The Marifil Volcanic Complex at Sierra de Pailemán: implications for the Early Jurassic magmatic evolution of the Eastern North Patagonian Region

Abstract

The Sinemurian Marifil Volcanic Complex at Sierra de Pailemán, located in the east part of the North Patagonian Region, Argentina, includes five lithofacies and three volcanic events. The volcanic activity begins with subaerial pyroclastic-fall deposits, massive lapilli tuffs with eutaxitic textures, and subaerial silicic domes’ emplacement. The upper part of the sequence is formed by pyroclastic fall deposits that pass to massive lapilli tuffs and rhyolitic lava flows. These lithofacies indicate the collapse of explosive eruption columns, coeval with small silicic domes’ emplacement, and lava-flows’ eruption. The volcanic episode at Sierra de Pailemán was generated during continuous magmatic activity because no erosional or unconformity surfaces were recognized. The Marifil Volcanic Complex’s age at Sierra de Pailemán is 191.2 ± 1.3 Ma (Sinemurian) and belongs to the V0 phase of volcanism. These rocks are high-K rhyolites, possibly produced by partial melting of the lower crust, promoted by fluids derived from a subducted plate in back-arc settings that change to an intraplate setting. The Lu-Hf isotopes suggest the possibility of magma mixing in the source and recycling or re-melting of a more evolved crust related to subduction zones. The Lower Jurassic magmatic activity in the western North Patagonian Region and the Patagonian Cordillera of Argentina and Chile correspond to continental arcs.