Abigail K. Barker

An 40Ar‐39Ar study of the Cape Verde hot spot: Temporal evolution in a semistationary plate environment

The 40 Ar- 39 Ar analyses of 28 groundmass separates from volcanic rocks from the islands of Santiago, Sal, and Sao Vicente, Cape Verde archipelago, are presented. The new age data record the volcanic evolution for Santiago from 4.6 to 0.7 Ma, for Sal from around 15 to 1.1 Ma, and for Sao Vicente from 6.6 to 0.3 Ma. The major submarine constructional phase of Santiago was erupted within a few hundred thousand years interval around 4.6 Ma. Most of the subaerial Santiago volcanic rocks were erupted in a second episode from 3.3 to 2.2 Ma and late volcanism occurred at 1.1-0.7 Ma. Volcanism on Sal evolved in five stages: (1) poorly constrained early Miocene activity, (2) 16-14 Ma, (3) 12-8 Ma, (4) around 5.4 Ma, and (5) 1.1-0.6 Ma. Sao Vicente was constructed during three active periods: (1) >6.6-5.9 Ma, (2) 4.7-4.5 Ma, and (3) ∼0.3 Ma. Sr isotope analyses of carbonates from Maio confirm an Early Cretaceous age for limestones deposited on the seafloor and later uplifted. The Cape Verde Rise is indicated to have fully formed in the early Miocene around 22 Ma, accompanied by the initial alkaline volcanism. Considerable volcanism on Sal, Boa Vista, and Maio took place in the Miocene and Pliocene and extended over much larger areas than the present islands, whereas volcanism of the southwestern and northwestern island groups developed mainly during the Pliocene and Pleistocene and was mostly confined to the present island areas. The periods of volcanic activity may be broadly correlated between the northwestern and southwestern groups of islands. Young volcanism (0.3-0.1 Ma) throughout the northwestern group extends along a 150 km long NW-SE trending lineament. A relatively moderate average melting rate for the hot spot over the 22 Ma period is estimated at ∼0.026 km 3 /a, corresponding to a total volume of 570 x 103 km 3 of magma emplaced in the crust and a mantle volume flux of 28 m 3 /s, much lower than Iceland or Hawaii. The archipelago is situated to the south and SW of the center of the mantle plume anomaly and ahead of its relative movement. The timing and location of volcanism suggest that mantle melting takes place in three channels, an eastern one that has been active for 22 Ma and in southwestern and northwestern channels since late Miocene.

Interaction of the rifting East Greenland margin with a zoned ancestral Iceland plume.

Neodymium and high-precision lead isotopic data are presented for Paleogene East Greenland flood basalts that erupted during an early phase of magmatic activity associated with the Iceland hotspot. The 6-km-thick volcanic sequence shows marked chemostratigraphic variations: lavas in the lower half of the sequence (Milne Land and Geikie Plateau Formations) have low 2 0 6 Pb/ 2 0 4 Pb values (17.8-18.4), abruptly changing to high 2 0 6 Pb/ 2 0 4 Pb values (18.8-19.3) in the overlying Romer Fjord Formation, followed by intermediate 2 0 6 Pb/ 2 0 4 Pb values (18.6-18.8) in the uppermost Skraenterne Formation. These three isotopic groups of crustally uncontaminated lavas are broadly similar to spatially distinct isotopic domains found in present-day Iceland. The East Greenland data indicate that the same mantle domains present beneath Iceland today were present in the ancestral Iceland hotspot at 55 Ma, and were sequentially tapped during continental break-up as the spatially zoned mantle interacted with the rifting continental margin. The compositional domains within the Iceland hotspot appear to be long-lived features that, given estimates of Icelandic mantle-upwelling velocities, have vertical length-scales of at least ∼500 km.

Magmatic evolution of the Cadamosto Seamount, Cape Verde: beyond the spatial extent of EM1

The Cadamosto Seamount is an unusual volcanic centre from Cape Verde, characterised by dominantly evolved volcanics, in contrast to the typically mafic volcanic centres at Cape Verde that exhibit only minor volumes of evolved volcanics. The magmatic evolution of Cadamosto Seamount is investigated to quantify the role of magma-crust interaction and thus provide a perspective on evolved end-member volcanism of Cape Verde. The preservation of mantle source signatures by Nd–Pb isotopes despite extensive magmatic differentiation provides new insights into the spatial distribution of mantle heterogeneity in the Cape Verde archipelago. Magmatic differentiation from nephelinite to phonolite involves fractional crystallisation of clinopyroxene, titanite, apatite, biotite and feldspathoids, with extensive feldspathoid accumulation being recorded in some evolved samples. Clinopyroxene crystallisation pressures of 0.38–0.17 GPa for the nephelinites constrain this extensive fractional crystallisation to the oceanic lithosphere, where no crustal assimilants or rafts of subcontinental lithospheric mantle are available. In turn, magma-crust interaction has influenced the Sr, O and S isotopes of the groundmass and late crystallising feldspathoids, which formed at shallow crustal depths reflecting the availability of oceanic sediments and anhydrite precipitated in the ocean crust. The Nd–Pb isotopes have not been affected by these processes of magma-crust interaction and hence preserve the mantle source signature. The Cadamosto Seamount samples have high 206Pb/204Pb (>19.5), high εNd (+6 to +7) and negative Δ8/4Pb, showing affinity with the northern Cape Verde islands as opposed to the adjacent southern islands. Hence, the Cadamosto Seamount in the west is located spatially beyond the EM1-like component found further east. This heterogeneity is not encountered in the oceanic lithosphere beneath the Cadamosto Seamount despite greater extents of fractional crystallisation at oceanic lithospheric depths than the islands of Fogo and Santiago. Our data provide new evidence for the complex geometry of the chemically zoned Cape Verde mantle source.

Direct observation of a fossil high-temperature, fault-hosted, hydrothermal upflow zone in crust formed at the East Pacific Rise

Fault zones in the ocean crust are commonly hypothesized to act as high-permeability conduits that focus fl uid fl ow in oceanic hydrothermal systems. However, there has been little direct study of faults in crust formed at fast-spreading ridges. Here we describe the geology and geochemistry of an ~40-m-wide fault zone within the uppermost sheeted dike complex exposed at Pito Deep (northeastern Easter microplate). Titanium in quartz thermometry gives temperatures of 392 ± 33 °C for quartz precipitation, indicating that this fault zone focused upwelling fl uids at temperatures similar to those of black-smoker vent fl uids. Correlated enrichment in 87 Sr/ 86 Sr and MgO in fault breccias, along with 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios higher than in average vent fl uids, provide evidence for mixing between high-temperature upwelling fl uids and a seawater-like fl uid within the fault zone. Large high-temperature fl uid fl uxes are required to maintain high temperatures during mixing. If this fault zone is representative of upfl ow zones beneath hydrothermal vents on the East Pacifi c Rise, then it is possible that vent fl uids evolve thermally and chemically during their ascent and may not record the precise conditions at the base of the hydrothermal system.

The missing half of the subduction factory: shipboard results from the Izu rear arc, IODP Expedition 350

ABSTRACT IODP Expedition 350 was the first to be drilled in the rear part of the Izu-Bonin, although several sites had been drilled in the arc axis to fore-arc region; the scientific objective was to understand the evolution of the Izu rear arc, by drilling a deep-water volcaniclastic section with a long temporal record (Site U1437). The Izu rear arc is dominated by a series of basaltic to dacitic seamount chains up to ~100-km long roughly perpendicular to the arc front. Dredge samples from these are geochemically distinct from arc front rocks, and drilling was undertaken to understand this arc asymmetry. Site U1437 lies in an ~20-km-wide basin between two rear arc seamount chains, ~90-km west of the arc front, and was drilled to 1804 m below the sea floor (mbsf) with excellent recovery. We expected to drill a volcaniclastic apron, but the section is much more mud-rich than expected (~60%), and the remaining fraction of the section is much finer-grained than predicted from its position within the Izu arc, composed half of ashes/tuffs, and half of lapilli tuffs of fine grain size (clasts <3 cm). Volcanic blocks (>6.4 cm) are only sparsely scattered through the lowermost 25% of the section, and only one igneous unit was encountered, a rhyolite peperite intrusion at ~1390 mbsf. The lowest biostratigaphic datum is at 867 mbsf (~6.5 Ma), the lowest palaeomagnetic datum is at ~1300 mbsf (~9 Ma), and the rhyolite peperite at ~1390 mbsf has yielded a U–Pb zircon concordia intercept age of (13.6 + 1.6/−1.7) Ma. Both arc front and rear arc sources contributed to the fine-grained (distal) tephras of the upper 1320 m, but the coarse-grained (proximal) volcaniclastics in the lowest 25% of the section are geochemically similar to the arc front, suggesting arc asymmetry is not recorded in rocks older than ~13 Ma.

Locating the depth of magma supply for volcanic eruptions, insights from Mt. Cameroon.

Mt. Cameroon is one of the most active volcanoes in Africa and poses a possible threat to about half a million people in the area, yet knowledge of the volcano’s underlying magma supply system is sparse. To characterize Mt. Cameroon’s magma plumbing system, we employed mineral-melt equilibrium thermobarometry on the products of the volcano’s two most recent eruptions of 1999 and 2000. Our results suggest pre-eruptive magma storage between 20 and 39 km beneath Mt. Cameroon, which corresponds to the Moho level and below. Additionally, the 1999 eruption products reveal several shallow magma pockets between 3 and 12 km depth, which are not detected in the 2000 lavas. This implies that small-volume magma batches actively migrate through the plumbing system during repose intervals. Evolving and migrating magma parcels potentially cause temporary unrest and short-lived explosive outbursts, and may be remobilized during major eruptions that are fed from sub-Moho magma reservoirs.

Preservation of magmatic signals in metavolcanics from Wedel Jarlsberg Land, SW Svalbard

Abstract The purpose of this study is to determine the role of metamorphism and thereby identify the preserved magmatic signature in metavolcanics from Wedel Jarlsberg Land in southwestern Svalbard. Samples have been collected from late Precambrian metavolcanics occurring within metasedimentary rocks of the Sofiebogen Group, as well as dikes cutting older metasedimentary rocks of the Deilegga Group. The volcanic rocks were metamorphosed under greenschist facies conditions during the Caledonian Orogeny. To investigate the role of metamorphism, we present petrography, major and trace element geochemistry, and use factor analysis as a tool to identify correlations that correspond to primary magmatic signals. The metavolcanics are classified as subalkaline basalt to basaltic andesite and they contain relicts of primary clinopyroxene and plagioclase. The metamorphic minerals are actinolite, secondary plagioclase, chlorite and minerals belonging to the epidote group. Major element variations are highly scattered with no obvious trends observed. The HFSE and REE show strong trends attributed to fractional crystallization. The LILE, Th and La show elevated contents in some samples. Factor analysis shows that the HFSE and REE are well correlated. The LILE form a separate well correlated group, while the major elements are not correlated, except for Na2O, Fe2O3 and CaO. The lack of correlation for major elements, as well as the lack of observed fractional crystallization trends between these elements suggests that they were modified by metamorphism. The strong correlation of HFSE and REE reflects the original geochemical signal generated by magmatic processes. The correlation of the LILE is consistent with their elevated composition implying the influence of crustal contamination processes, and though some variability is likely superimposed due to metamorphism, the primary magmatic record is not completely destroyed. We conclude that the HFSE and REE are not influenced by metamorphic processes and therefore provide robust records of magmatic processes.

Pre-Teide Volcanic Activity on the Northeast Volcanic Rift Zone

The northeast rift zone of Tenerife (NERZ) presents a partially eroded volcanic rift that offers a superb opportunity to study the structure and evolution of oceanic rift zones. Field data, structural observations, isotopic dating, magnetic stratigraphy, and isotope geochemistry have recently become available for this rift and provide a reliable temporal framework for understanding the structural and petrological evolution of the entire rift zone. The NERZ appears to have formed in several major pulses of activity with a particularly high production rate in the Pleistocene (ca. 0.99 and 0.56 Ma). The rift underwent several episodes of flank creep and eventual catastrophic collapses driven by intense intrusive activity and gravitational adjustment. Petrologically, a variety of mafic rock types, including crystal-rich ankaramites, have been documented, with most samples isotopically typical of the “Tenerife signal”. Some of the NERZ magmas also bear witness to contamination by hydrothermally altered components of the island edifice and/or sediments. Isotope geochemistry furthermore points to the generation of the NERZ magmas from an upwelling column of mantle plume material mixed with upper asthenospheric mantle. Finally, persistent isotopic similarity through time between the NERZ and the older central edifices on Tenerife provides strong evidence for a genetic link between Tenerife’s principal volcanic episodes.