Biotite composition as a tool for the identification of Quaternary tephra beds

Abstract Stratigraphically important Quaternary rhyolitic tephra deposits that erupted from the Okataina and Taupo volcanic centers in New Zealand can be geochemically identified using the FeO and MgO contents of their biotite phenocrysts. The FeO/MgO ratio in biotite does not correlate with FeO/MgO in the coexisting glass phase so that tephra beds with similar glass compositions can be discriminated by their different biotite compositions. Some individual tephra deposits display sequential changes in biotite composition that allow separate phases of the eruption to be identified, greatly increasing the potential precision for correlation. In addition, devitrified lavas that are unsuitable for glass analysis can be correlated to coeval tephra deposits by their biotite compositions. Biotite is common in high-K2O (>4 wt%) tephra beds and is widely dispersed in ash plumes because of its platy form, thus making it important in correlation studies.