Duane E. Champion

Revised ages for tuffs of the Yellowstone Plateau volcanic field: Assignment of the Huckleberry Ridge Tuff to a new geomagnetic polarity event

40 Ar/ 39 Ar ages were determined on the three major ash-flow tuffs of the Yellowstone Plateau volcanic field in the region of Yellowstone National Park in order to improve the precision of previously determined ages. Total-fusion and incremental- heating ages of sanidine yielded the following mean ages: Huckleberry Ridge Tuff—2.059 ± 0.004 Ma; Mesa Falls Tuff— 1.285 ± 0.004 Ma; and Lava Creek Tuff— 0.639 ± 0.002 Ma. The Huckleberry Ridge Tuff has a transitional magnetic direction and has previously been related to the Reunion Normal- Polarity Subchron. Dating of the Reunion event has been reviewed and its ages have been normalized to a common value for mineral standards. The age of the Huckleberry Ridge Tuff is significantly younger than lava flows of the Reunion event on Re union Island, supporting other evidence for a normal-polarity event younger than the Reunion event.

Contrasting magma types and steady-state, volume-predictable, basaltic volcanism along the Great Rift, Idaho

The Great Rift is an 85-km-long, 2- to 8-km-wide volcanic rift zone in the Snake River Plain, Idaho. Three latest Pleistocene to Holocene basaltic lava fields, Craters of the Moon, Kings Bowl, and Wapi, are located along the Great Rift. The Craters of the Moon lava field is a composite of more than 60 lava flows, 25 cinder cones, and at least 8 eruptive fissure systems. It covers 1,600 km2 and contains ∼30 km3 of lava flows and associated pyroclastic deposits. Field, radiocarbon, and paleomagnetic data show that the Craters of the Moon lava field formed in eight eruptive periods, each of which was typically several hundred years or less in duration and was separated from others before and after by intervals of several hundred to several thousand years. The first eruptive period began ∼15,000 yr B.P., and the latest eruptive period ended ∼2100 yr B.P. The small Kings Bowl lava field (3.3 km2, 0.01 km3) and the larger Wapi lava field (330 km2, 6 km3) both formed ∼2250 yr B.P. Three magma types have fed flows along the Great Rift. The types are (1) a contaminated type that has a SiO2 range of ∼49%–64% and commonly shows petrographic evidence of contamination, (2) a fractionated type that has a SiO2 range of ∼44%–54% and shows no evidence of contamination and whose chemical and mineralogical variation can be accounted for mainly by crystal fractionation, and (3) a Snake River Plain type that has a SiO2 range of ∼45%–48%, shows little evidence of fractionation, and is represented by Kings Bowl–Wapi flows and olivine basalts of the Snake River Plain. The contaminated and fractionated magma types were erupted at the Craters of the Moon lava field, and the Snake River Plain magma type was erupted at the Kings Bowl and Wapi lava fields. These relations imply that the magma reservoirs are spatially isolated. The magma output rate for the Craters of the Moon segment of the Great Rift was constant at ∼1.5 km3/1,000 yr for the period from 15,000 to 7000 yr B.P. The rate increased to ∼2.8 km3/1,000 yr from 7000 to 2000 yr B.P., mainly as a result of the addition of contaminated magma to the nearly constant output rate of fractionated magma. The Craters of the Moon segment of the Great Rift has experienced quasi-steady-state, volume-predictable volcanism for the last 15,000 yr. The recurrence interval of eruptive activity for the Craters of the Moon lava field ranges from several hundred to ∼3,000 yr. Because the present interval has lasted ∼2,100 yr, another eruptive period seems likely to occur within the next 1,000 yr. The steady-state, volume-predictable relationship suggests that 5–6 km3 of lava will be erupted in the next eruptive period.

Radiocarbon studies of latest Pleistocene and Holocene lava flows of the Snake River Plain, Idaho: Data, lessons, interpretations

Abstract Latest Pleistocene-Holocene basaltic lava fields of the Snake River Plain, Idaho, have been dated by the radiocarbon method. Backhoe excavations beneath lava flows typically yielded carbon-bearing, charred eolian sediment. This material provided most of the samples for this study; the sediment typically contains less than 0.2% carbon. Charcoal fragments were obtained from tree molds but only from a few backhoe excavations. Contamination of the charred sediments and charcoal by younger carbon components is extensive; the effects of contamination were mitigated but appropriate pretreatment of samples using acid and alkali leaches. Twenty of the more than 60 lava flows of the Craters of the Moon lava field have been dated; their ages range from about 15,000 to about 2000 yr B.P. The ages permit assignment of the flows to eight distinct eruptive periods with an average recurrence interval of about 2000 yr. The seven other latest Pleistocene-Holocene lava fields were all emplaced in short eruptive bursts. Their 14 C ages (yr B.P.) are: Kings Bowl (2222± 100), Wapi (2270 ± 50), Hells Half Acre (5200 ± 150), Shoshone (10,130 ± 350), North Robbers and South Robbers (11.980 ± 300), and Cerro Grande (13,380 ± 350).

Dating recent Hawaiian lava flows using paleomagnetic secular variation

Hawaiian paleomagnetic secular variation (SV) is defined from samples at 67 sites on lava flows of known age. Paleomagnetic directions range through 40° of inclination and 30° of declination; angular dispersion within sites is commonly Dating precision is limited by dispersion of 4.5° among sites of apparently similar age. The main dispersion sources are in 14 C dates (3.0°), intra-flow deformations (2.0°), and local magnetic anomalies (1.5°). Results from 68 sites on undated flows show that 95% of Kilauea9s surface is younger than 1,000 yr. A hiatus in volcano growth 1,000–1,500 yr ago coincides with the filling of a large caldera. Averaging of available data yields an SV reference curve which is fairly reliable to ∼1,500 yr ago, contains gaps and ambiguities 1,500–3,000 yr ago, and remains highly uncertain 3,000–6,000 yr ago. The SV dating method can be precise but is limited by the need for a calibrated SV history. It can be a powerful correlation tool even if a history is unavailable.

The Giant Crater Lava Field: Geology and geochemistry of a compositionally zoned, high‐alumina basalt to basaltic andesite eruption at Medicine Lake Volcano, California

The Giant Crater lava field consists of >4 km3 of basaltic lava, compositionally zoned from first-erupted calc-alkaline basaltic andesite to last-erupted primitive high-alumina basalt. On the FeO*/MgO (where FeO* is total Fe calculated as FeO) versus SiO2 discrimination diagram commonly used to distinguish tholeiitic from calc-alkaline series lavas the compositionally zoned eruption crosses from the tholeiitic field to the calc-alkaline field. The lavas erupted in a brief span of time about 10,500 years ago from several closely spaced vents on the south flank of Medicine Lake volcano in the southern Cascade Range. Six chemical-stratigraphic groups were mapped. Lower K2O, higher MgO groups always overlie higher K2O, lower MgO groups. Group 6 lavas erupted last and are aphyric, have high contents of MgO and Ni, and contain as little as 0.07% K2O. Group 1 lavas are porphyritic and have as much as 1.10% K2O. Major element contents of primitive group 6 Giant Crater basalt are very similar to a subset of primitive mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB). Group 6 lava is more depleted in middle and heavy rare earth elements (REE) and Y than is primitive MORB, but it is enriched in large ion lithophile elements (LILE). These LILE enrichments may be a result of fluid from the subducting slab interacting with the mantle beneath Medicine Lake volcano. The group 6 REE pattern is parallel to the pattern of normal-type MORB, indicating a similar although perhaps more depleted mantle source. The location of Medicine Lake volcano in an extensional environment behind the volcanic front facilitates the rise of mantle-derived melts. Modification of the primitive group 6 basalt to more evolved compositions takes place in the upper crust by processes involving fractional crystallization and assimilation. The group 1 calc-alkaline Giant Crater basaltic andesite produced by these processes is similar to other Cascade basaltic andesites, implying that a similar high-alumina basalt may be parental.

Paleomagnetic correlation of Late Quaternary lava flows in the lower east rift zone of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii

Paleomagnetic data reflecting paleosecular variation (PSV) of the geomagnetic field are used to correlate individual lava flows in the lower east rift zone of Kilauea Volcano. This area has been recently mapped based on petrography, stratigraphy, soil development, and degree of weathering of the flows; eight 14C dates also provide a framework for the relative age assignments. Site-mean directions of remanent magnetization for historic flows in this region indicate that local magnetic anomalies do not mask the PSV signal, that within-flow angular differences are generally <5°, and that temporal resolution of the paleomagnetic directions is of the order of 100 years. The paleomagnetic correlations do not conflict with the observed stratigraphic relationships, and PSV reference curves from dated lava flows and lake sediments have also been used to help determine the sequence of directional groups. Paleomagnetic grouping of flows into eruptive events indicates a different and perhaps more refined eruptive history for the lower east rift zone than implied by the geologic mapping alone. The number of individual flows based on petrographic distinctions is likely the same, but the frequency of events (including petrographically distinct flows) is apparently lower than previously thought. Flows from ridge crest vents bifurcated by the rift indicate formation of the central graben in this region after ∼300 years ago, possibly related to the 1790 eruptions along dual fractures.

Geomagnetic secular variation from 14C-dated lava flows on Hawaii and the question of the Pacific non-dipole low

New palaeomagnetic data from 106 14C-dated lava flows ranging in age from 200 to 31000 years b.p. yield an estimated angular dispersion value of 9.5°. These data and other new geological information permit a more precise estimate of the time interval recorded by lava flow sequences previously used to measure palaeosecular variation in Hawaii. When weighted according to revised estimates of recording interval, the combined Brunhes lava sequences yield an angular dispersion of 11.21));j) degrees, still lower than that predicted by global models of the secular variation. Several of the lava flow sequences previously thought to have recorded quiet intervals of geomagnetic behaviour actually record only very short time intervals.

Age and character of basaltic rocks of the Yucca Mountain region, southern Nevada

Volcanism in the Yucca Mountain region of southern Nevada in the last 5 m.y. is restricted to moderate-to-small volumes of subalkaline basaltic magmas, produced during at least 6 intervals, and spanning an age range from 4.6 Ma to about 125 ka. Where paleomagnetic evidence is available, the period of volcanism at individual eruptive centers apparently was geologically short-lived, even where multiple eruptions involved different magma types. K-Ar studies are consistent with most other geochronologic information, such as the minimum ages of exposure-dating techniques, and show no evidence of renewed volcanism after a significant quiescence at any of the centers in the Yucca Mountain region. A volcanic recurrence interval of 860 ± 350 kyr is computed from a large K-Ar data set and an evaluation of their uncertainties. Monte Carlo error propagations demonstrate the validity of uncertainties obtained for weighted-mean ages when modified using the goodness of fit parameter, MSWD. Elevated 87Sr/86Sr initial ratios (Sri) in the basalts, nearly constant at 0.707, combined with low SiO2 and Rb/Sr ratios indicate a subcontinental, lithospheric mantle source, previously enriched in radiogenic Sr and depleted in Rb. Beginning with eruptions of the most voluminous eruptive center, the newly dated Pliocene Thirsty Mountain volcano, basaltic magmas have decreased in eruptive volume, plagioclase-phenocryst content, various trace element ratios, and TiO2, while increasing in light rare earth elements, U, Th, P2O5, and light REE/heavy REE ratios. These time-correlated changes are consistent with either increasing depths of melting or a decreasing thermal gradient in the Yucca Mountain region during the last 5 m.y.

Latest Pleistocene and Holocene Geomagnetic Paleointensity on Hawaii

Geomagnetic paleointensity determinations from radiocarbon-dated lava flows on the island of Hawaii provide an estimate of broad trends in paleointensity for Holocene time and offer a glimpse of intensity variations near the end of the last glacial period. When the data from Hawaii are compared with others worldwide, the intensity of the geomagnetic field seems to have been reduced from the Holocene average by about 35 percent between 45,000 and 10,000 years ago. A long-term reduction of this magnitude is compatible with reported increases in the production rate of cosmogenic nuclides during the same interval.

Multiple constraints on the age of a Pleistocene lava dam across the Little Colorado River at Grand Falls, Arizona

The Grand Falls basalt lava flow in northern Arizona was emplaced in late Pleistocene time. It flowed 10 km from its vent area to the Little Colorado River, where it cascaded into and filled a 65-m-deep canyon to form the Grand Falls lava dam. Lava continued ∼25 km downstream and ∼1 km onto the far rim beyond where the canyon was filled. Subsequent fluvial sedimentation filled the reservoir behind the dam, and eventually the river established a channel along the margin of the lava flow to the site where water falls back into the preeruption canyon. The ca. 150 ka age of the Grand Falls flow provided by whole-rock K-Ar analysis in the 1970s is inconsistent with the preservation of centimeter-scale flow-top features on the surface of the flow and the near absence of physical and chemical weathering on the flow downstream of the falls. The buried Little Colorado River channel and the present-day channel are at nearly the same elevation, indicating that very little, if any, regional downcutting has occurred since emplacement of the flow. Newly applied dating techniques better define the age of the lava dam. Infrared- stimulated luminescence dating of silty mudstone baked by the lava yielded an age of 19.6 ± 1.2 ka. Samples from three noneroded or slightly eroded outcrops at the top of the lava flow yielded 3He cosmogenic ages of 16 ± 1 ka, 17 ± 1 ka, and 20 ± 1 ka. A mean age of 8 ± 19 ka was obtained from averaging four samples using the 40Ar/39Ar step-heating method. Finally, paleomagnetic directions in lava samples from two sites at Grand Falls and one at the vent area are nearly identical and match the curve of magnetic secular variation at ca. 15 ka, 19 ka, 23 ka, and 28 ka. We conclude that the Grand Falls flow was emplaced at ca. 20 ka.