker slab-derived fluid signal and a lower degree of
partial melting compared with the magmas formed along
0.5128 the main volcanic front (Whitford & Nicholls, 1976;
Hoogewerff et al., 1997; Turner & Foden, 2001).

0.5127
Mantle source characteristics
The relative immobility of the HREE and HFSE (com-
0.28322 pared with LREE and LILE) during slab dehydration
(c) (Pearce, 1983) and their comparably low abundances in
crustal rocks (Taylor & McLennan, 1985) make these
0.28317 elements (and their associated isotopic systems) useful for
176Hf/177Hf

placing constraints on the composition of the mantle

0.28312 wedge prior to addition of slab-derived components.
The HREE concentrations of the Tambora products are
10^20 times chondritic values and although the absolute
0.28307 concentrations are affected by the evolved character of
the magmas, they show unfractionated HREE patterns
(Fig. 6). This implies that garnet is not a significant residual
0.28302
46 48 50 52 54 56 58 mineral in the mantle source and that the Tambora
magmas are derived from mantle above the garnet stabil-
SiO2 (wt.%) ity field for wet peridotitic mantle. Turner & Foden (2001)
Fig. 12. Plots of (a) Sr/ Sr, (b) 143Nd/144Nd and (c) 176Hf/177Hf vs
87 86 and Turner et al. (2003a) used a plot of Tb/Yb vs La/Yb
SiO2 used to assess the role of crustal contamination beneath and partition coefficients for clinopyroxene on the mantle
Tambora. General trends are shown for fractional crystallization solidus (Blundy et al., 1998) to model melting processes
(FC) and assimilation and fractional crystallization (AFC). and the mantle source compositions of a range of Sunda
The latter can be positive or negative depending on the isotopic
composition of the (crustal) contaminant. Published Tambora data arc magmas, including those of the potassic Sangeang Api
are from Whitford et al. (1978), Varne & Foden (1986), Grall-Johnson volcano situated at approximately the same distance to
(1997) and Turner & Foden (2001). Symbols as in Fig. 3. the underlying Benioff Zone as Tambora. The uniform
La/Yb (16·0^17·8) and Tb/Yb (0·29^0·33) ratios of the
Tambora is considered to exert the prime control on the Tambora 1815 rocks (see Table 1) suggest an essentially
observed geochemical and radiogenic isotope variations garnet-free mantle source and a small degree of partial
at Tambora. melting (52%). The two lavas of more ‘calc-alkaline’
affinity have lower La/Yb (5·8^6·4) and Tb/Yb (0·28^
Magma source components and deep 0·29) ratios, which fall within the range of other Sunda
(mantle) processes arc front lavas (Turner & Foden, 2001) and imply higher
Studies of the Sunda arc have highlighted that magmas degrees of partial melting of the same source as the
erupted along the main volcanic front are derived from a 1815 rocks.

288
 GERTISSER et al. PETROGENESIS OF THE 1815 TAMBORA MAGMA
Ratios of Zr/Nb of 15^23 and Ta/Nb of 0·05^0·10 (from
the data in Table 1) vary relatively little within the
Tambora suite. Ta/Nb ratios are similar to or slightly
higher than those of MORB (both N- and I-type) and
OIB and, therefore, in some samples non-chondritic. In
contrast, Zr/Nb ratios are distinctly higher than OIB,
lower than N-MORB and more closely resemble I-MORB
(Chauvel & Blichert-Toft, 2001; Handley et al., 2007).
This indicates that the mantle beneath Tambora prior to
the influence of subduction-related components is slightly
depleted, but otherwise similar to the source of I-MORB
(Woodhead et al., 1993; Handley et al., 2007). As Hf and
Nd are thought to be relatively immobile in slab-derived
fluids (e.g. McCulloch & Gamble, 1991; Pearce et al., 1999;
see also Woodhead et al., 2001), their isotopic ratios in the
Tambora rocks (Fig. 8) place further constraints on their
mantle source. Both 176Hf/177Hf and 143Nd/144Nd isotopic
ratios are among the highest (i.e. the most primitive) of
all Sunda arc volcanic rocks (Handley et al., 2007, 2008,
2011) and lie within the Hf isotopic range of I-MORB.
The field for Tambora (as well as the Sunda arc as a
whole) is also, for the most part, distinct from the Indian
OIB field in Hf^Nd space (Fig. 8). Thus, involvement of
an enriched or plume component in the underlying
mantle wedge is not apparent. Furthermore, it can be
inferred from the above that the Tambora source appears
to be one of the least affected in the Sunda arc by crustal
inputs from either the slab or arc lithosphere. Volcanic
rocks from Tambora and other centres on Bali and Java lie
above the dividing line that separates Indian and Pacific
mantle domains in Hf^Nd isotope space (Pearce et al.,
1999; Fig. 6), implying derivation from an I-MORB-like
mantle source and corroborating conclusions based on
ratios of immobile trace elements.
Slab-derived components
As outlined above, the displacement of the Tambora
volcanic rocks to lower 143Nd/144Nd (and higher 87Sr/86Sr)
ratios with respect to I-MORB (Fig. 7a) requires some
subducted sediment component in the magma genesis in
addition to the dominant I-MORB mantle wedge source.
To test this hypothesis, mixing models between I-MORB
source mantle and selected sediments are illustrated in the
143
Nd/144Nd vs 87Sr/86Sr and 176Hf/177Hf vs 143Nd/144Nd
diagrams (Figs 7a and 8a). Although subducted sediment
compositions vary considerably along the arc, only a few
end-member compositions are available for petrogenetic
modelling in both Nd^Sr and Hf^Nd isotope space. A
reasonable model fit can be obtained for Tambora by
two-component mixing between I-MORB source mantle
and bulk subducted Indian Ocean sediments (e.g. mixing
array B; Figs 7a and 8a), although this depends significant-
ly on the sediment end-member composition used. Small
amounts of sediment (51%) in the mixture can produce
289
a sediment-modified mantle source with isotopic charac-
teristics similar to those of the Tambora rocks.
Elevated Ba/La ratios in subduction-related igneous
rocks when compared with MORB are widely interpreted
to reflect fluid addition to the mantle wedge from dehydra-
tion of the subducting slab (e.g. Ben Othman et al., 1989;
Elliott et al., 1997). Ba/La ratios of 27^30 in the 1815
Tambora samples are significantly higher than those
observed in I-MORB [Ba/La ¼ 7 4 (n ¼ 8); Chauvel &
Blichert-Toft, 2001]. As Ba is not expected to be fractionated
from La during differentiation, the Ba/La ratios in the
1815 trachyandesite strongly imply that slab-derived fluids
have been added to the mantle source, possibly from
altered oceanic crust, or both altered crust and subducted
Downloaded from http://petrology.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of East Anglia on January 18, 2012
sediment (see Gertisser & Keller, 2003). In Fig. 13, the
Tambora samples lie below the mantle^bulk sediment
mixing curve. 87Sr/86Sr ratios are slightly higher than the
inferred I-MORB-like mantle source and most samples
display higher Ba/La ratios than most subducted sediment
compositions in the Sunda arc. This can be readily
explained by addition of a low (but higher than the
mantle source) 87Sr/86Sr, high Ba/La fluid component, con-
sistent with fluids derived from subducting altered oceanic
crust (AOC), as previously suggested for other Sunda arc
volcanoes (Turner & Foden, 2001; Turner et al., 2003a;
Handley et al., 2007).
To corroborate the interpretation of fluid addition based
on Ba/La ratios, a more complex mixing scenario, which
involves an additional, isotopically distinct component
(i.e. AOC-derived fluid) in the source, is tested in Nd^Sr
isotope space (Fig. 7). Interaction of seawater with basalt
produces significant changes in 87Sr/86Sr ratios, whereas
0.7400
Sed-2
Sed-1 Indian Ocean
marine sediments
0.7300
87Sr/86Sr
0.7200
Sed-4
0.7100
Sed-3
1815 Tambora pumice
OIB
I-MORB source Fluid
0.7000
0 10 20 30 40
Ba/La
Fig. 13. Plot of 87Sr/86Sr vs Ba/La for Tambora with bulk mixing lines
between an Indian Ocean MORB-like (I-MORB) mantle source
and selected regional sediment compositions. Average I-MORB and
OIB data are from Chauvel & Blichert-Toft (2001) and Sun &
McDonough (1989); the sediment compositions are from McLennan
et al. (1990) and Vervoort et al. (1999) (see Figs 7a and 8a). Symbols
for Tambora as in Fig. 3.
 JOURNAL OF PETROLOGY VOLUME 53 NUMBER 2 FEBRUARY 2012

143
Nd/144Nd isotopes are essentially unaffected and remain
indistinguishable from fresh MORB (Hart et al., 1974;
White & Patchett, 1984; Staudigel et al., 1995). Because of
the lack of isotopic data reported for altered Indian
Ocean MORB, data for Atlantic MORB (Staudigel et al.,
1996) have been used to evaluate the effect of adding this
component to the mantle wedge beneath Tambora.
I-MORB source mantle metasomatized with
AOC-derived fluids will create a mixture with higher Sr
isotope ratios and similar Nd isotope ratios to I-MORB.
As the trajectory of the Tambora data crosscuts any con-
ceivable two-component mixing curve produced between
the mantle source and an AOC^sediment mixture, a
two-stage model is explored, in which an I-MORB source
data place further constraints on source processes.
The Tambora whole-rock data display small 238U
[(230Th/238U) ¼ 0·90^0·99] and 226Ra [(226Ra/230Th)  2]
excesses (Table 2; Fig. 14). Such excesses are widespread in
arc lavas and inferred to be related to the addition of
fluids released from the down-going slab (Turner et al.,
2003b, and references therein). For the Sunda arc front
volcanoes, Turner & Foden (2001) noted a positive correl-
ation between (226Ra/230Th) and (238U/230Th), an observa-
tion that also appears to hold overall for the potassic
rear-arc volcanoes (Fig. 14b). The extent of U^Th disequi-
librium has been attributed to a constant fluid flux
buffered by the Th concentration of the mantle source,
which is controlled by the amount of sediment added to

Downloaded from http://petrology.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of East Anglia on January 18, 2012

mantle is contaminated by fluids derived from AOC and
subsequently by a sediment component. To create the
fluid-modified mantle component 3% fluid from the
altered crust is required in the model. The mixing propor-
tions of AOC and I-MORB are highly dependent on the
the mantle wedge. As the amount of source contamination
by subducted sediment beneath Tambora is thought
1.00

ne
Sr and Nd abundances and isotopic ratios of the altered (a)

uili
Eq
crust, which are extremely variable. The fraction of fluid 0.95
Batu Tara
required is smaller if more highly altered basalt compos- Sangeang Api
itions are used and greater if a partial melt or bulk (230Th/232Th) 0.90 T07
Tambora (this study)
mixing of AOC is considered. The two-stage, Tambora (published)
three-component model produces a good fit to the 0.85
Tambora data, with only a small proportion of 51% sedi- T57/58
ment required to generate the observed isotopic values. 0.80
Such a model explains slightly better the relations dis- T39
played in Fig. 7a, although AOC is not absolutely required 0.75
by the modelling. The model proposed for Tambora is simi-
lar to that of Handley et al. (2007) for Ijen volcano in east- 0.70
ern Java. 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1
Modelling of two-stage source contamination in Hf^Nd
(238U/232Th)
isotope space is hindered by the lack of Hf isotope data
for AOC. However, as Nd isotope ratios remain relatively 4
constant during hydrothermal and low-temperature
Equil.

(b)
seawater alteration of MORB, Hf isotope ratios are also
expected to be unaffected by alteration of oceanic crust 3
(226Ra/230Th)

(White & Patchett, 1984). In these circumstances, contam-

ination of the mantle source by a slab-derived fluid from
AOC would be undetectable using Hf and Nd isotopes, 2 T07
and the isotopic compositions would be the same for an
I-MORB source, with or without added AOC-derived T39
T57/58
fluids. The mixing model between an average I-MORB 1
Equil.
source and the same sediment end-members used in
Nd^Sr isotope space requires 51% addition of sediment
to explain the Tambora data (Fig. 8a). Such a value repre- 0
sents an upper limit, if a sediment partial melt (rather 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3
than bulk sediment) is added to the mantle source (see
Turner & Foden, 2001; Gertisser & Keller, 2003; Turner (238U/230Th)
et al., 2003a; Handley et al., 2007). Fig. 14. (a) U^Th equiline diagram and (b) (226Ra/230Th) vs
(238U/230Th) plot for whole-rocks from the 1815 Tambora eruption
Source processes: constraints from U-series isotopes compared with potassic volcanic rocks from Batu Tara (Hoogewerff
et al., 1997) and Sangeang Api (Turner et al., 2003a). The published
Having identified the source components involved in Tambora analyses are taken from Gill & Williams (1990) and Turner
the petrogenesis of the Tambora magmas, the U-series & Foden (2001).

290
 GERTISSER et al. PETROGENESIS OF THE 1815 TAMBORA MAGMA
to be small (see above), the 238U excesses and similar
(238U/232Th) ratios in the Tambora whole-rocks are inter-
preted to reflect primarily a small and, apparently,
constant fluid signal in the source. Minor 238U excesses at
Tambora contrast with U^Th isotope data for other
potassic Sunda arc lavas from Batu Tara (Hoogewerff
et al., 1997) and Sangeang Api (Turner et al., 2003a), which
exhibit both relatively small 238U and more pronounced
230
Th excesses (Fig. 14a). At Sangeang Api, the 230Th
excesses are thought to be related to the effects of partial
melting of the mantle wedge that exceed those of fluid
addition in the presence of residual garnet in the source
(Turner et al., 2003a).
An alternative model has been proposed for the Kurile
rear-arc, where slab-derived, high-Th fluids are invoked to
account for 230Th excesses in alkaline lavas from Rishiri
volcano situated 300 km above the subducting slab
(Kuritani et al., 2008). At Tambora, preservation of a fluid
flux signal with slight 238U excesses is consistent with the
apparent lack of residual garnet in the source and a depth
to the underlying Benioff Zone (180 km) that is less than
at Rishiri and other rear-arc volcanoes, which characteris-
tically exhibit 230Th excesses when the depths to the
subducting slab exceeds 250 km (Turner et al., 2003b,
and references therein). In Fig. 14a, the Tambora and
some of the Batu Tara whole-rocks are displaced to higher
(230Th/232Th) compared with the horizontal array of
Sangeang Api and the Batu Tara samples that exhibit
230
Th excesses. The latter also plot closer to the equiline
than the Sangeang Api samples with 238U excesses. This
may indicate that the source region beneath Tambora and
in the eastern portion of the Sunda arc is heterogeneous
with respect to (230Th/232Th) and suggest that the 1815
Tambora magmas evolved from various primary magma
batches that subsequently followed similar liquid lines of
descent. The heterogeneity, with respect to (230Th/232Th),
of the mantle wedge may reflect the composition of the
sediment component added to the mantle source in this
part of the arc, although minor increases in (230Th/232Th)
may have occurred during subsequent differentiation
processes (see below).
Magma storage and shallower (crustal)
processes
Magmatic differentiation
The 1815 eruption evacuated a 30^33 km3 trachyandesite
magma body from a geochemically, isotopically and min-
eralogically relatively uniform reservoir. Data here and
those of Foden (1986) suggest that the 1815 eruptive
products are among the most evolved at Tambora (Figs 3
and 5). The trends observed in variation diagrams (Fig. 5)
are consistent with the fractionation of plagioclase,
clinopyroxene, titanomagnetite, small amounts of apatite,
biotite and olivine, as well as late-stage ternary feldspar.
291
In detail, the liquid line of descent is segmented and char-
acterized by an early fractionation (stage 1) of predomin-
antly olivine and clinopyroxene, giving rise to the
evolution from primitive, silica-undersaturated, potassic
and relatively Al2O3-poor trachybasalt to more differen-
tiated, Al2O3-rich trachybasalt and basaltic trachyandesite
(shoshonite). Petrographic evidence (Foden, 1986) and
simple least-squares mixing calculations (Fig. 5) suggest
that small amounts of plagioclase, titanomagnetite and
biotite crystallized during this early stage, although the
amount of plagioclase must have been small as Al2O3
increases with SiO2. During stage 1, TiO2, Fe2O3*, MgO
and to some extent CaO are continuously depleted. An
indistinct compositional gap (Fig. 5) separates differenti-
Downloaded from http://petrology.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of East Anglia on January 18, 2012
ation stage 1 from a stage 2 in which plagioclase becomes
more important in the fractionating mineral assemblage
and Al2O3 remains constant with increasing SiO2 during
evolution from Al2O3-rich basaltic trachyandesite to tra-
chyandesite (Figs 3 and 5). The continuation of decreasing
trends for TiO2, Fe2O3*, MgO (with a less steep negative
slope) and CaO indicates that clinopyroxene, titanomag-
netite and biotite continue to crystallize during stage 2.
However, unlike Fe2O3*, MgO and CaO, TiO2 is
displaced to slightly higher values among the 1815 rocks
compared with the main trend, which could be explained
by a decrease in the Ti content of magnetite with decreas-
ing temperature. A peak in P2O5 contents (Fig. 5) shows
that the Tambora magmas became saturated with apatite
at 55 wt % SiO2. Melt inclusions and groundmass glass
compositions in the 1815 eruptive products further
constrain the differentiation of the Tambora magmas. The
melt inclusion compositions generally follow and extend
the trend displayed by the 1815 whole-rocks towards
higher SiO2 contents (Fig. 9). Groundmass glass compos-
itions of the 1815 pumices overlap with the more SiO2-rich
melt inclusion compositions in the plagioclase rims. The
1815 groundmass glasses are phonolitic in composition
(58^60 wt % SiO2) and saturated in ternary feldspar
(anorthoclase) (Fig. 4a). They are the most evolved
Tambora compositions and the best representation of
the melt composition erupted in 1815.
In addition, the melt inclusions display the same hori-
zontal trend as the 1815 whole-rocks, with constant Al2O3
as SiO2 increases (Fig. 9). All melt inclusions trapped in
plagioclase in the 1815 eruptive products therefore reflect
stage 2 of differentiation of the Tambora magmas.
This implies that during the differentiation from basaltic
trachyandesite to trachyandesite, plagioclase of a wide
range of compositions (and as calcic as An91) crystallized
from these melts. Many of these calcic plagioclases are cor-
roded and occur as An-rich crystal cores that are rimmed
by more sodic plagioclase, suggesting that they represent
earlier formed crystals (‘antecrysts’; see Hildreth, 2001)
that were subsequently entrained and partially resorbed
 JOURNAL OF PETROLOGY VOLUME 53
in magma batches replenishing the main pre-1815 crustal
magma reservoir.
Magmatic intensive variables
The increase of Al2O3 with slight enrichment in SiO2
during differentiation stage 1 suggests that plagioclase crys-
tallization was minor during this stage (Fig. 3). This may
indicate that differentiation from trachybasalt to basaltic
trachyandesite possibly occurred at considerable crustal
depths near the Moho or, possibly, at sub-crustal depths
and/or elevated water pressures (see Hildreth &
Moorbath, 1988). Crystallization temperatures during
these early stages of magma evolution, inferred from
liquidus temperature estimates for the most primitive
Tambora samples using the PELE model of Boudreau
(1999), are of the order of 1100^11508C. We propose that
basaltic trachyandesite magmas then rose to shallower
crustal levels, where the plagioclase-dominated crystalliza-
tion of differentiation stage 2 led to trachyandesitic^
tephriphonolitic and ultimately phonolitic melts in a
high-level magma chamber, for which Foden (1986, 1987)
inferred a depth between 1·5 and 4·5 km (or possibly
more), based on various phase equilibria. Magma pressure,
estimated from the maximum measured H2O concentra-
tions in melt inclusions (2·5 wt %), would be 60 MPa
(estimated using PELE; Boudreau, 1999), which corres-
ponds to a depth of 2·3 km (assuming a crustal density
of 2·7 g cm3). Such a value is very likely to be an absolute
minimum value, as the inclusions may not have become
closed until late during ascent or may have lost some of
their volatile content after entrapment (e.g. Danyushevsky
et al., 2002). Application of the comparatively pressure-
insensitive plagioclase^melt hygrometer of Lange et al.
(2009) to the 1815 products, using the average plagioclase
rim (An58) and glass compositions (Table 4) plus a
temperature of 9488C (see below), yields 5·0 wt %
H2O, corresponding to a saturation pressure of 200 MPa
or a magma chamber depth of 7·5 km (assuming a crust-
al density of 2·7 g cm3). Both more Ab-rich plagioclase
compositions (up to An43; see above) and higher tempera-
tures (up to 10058C; see below) yield lower calculated
melt H2O concentrations and, as such, the 200 MPa
pressure (or 7·5 km depth) obtained above may be re-
garded as a maximum value for the shallow 1815 magma
storage region. QUILF geothermometry (Andersen et al.,
1993), assuming equilibrium between ferromagnesian sili-
cate phases (olivine and clinopyroxene) and titanomagne-
tite in the 1815 eruptive products, indicates crystallization
temperatures of 977^9328C, averaging 948 188C (1s;
n ¼ 5) and fO2 values of 1·8^2·2 log units above the faya-
lite^magnetite^quartz (FMQ) buffer. Temperatures of
1005  88C (n ¼116) were obtained using Fe2þ^Ti
exchange thermometry in biotite (see Table 3) (Luhr et al.,
1984).
292
NUMBER 2 FEBRUARY 2012
Volatile behaviour and magma degassing
Self et al. (2004) estimated that Tambora released 53^58
Tg of SO2 in 1815 to generate 93^118 Tg of stratospheric
sulphuric aerosols, a value that agrees well with estimates
of aerosol mass from ice core studies and proxy
palaeo-temperature records (for discussion, see Self et al.,
2004). Therefore, the Tambora eruption products yield a
record of the sulphur mass released, with no ‘excess
sulphur’, contrasting with other recent eruptions that were
fed by magmas with similar oxygen fugacities (2 log
units above FMQ). In such magmas, sulphur is sequestered
into the gas phase, thus depleting the melt (e.g. Scaillet
et al., 2004) and accounting for discrepancies between pet-
Downloaded from http://petrology.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of East Anglia on January 18, 2012
rological estimates and satellite measurements of sulphur
gas release during eruption (e.g. Devine et al., 1984).
Melt inclusions in the 1815 eruptive products define a
relatively continuous latite to tephriphonolite spectrum.
Concentrations of sulphur in melt inclusions are highest in
the least evolved compositions (1255 ppm) and decrease to
nearly 400 ppm in the most evolved compositions
(Table 4; Fig. 10). This indicates that the melt in the shal-
low, pre-1815 magma reservoir reached sulphur concentra-
tions high enough for sulphur to partition into a,
presumably, H2O- and CO2-rich fluid phase. This is
reflected in the compositions of ternary feldspar microlites,
the positions of which relative to the dry solvus appear to
indicate higher crystallization temperatures than the
plagioclase phenocrysts (Fig. 4a). We infer that changes
in H2O activity through degassing raised the liquidus tem-
perature and relocated the position of the ‘two feldspar
plus liquid’ curve, resulting in ternary feldspar crystalliza-
tion at higher apparent temperatures. Evidence for the
presence of sulphur-rich magma in the assumed
higher-level magma reservoir prior to 1815 exists in the
form of volatile-rich melt inclusions in plagioclase crystals
that are interpreted to have grown at shallow depth.
Sulphur degassing is thought to have accompanied
magma differentiation prior to the cataclysmic eruption
in 1815. We propose that the released gas phase did not
accumulate within or towards the top of the magma reser-
voir to contribute to the volatile budget of the eruption.
Instead, sulphur degassing may have occurred continuous-
ly over a period of several thousand years prior to 1815
(see below), with the exsolved gas phase escaping passively
to the surface through permeable wall-rocks. At the time
of the eruption, the upper magma reservoir had been par-
tially degassed with respect to sulphur (45%; based on
the average sulphur concentrations reported in Table 4)
and the melt inclusions trapped in plagioclase rims pre-
serve a true record of the pre-eruptive melt volatile (sul-
phur) content.
In contrast to sulphur, degassing of chlorine prior to and
during the 1815 eruption was less effective or less complete
(Fig. 10). Chlorine concentrations are only slightly higher
 GERTISSER et al. PETROGENESIS OF THE 1815 TAMBORA MAGMA
in the less evolved melt inclusions, indicating that only
30% (based on the average chlorine concentrations
reported in Table 4) degassed prior to eruption. Melt inclu-
sions in plagioclase rims (and compositionally similar
cores) have an average of 200 ppm more chlorine than
the groundmass glass (Table 4). Using this difference and
the eruption parameters described by Self et al. (2004), the
calculated chlorine release to the atmosphere is of
the order of 14^15 Tg or half the amount of sulphur.
The degassing of chlorine prior to and during the 1815
Tambora eruption may have implications for the behav-
iour of halogens in K-rich volcanic systems elsewhere.
Crustal processes and their timescales: constraints from
U-series isotopes
U-series data for 1815 Tambora whole-rocks, constituent
minerals and groundmass glass may be used to provide fur-
ther insight into the pre-eruptive timing and nature of
magmatic processes. Despite the relative mineralogical,
geochemical and isotopic homogeneity of the 1815 eruptive
products, the U-series whole-rock, mineral and ground-
mass glass data reveal a complex picture (Fig. 11). The sim-
plest situation is for sample T39, where the whole-rock,
groundmass glass, plagioclase, clinopyroxene, magnetite
and biotite data fall along a horizontal isochron line
that is within uncertainty of ‘zero’ age, indicating recent
differentiation processes operating over timescales too
short to be resolved with the U^Th system (Fig. 11). Data
for the other two samples show more complex patterns
and there is no evidence of any correlation between
(230Th/232Th) and (238U/232Th) that would allow mean-
ingful information on differentiation timescales to be
obtained. This, as shown below, most probably results
from mixing between crystals from new and old magma
batches and entrainment of cumulate material or ‘ante-
crysts’. The distinctly lower (230Th/232Th) ratios of the
groundmass glass for samples T57/58 and T7 than the
whole-rocks and mineral phases may reflect a younger
melt infiltrating a somewhat older, partially solidified
magma.
In the 1815 magmas, (226Ra/230Th) values (Fig. 11) do not
form any coherent pattern. Several mineral phases in the
1815 Tambora rocks have (226Ra/230Th) approaching
secular equilibrium, indicating ages close to 8000 years
(Table 2; Fig. 11). Some of the mineral phases are, within
experimental uncertainty, in (226Ra/230Th) equilibrium
and are crystals older than 8000 years, whereas others
show evidence of 226Ra loss, possibly from recent Ra parti-
tioning into growing plagioclase crystals. Clinopyroxene
(T57/58), biotite (T7) and plagioclase (T57/58) show large
(226Ra/230Th) disequilibria and must have been
(226Ra/230Th) open systems until very recently, possibly as
recently as the eruption age. The observations that clino-
pyroxene (T7) is in (226Ra/230Th) disequilibrium and has
(230Th/232Th) and (238U/232Th) ratios that are significantly
293
2.5
kyr
2.0 0
(226Ra/230Th)
0.5
1.0
1.5 1.5
2.0
3.0
4.0
6.0
1.0
Secular equilibrium
0.5
54 55 56 57
Downloaded from http://petrology.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of East Anglia on January 18, 2012
SiO2 (wt%)
226 230
Fig. 15. ( Ra/ Th) vs SiO2 (wt %) plot for 1815 Tambora
whole-rocks. The schematic arrow illustrates a time-dependent
(closed-system) differentiation path from the least to the most evolved
1815 samples, assuming initial 226Ra^230Th disequilibrium similar to
the least evolved sample (T7). The published Tambora whole-rock
analysis (open circle) is taken from Turner & Foden (2001). Mean
analytical errors are smaller than the symbol size. (See text for
discussion.)
different from the cluster of the other data points may indi-
cate that clinopyroxene has been derived fairly recently
from a different part of the magmatic system. However, it
is also possible that the clinopyroxene (238U/232Th) ratios
could be affected by inclusions, such as apatite, although
this is not obvious petrographically.
Given the complexities of the Tambora mineral data in
the U^Th and Ra^Th systems, meaningful information
on differentiation timescales may best be obtained from
the correlation of (226Ra/230Th) with SiO2 as an index of
differentiation (Fig. 15). In a time-dependent model,
decreasing (226Ra/230Th) reflects the decay of 226Ra
during (closed-system) differentiation from the least (bas-
altic trachyandesite) to the most evolved (trachyandesite^
tephriphonolite) samples from the 1815 eruption. As such,
the time elapsed during differentiation can be constrained
by the half-life of 226Ra to be 4000^4500 years (Fig. 15).
A slightly longer crustal residence time for the 1815
Tambora magma was suggested by Turner et al. (2003a)
based on comparison of (226Ra/230Th) disequilibria with
data from neighbouring Sangeang Api volcano. It should
be noted that the model presented here assumes initial
226
Ra^230Th disequilibrium similar to that in the least
evolved 1815 sample (T7). As this most probably represents
a minimum value, the time elapsed, as inferred from
Fig. 15, might be underestimated. Similarly, as any primi-
tive magma is likely to have relatively high (226Ra/230Th)
disequilibrium, injection of such magma into the differen-
tiating magma body may buffer the rate of decrease of
(226Ra/230Th) such that even after several thousand years
 JOURNAL OF PETROLOGY
significant (226Ra/230Th) disequilibria may be maintained
(Hughes & Hawkesworth, 1999). This would also mean
that the inferred timescales represent minimum estimates.
By contrast, crustal assimilation, if it occurred, would
lead to extended apparent differentiation timescales owing
to the incorporation of lower (226Ra/230Th) crustal mater-
ial (assuming the assimilant is older than 8000 years),
shifting the samples closer to equilibrium.
S U M M A RY A N D C O N C L U S I O N S
A conceptual model for the magma system of Tambora
prior to the 1815 eruption is illustrated in Fig. 16. In this
model, SiO2-undersaturated, potassic trachybasalt
magmas parental to the 1815 magma originate from small
degrees (2%) of partial melting of a garnet-free,
I-MORB-like mantle source fluxed with 3% fluids from
the AOC of the subducting slab and small amounts
(51%) of subducted sedimentary material. These factors
contributed to preserving the effects of fluid addition to
the mantle source in the Tambora rocks [(230Th/238U)51].
Magmatic differentiation from primary trachybasalt to
the trachyandesite erupted from Tambora in 1815 occurred
during two-stage, polybaric differentiation at depths
around the Moho and in a shallow-level crustal reservoir.
The 30^33 km3 homogeneous, trachyandesite magma
body that was emptied during the 1815 eruption appears
to have grown by influx of basaltic trachyandesite
magmas formed by partial crystallization of primary
Fig. 16. A conceptual model, illustrating the petrogenetic processes
and timescales prior to the 1815 Tambora eruption. Mineral
abbreviations as in Fig. 11. (See text for discussion.)
VOLUME 53 NUMBER 2 FEBRUARY 2012
trachybasaltic magma in the inferred deep reservoir.
The trachyandesitic magma and residual phonolitic melts
evolved by fractional crystallization, possibly driven by
decompression-induced volatile exsolution and heat
exchange with the evolving magma body, magma mixing
through additions of basaltic trachyandesite magma and
convection, which led to the development of a well-stirred,
homogeneous magma body.
Results from U-series disequilibria indicate that the
above processes occurred over timescales of 4000^4500
years. Most of the mineral phases in the 1815 eruptive prod-
ucts were not in equilibrium with the melt (groundmass)
at time of eruption, but formed during somewhat earlier
crystallization episodes (58000 years ago). Highly calcic,
Downloaded from http://petrology.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of East Anglia on January 18, 2012
corroded plagioclase crystals in 226Ra^230Th equilibrium
(48000 years old) are interpreted to represent ‘antecrystic’
material incorporated into the 1815 Tambora magma,
presumably through rejuvenation of crystal mushes at the
base of the shallow, pre-1815 magma reservoir, or entrain-
ment of crystals during ascent of hotter magmas from
greater depth. Magma accumulation and differentiation
at shallow depth within the crust prior to the 1815 eruption
was accompanied by degassing of sulphur (and other vola-
tile species), presumably through permeable wall-rocks.
Such a process has implications for the assessment of the
volatile budget of fairly oxidized arc magmas.
AC K N O W L E D G E M E N T S
We are grateful to Mabs Gilmour, Nick Rogers and Andy
Tindle for their help with the analytical work carried out
at The Open University (UK), and Geoff Nowell and
Chris Ottley for their assistance with the Hf isotope
analyses at the University of Durham (UK). We thank
Vicky Smith, Tod Waight, Colin Wilson and an anonymous
referee for their thoughtful and thorough reviews that
helped to clarify the ideas presented in the paper, and
John Gamble for editorial handling.
FU NDI NG
We gratefully acknowledge in-kind contributions from The
Open University and the University of Durham for the
analytical work carried out in this study. R.G. acknow-
ledges support by the European Research and Training
Network on ‘Volcano dynamics in relation to monitoring,
hazards mitigation and volcano crisis response’ (Fifth
Framework Programme; Contract number: HPRN-CT-
2000-00060).
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