ABSTRACT

Cs/Rb ratio was examined on the Nohi rhyolite complex in Central Japan, which is composed mainly of rhyolitic ignimbrite. The variation in the Cs/Rb ratio of the magma through crystallization differentiation was estimated using a Rayleigh fractionation model and available distribution coefficients between phenocryst minerals and co-existing groundmass. It was found that the K/Rb ratio of this complex decreased from 273 to 125, but the Cs/Rb ratio remained constant through the differentiation process. The initial Cs/Rb ratio of this magma is 0.030 ± 0.005. The value is very close to the average Cs/Rb ratio of the ignimbrite in the Taupo region, Northern New Zealand, but is distinctly heigher than that of ocean floor basalts. To estimate the effect of contamination the Rb-Sr whole rock isochron method was used.