Melt-bearing nodules from Tenerife reveal magma reservoir diversity prior to caldera-forming eruptions

Journal article

Partially crystalline nodules are occasionally discovered within breccias linked to large ignimbrite-forming eruptions, providing evidence of the fragmentation of the plutonic reservoir and conduit system during such eruptions. These nodules offer valuable insights into the magmatic systems fuelling these highly explosive volcanoes. On Tenerife, crystal-rich samples containing interstitial melt are preserved in several Plinian eruption deposits spanning over ~ 1.8 million years, but the crustal architecture and interactions between magma reservoirs beneath the island remain poorly understood. This study focuses on explosively fragmented juvenile nodules from Tenerife’s pyroclastic deposits, which provide snapshots of the mush reservoir preceding caldera-forming events. Petrological, major element and trace element analyses were conducted on juvenile nodules from five major caldera-forming eruptions: Caleta (221 ka), Fasnia (312 ka), San Juan (1.50 Ma), Morteros (~ 1.70 Ma), and Gaviotas (1.84 Ma). These nodules preserve a range of crystallisation stages within Tenerife’s alkaline magmatic system, uniquely containing interstitial groundmass that existed in a supra-solidus state at the time of eruption, with an average melt content of ~ 25 vol%. Despite macro-mineralogical variability between eruptions, the juvenile nodules exhibit consistent basanite interstitial groundmass chemistry and lithologies, suggest that the mafic mush reservoir beneath Tenerife has remained both chemically and petrologically stable over ~ 1.8 million years. This study provides a new perspective on the stability of the mafic mush reservoir beneath Tenerife, highlighting its persistent role in the volcano’s magmatic plumbing system. The chemical consistency of the mush contrasts with the episodic mobilisation and more chemically diverse evolved phonolite melts, underscoring the importance of understanding mid-crustal processes leading to explosive eruptions. These findings provide evidence for a long-lived, stable mush reservoir and a new perspective on the compositional makeup of the crystal-mush reservoirs at defined points in time, enhancing our temporal understanding of ocean island volcanoes and their crustal magma mush reservoirs.

Authors: Horn, EL; Taylor, RN; Gernon, TM; Stock, MJ; Schofield, KE

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Springer
• Journal: Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology
• Volume: 181
• Issue: 5
• Article number: 39
• Publication date: 2026-04-28
• Acceptance date: 2026-02-15
• DOI: 10.1007/s00410-026-02302-3
• EISSN: 1432-0967
• ISSN: 0010-7999
• Language: English
• Keywords: Geochemistry; Interstitial magma; Canary Islands; Tenerife; Petrology; Crystal mush