Evolving volcanism at the tip of a propagating arc: The earliest high-Mg andesites in northern New Zealand

A NNW-striking string of isolated volcanic centers, the Kiwitahi chain, erupted between 15 and 5.5 Ma in northern New Zealand. Prior to 6.2 Ma, the erupted rocks were plagioclase- and hornblende-dominated andesites, which are geochemically comparable to coeval andesites erupted in the nearby, much larger Coromandel Volcanic Zone (CVZ). Compared to CVZ andesites, however, the Kiwitahi andesites show more subdued incompatible element enrichments, and they generally have relatively unradiogenic Sr isotope compositions. These features, and the small eruption volumes involved, suggest that the Kiwitahi centers formed over the edge of a magmatic system that was centered on the CVZ. The Kiwitahi centers progressively become younger towards the SSE representing the migration over the time of the edge of this magmatic system. Between 6.2 and 5.5 Ma, four centers at the southern end of the chain erupted pyroxene-dominated, high-magnesium andesites that are geochemically unlike coeval andesites in the CVZ, but similar to Quaternary high-Mg andesites erupted along the western edge of the Taupo Volcanic Zone. These are the earliest known high-Mg andesites in northern New Zealand; their appearance may mark the inception of the current configuration where high-Mg andesite eruptions precede regular andesitic volcanism at the leading edge of the arc.

Research Highlights
► Kiwitahi chain (NZ) records Miocene arc volcanism over the edge of a magmatic system.
► Volcanism initially calc-alkaline andesitic, eventually changed to high-Mg andesitic.
► Kiwitahi high-Mg andesites are the earliest known in the North Island succession.
► Kiwitahi chain contiguous with high-Mg centers along the western Taupo Volcanic Zone.