Temporal evolution of the Mariana arc during rifting of the Mariana Trough traced through the volcaniclastic record

The sedimentary sequences that accumulate around volcanic arcs may be used to reconstruct the history of volcanism provided the degree of along-margin sediment transport is modest, and that reworking of old sedimentary or volcanic sequences does not contribute substantially to the sediment record. In the Mariana arc, the rare earth and trace element compositions of ash layers sampled by Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) site 451 on the West Mariana Ridge, and sites 458 and 459 on the Mariana Forearc, were used to reconstruct the evolution of the arc volcanic front during rifting of the Mariana Trough. Ion microprobe analysis of individual glass shards from the sediments shows that the glasses have slightly light rare earth element (LREE)-enriched compositions, and trace element compositions typical of arc tholeiites. The B/Be ratio is a measure of the involvement of subducted sediment in petrogenesis, and is unaffected by fractional crystallization. This ratio is variable over the period of rifting, increasing up-section at site 451 and reaching a maximum in sediments dated at 3–4 Ma, ∼ 3–4 million years after rifting began. This may reflect increased sediment subduction during early rifting and roll-back of the Pacific lithosphere. Parallel trends are not seen in the enrichment of incompatible high field strength (HFSE), large ion lithophile (LILE) or rare earth elements (REE), suggesting that flux from the subducting slab alone does not control the degree of melting. Re-establishment of arc volcanism on the trench side of the basin at ca 3 Ma resulted in volcanism with relative enrichment in incompatible REE, HFSE and LILE, although these became more depleted with time, possibly due to melt extraction from the mantle source as it passed under the developing back-arc spreading axis, prior to melting under the volcanic front.     

Physical volcanology of the submarine Mariana and Volcano Arcs

Narrow-beam maps, selected dredge samplings, and surveys of the Mariana and Volcano Arcs identify 42 submarine volcanos. Observed activity and sample characteristics indicate 22 of these to be active or dormant. Edifices in the Volcano Arc are larger than most of the Mariana Arc edifices, more irregularly shaped with numerous subsidiary cones, and regularly spaced at 50–70 km. Volcanos in the Mariana Arc tend to be simple cones. Sets of individual cones and volcanic ridges are elongate parallel to the trend of the arc or at 110° counterclockwise from that trend, suggesting a strong fault control on the distribution of arc magmas. Volcanos in the Mariana Arc are generally developed west of the frontal arc ridge, on rifted frontal arc crust or new back-arc basin crust. Volcanos in the central Mariana Arc are usually subaerial, large (> 500 km³), and spaced about 50–70 km apart. Those in the northern and southern Marianas are largely submarine, closer together, and generally less than 500 km³ in volume. There is a shoaling of the arc basement around Iwo Jima, accompanied by the appearance of incompatible-element enriched lavas with alkalic affinities. The larger volcanic edifices must reflect either a higher magma supply rate or a greater age for the larger volcanos. If the magma supply (estimated at 10–20 km³/km of arc per million years at 18° N) has been relatively constant along the Mariana Arc, we can infer a possible evolutionary sequence for arc volcanos from small, irregularly spaced edifices to large (over 1000 km³) edifices spaced at 50–70 km. The volcano distribution and basal depths are consistent with the hypothesis of back-arc propagation into the Volcano Arc.     

Oxygen- and strontium-isotopic investigations of subduction zone volcanism: the case of the Volcano Arc and the Marianas Island Arc

Recent, fresh, volcanic rocks of the intra-oceanic Mariana and Volcano Arcs were analyzed for O and Sr isotopic compositions in order to determine the source of these magmas. Fresh, non-arc, volcanic rocks from the regions surrounding the Mariana-Volcano Arcs and some DSDP sediments were also analyzed for comparison. The oxygen isotopic ratios of the arc lavas (5.5–6.8‰) exhibited a small inter-island variation that cannot be entirely explained by fractional crystallization. The Sr isotopic composition of the arc lavas is remarkably uniform (0.70332–0.70394 for the Marianas). Three models are considered in order to explain the observed isotopic characteristics: (1) bulk mixing and melting of MORB-type mantle with (a) subducted sediments, and (b) subducted oceanic crust (excluding sediments); (2) melting of a mixture of sediment-derived fluids and MORB-type mantle; and (3) melting of a mixture of sediment-derived fluids and oceanic island or “hot-spot” type mantle. The last model fits the data best. The conclusion that very small, and variable, amounts of sediment-derived fluid ( 1%) are required to explain the observed inter-island O isotopic variation, is consistent with that of other workers who used different isotopic and trace element methods. The generation of magmas in the Mariana-Volcano Arcs involves very little sediment and the source region of Mariana lavas is isotopically indistinguishable from that of hot-spot basalts.     

O, S, Sr, and Pb isotope variations in volcanic rocks from the Northern Mariana Islands: implications for crustal recycling in intra-oceanic arcs

Quaternary lavas from the Northern Mariana Islands have respective O- and S-isotope ranges ofδ¹⁸O = +5.7 to +6.6 (‰ SMOW) andδ³⁴S = +2.0to+20.7 (‰ CDT). Chemically evolved andesites and dacites with meanδ¹⁸O = +6.3 ± 0.2 are slightly enriched in¹⁸O with respect to unfractionated basalts of<53%SiO₂ with meanδ¹⁸O = +6.0 ± 0.1. This¹⁸O enrichment can be explained in terms of differentiation of parental mafic magmas havingδ¹⁸O values between +5.7 to +6.2‰ through closed-system crystal fractionation because the lavas from all nine islands of the arc define a coherentδ¹⁸OSiO₂ trend. The S-isotope composition of oxidized magmas is not modified extensively through the degassing of SO₂; therefore, the meanδ³⁴S value of ca. +11‰ for the Mariana lavas is considered to be representative of their source region.The enrichment of¹⁸O and³⁴S in Mariana Arc parental magmas relative to ocean floor basalts withδ¹⁸O ca. + 5.7‰ andδ³⁴S = ca.0.3‰ is attributed to the recycling of¹⁸O- and³⁴S-rich crustal components (sediment withδ¹⁸O = ca. + 25‰ and seawater sulfate withδ³⁴S = ca. +20‰ into the upper mantle source region for these arc magmas. This interpretation is consistent with enrichments of radiogenic Sr and Pb in the same lavas relative to ocean-floor basalts erupted either side of the arc, which are presumed to share a common upper mantle source. This enrichment is considered to reflect the mixing of two components, one having a typical upper mantle composition and the other having a more radiogenic character similar to that of western Pacific pelagic sediments.     

Geochemistry of volcanic glass from Oligocene detrital sediments at DSDP Site 296, Kyushu Palau Ridge: Interpreting the magmatic evolution of the early northern Izu–Bonin–Mariana Island Arc

Understanding the petrologic and geochemical evolution of island arcs is important for interpreting the timing and impacts of subduction and processes leading to the formation of a continental crust. The Izu–Bonin–Mariana (IBM) Arc, western Pacific, is an outstanding location to study arc evolution. The IBM first arc (45–25 Ma) followed a period of forearc basalt and boninite formation associated with subduction initiation (52–45 Ma). In this study, we present new major and trace element data for the IBM first arc from detrital glass shards and clasts from DSDP Site 296, located on the northernmost Kyushu Palau Ridge (KPR). We synthesize these data with published literature for contemporaneous airfall ash and tephra from the Izu–Bonin forearc, dredge and piston core samples from the KPR, and plutonic rocks from the rifted eastern KPR escarpment, locations which lie within or correlate with KPR Segment 1 of Ishizuka, Taylor, Yuasa, and Ohara (2011). Our objective is to test ways in which petrologic and chemical data for diverse igneous materials can be used to construct a complete picture of this section of the Oligocene first arc and to draw conclusions about its evolution. Important findings reveal that widely varying primary magmas formed and differentiated at various depths at this location during this period. Changes in key trace element ratios such as La/Sm, Nb/Yb, and Ba/Th show that mantle sources varied in fertility and in the inputs of subducted sediment and fluids over time and space. Plutonic rocks appear to be related to early K‐poor dacitic liquids represented by glasses sampled both in the forearc and volcanic fronts. An interesting observation is that the variation in magma compositions in this relatively small segment encompasses that inferred for the IBM Arc as a whole, suggesting that sampling is a key factor in inferring temporal, across‐arc, and along‐strike geochemical trends.     

Early history of the Izu–Bonin – Mariana arc system: Evidence from Belau and the Palau Trench

Volcanic rocks of the Kyushu–Palau Ridge (KPR) from Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) site 448 and from Belau comprise a low-to-medium-K arc tholeiitic series. Belau rocks include (probable) Mid-Eocene low-Ca type-3 boninite and pre-Early Oligocene–Early Miocene low-K arc tholeiitic basalt, basaltic andesite, andesite and dacite. Palau Trench samples include sparsely phyric high-Mg, -Cr and -Ni rocks which resemble the Belau boninite and Izu–Bonin – Mariana (IBM) system boninites. The high-Mg Palau Trench samples also resemble other primitive arc lavas (e.g. arc picrites). Their chemistry suggests an origin involving steep thermal gradients in multiply depleted mantle. Subduction of hot, young lithosphere under a young hot upper plate is postulated to explain this occurrence. The KPR is inferred to be the source of Eocene boninite and arc tholeiitic terranes presently in forearc regions of the IBM system. A model is presented here showing how many IBM boninites may have originated in a small area near Belau. These have migrated eastward by episodic back-arc opening accompanying eastward migration of arcs and trenches. Oldest known KPR rocks ( ca 47.5 Ma at DSDP site 296), and presumed KPR-derived exotic terranes of Guam ( ca 43.8 Ma), presage the postulated Eocene ( ca 42–43 Ma) change in Pacific plate motion invoked as the cause of subduction initiation at the KPR. The KPR has been rotated more than 40° clockwise since the Eocene, thus the age mismatch may indicate a different tectonic style, for example transtension or transpression, in earliest KPR history.     

Did boninite originate from the heterogeneous mantle with recycled ancient slab?

Boninites are widely distributed along the western margin of the Pacific Plate extruded during the incipient stage of the subduction zone development in the early Paleogene period. This paper discusses the genetic relationships of boninite and antecedent protoarc basalt magmas and demonstrates their recycled ancient slab origin based on the T–P conditions and Pb–Hf–Nd–Os isotopic modeling. Primitive melt inclusions in chrome spinel from Ogasawara and Guam islands show severely depleted high‐SiO₂, MgO (high‐silica) and less depleted low‐SiO₂, MgO (low‐silica and ultralow‐silica) boninitic compositions. The genetic conditions of 1 346 °C at 0.58 GPa and 1 292 °C at 0.69 GPa for the low‐ and ultralow‐silica boninite magmas lie on adiabatic melting paths of depleted mid‐ocean ridge basalt mantle with a potential temperature of 1 430 °C in Ogasawara and of 1 370 °C in Guam, respectively. This is consistent with the model that the low‐ and ultralow‐silica boninites were produced by remelting of the residue of the protoarc basalt during the forearc spreading immediately following the subduction initiation. In contrast, the genetic conditions of 1 428 °C and 0.96 GPa for the high‐silica boninite magma is reconciled with the ascent of more depleted harzburgitic source which pre‐existed below the Izu–Ogasawara–Mariana forearc region before the subduction started. Mixing calculations based on the Pb–Nd–Hf isotopic data for the Mariana protoarc basalt and boninites support the above remelting model for the (ultra)low‐silica boninite and the discrete harzburgite source for the high‐silica boninite. Yb–Os isotopic modeling of the high‐Si boninite source indicates 18–30 wt% melting of the primitive upper mantle at 1.5–1.7 Ga, whereas the source mantle of the protoarc basalt, the residue of which became the source of the (ultra)low‐Si boninite, experienced only 3.5–4.0 wt% melt depletion at 3.6–3.1 Ga, much earlier than the average depleted mid‐ocean ridge basalt mantle with similar degrees of melt depletion at 2.6–2.2 Ga.     

40Ar/ 39Ar and K–Ar geochronological age constraints for the inception and early evolution of the Izu–Bonin – Mariana arc system

K–Ar and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dates are presented for locations in the Izu–Bonin – Mariana (IBM) forearc (Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) sites 786 & 782, Chichijima, Deep Sea Drilling Program (DSDP) sites 458 & 459, Saipan), and Palau on the remnant arc of the Kyushu–Palau Ridge. For a number of these locations, the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau and ³⁶Ar/⁴⁰Ar versus ³⁹Ar/⁴⁰Ar isochrons give older ages than the K–Ar results. The most important results are: (i) at site 786, initial construction of the proto-IBM (now forearc) basement occurred at least by ca 47–45 Ma, consistent with the age of the immediately overlying sediments (middle Eocene nannofossil Zone CP13c); the younger pulse of construction dated at ca 35 Ma by K–Ar could not be confirmed by ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar analysis; (ii) ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages for the initial construction of the Mariana portion of the IBM system are as old as those of the Izu–Bonin portion, for example at site 458, initial construction commenced at least by ca 49 Ma and at ca 47 Ma at Saipan (Sankakayuma Formation); and (iii) a combination of K–Ar and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages indicate continued boninite magmatism in the Izu–Bonin forearc (and remnant arc at Palau) until ca 35 Ma. Subduction inception including boninite series rocks along most of the exposed length of the IBM system, clearly preceded by some 5 million years the Middle Eocene (ca 43.5 Ma) change in Pacific plate motion. Boninitic series magmatism persisted at locations now exposed in the forearc for ～ 15 million years after arc inception concurrently with low-K tholeiitic series eruptions from a subaerial arc system, established at ≥ 40 Ma, on the Kyushu–Palau Ridge. For the Mariana portion of the IBM system, reconstruction of the proto-arc places this activity adjacent to the concurrent but orthogonally spreading Central Basin Ridge of the West Philippine Basin. It is possible that a combination of subduction of a young North New Guinea Plate beneath newly created back-arc basin crust may account for some of the features of the Mariana system. It is clear, however, that the understanding of the processes of subduction initiation and early IBM arc development is incomplete.     

Eocene volcanism during the incipient stage of Izu–Ogasawara Arc: Geology and petrology of the Mukojima Island Group,the Ogasawara Islands

The Ogasawara Islands mainly comprise Eocene volcanic strata formed when the Izu–Ogasawara–Mariana Arc began. We present the first detailed volcanic geology, petrography and geochemistry of the Mukojima Island Group, northernmost of the Ogasawara Islands, and show that the volcanic stratigraphy consists of arc tholeiitic rocks, ultra‐depleted boninite‐series rocks, and less‐depleted boninitic andesites, which are correlatable to the Maruberiwan, Asahiyama and Mikazukiyama Formations on the Chichijima Island Group to the south. On Chichijima, a short hiatus is identified between the Maruberiwan (boninite, bronzite andesite, and dacite) and Asahiyama Formation (quartz dacite and rhyolite). In contrast, these lithologies are interbedded on Nakodojima of the Mukojima Island Group. The stratigraphically lower portion of Mukojima is mainly composed of pillow lava, which is overlain by reworked volcaniclastic rocks in the middle, whereas the upper portion is dominated by pyroclastic rocks. This suggests that volcanic activity now preserved in the Mukojima Island Group records growth of one or more volcanoes, beginning with quiet extrusion of lava under relatively deep water followed by volcaniclastic deposition. These then changed into moderately explosive eruptions that took place in shallow water or above sea level. This is consistent with the uplift of the entire Ogasawara Ridge during the Eocene. Boninites from the Mukojima Island Group are divided into three types on the basis of geochemistry. Type 1 boninites have high SiO₂ (>57.0 wt.%) and Zr/Ti (>0.022) and are the most abundant type in both Mukojima and Chichijima Island Groups. Type 2 boninites have low SiO₂ (<57.1 wt.%) and Zr/Ti (<0.014). Type 3 boninites have 57.6–60.7 wt.% SiO₂ and are characterized by high CaO/Al₂O₃ (0.9–1.1). Both type 2 and 3 boninites are common on Mukojima but are rare in the Chichijima Island Group.     

The Zealandia Volcanic Complex: Further evidence of a lower crustal “hot zone” beneath the Mariana Intra‐oceanic Arc,Western Pacific

This paper addresses formation of felsic magmas in an intra‐oceanic magmatic arc. New bathymetric, petrologic, geochemical, and isotopic data for Zealandia Bank and two related volcanoes in the south‐central Mariana arc is presented and interpreted. These three volcanoes are remnants of an older andesitic volcano that evolved for some time and became dormant long enough for a carbonate platform to grow on its summit before reawakening as a rhyodacitic volcano. Zealandia lavas are transitional between low‐ and medium‐K and tholeiitic and calc‐alkaline suites. They define a bimodal suite with a gap of 56–58 wt% SiO₂; this suggests that mafic and felsic magmas have different origins. The magmatic system is powered by mantle‐derived basalts having low Zr/Y and flat rare earth element patterns. Two‐pyroxene thermometry yields equilibration temperatures of 1000–1100 °C for andesites and 900–1000 °C for dacites. Porphyritic basalts and andesites show textures expected for fractionating magmas but mostly fine‐grained felsic lavas do not. All lavas show trace element signatures expected for mantle and crustal sources that were strongly melt‐depleted and enriched by subduction‐related fluids and sediment melts. Sr and Nd isotopic compositions fall in the normal range of Mariana arc lavas. Felsic lavas show petrographic evidence of mixing with mafic magma. Zealandia Bank felsic magmatism supports the idea that a large mid‐ to lower‐crustal felsic magma body exists beneath the south‐central Mariana arc, indicating that MASH (mixing, assimilation, storage, and homogenization) zones can form beneath intra‐oceanic as well as continental arcs.     

A petrologic re-investigation of the Adak volcanic center, central Aleutian arc, Alaska

The Adak volcanic center is located in the central part of the Aleutian arc and consists of three main volcanic vents. Andrew Bay Volcano, the oldest center, has been mostly removed by erosion. The next youngest vent, Mount Adagdak, was built in three major volcanic stages whereas Mount Moffett, the largest volcanic edifice, consists of a main cone and a parasitic cone each with several magmatic phases. Adak is unique compared to other modern Aleutian volcanic centers in that it contains two xenolith suites (Conrad and Kay, 1984; Debari et al., 1987). One suite consisting predominantly of mafic xenoliths occurs on Mount Moffett whereas an assemblage of ultramafic and mafic xenoliths is found on Mount Adagdak. Lavas erupted at Adak span the compositional range from 48.4 to 65.0 wt.% SiO₂ and are characterized by significant variations in Al₂O₃, MgO, Sr, Ni and Cr. On Harker diagrams, this variability produces compositional trends with significant scatter. The Adak suite has total REE contents that vary from 32 to 154 ppm but do not correlate systematically with silica. ( )_n ratios range from 2.41 to 21.72 with the majority of lavas between 2.41 and 6.06. On process identification diagrams, the Adak suite plots as steeply sloping trends that contrast with the horizontal patterns of most other Aleutian centers. Measured isotopic ranges are large and nearly equal to those for the entire arc. Although they span similar silica ranges, subtle geochemical and isotopic differences distinguish the different volcanic vents of Adak. On Mount Moffett, a geochemically and isotopically distinct group of andesites (55.5–57.9 SiO₂), the mafic andesites, occur on its NE flank. These lavas have elevated MgO, Ni and Cr but are depleted in Al₂O₃ relative to other Mount Moffett andesites with similar silica. They also have more heterogeneous REE abundances and isotopic ratios than most of the other andesites. Significant compositional differences exist between Adak and the other volcanic centers of the central Aleutian arc. Although these differences are characteristic of all geochemical systems, they are greatest for major and rare-earth elements and isotopic ratios. The lack of coherent relationships on major- and trace-element Harker diagrams, the isotopic variability, as well as the steeply sloping trends on REE process identification diagrams suggest that the Adak volcanic suite was not formed predominantly by closed-system crystal fractionation, but must be the product of a complex open-system process(es). The significant isotopic variability displayed by the suite suggests that contamination by an isotopically distinct contaminant must also have been an important petrologic component in the evolution of the suite. REE data are also suggestive of a role for magma mixing. Such a complex petrologic evolution is consistent with an immature lithospheric plumbing system. Based on REE systematics, the xenolith suites of Adak cannot, as previously proposed, be related to the host lavas or the rest of the Adak suite through crystal fractionation schemes. Rather they are probably accidental fragments derived from various depths along lithospheric conduits. In light of their relation to xenolith-bearing units, the mafic andesites of Adak presumably represent hybrid magmas formed during the interaction of ascending magmas with lithospheric wall rock. They are, therefore, characteristic of immature volcanic centers and unlikely to be related directly to the magmatic processes responsible for the generation of primary arc magmas. Because of the close proximity of the vents and the subtle compositional differences between their lavas, the Adak volcanic center was probably supplied by a single, deep lithospheric plumbing system that fed separate crustal magma chambers. The absence of historic volcanic activity on Adak suggests this plumbing system was abandoned before complete conduit development. This decline in magmatism may reflect a re-adjustment of volcano spacing within this part of the Aleutian arc.     

The Pleistocene cinder cones surrounding Volcán Colima, Mexico re-visited: eruption ages and volumes, oxidation states, and sulfur content

Located at the volcanic front in the western Mexican arc, in the Colima Rift, is the active Volcán Colima, which lies on the southern end of the massive (∼450 km³) Colima-Nevado volcanic complex. Along the margins of this andesitic volcanic complex, is a group of 11 scoria cones and associated lavas, which have been dated by the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar method. Nine scoria cones erupted ∼1.3 km³ of alkaline magma (basanite, leucite-basanite, minette) between 450 and 60 ka, with >99% between 240 and 60 ka. Two additional cones (both the oldest and calc-alkaline) erupted <0.003 km³ of basalt (0.5 Ma) and <0.003 km³ of basaltic andesite (1.2 Ma), respectively. Cone and lava volumes were estimated with the aid of digital elevation models (DEMs). The eruption rate for these scoria cones and their associated lavas over the last 1.2 Myr is ∼1.2 km³/Myr, which is more than 400 times smaller than that from the andesitic Colima-Nevado edifice. In addition to these alkaline Colima cones, two other potassic basalts erupted at the volcanic front, but ∼200 km to the ESE (near the historically active Volcán Jorullo), and were dated at 1.06 and 0.10 Ma. These potassic suites reflect the tendency in the west-central Mexican arc for magmas close to the volcanic front to be enriched in K₂O relative to those farther from the trench.Ferric-ferrous analyses on pristine samples from the alkaline cones adjacent to V. Colima and V. Jorullo indicate that their oxygen fugacities relative to the nickel-nickel oxide buffer are significantly higher (ΔNN0=2–4) than those for the calc-alkaline magma types (0–1.5). These ΔNNO values correlate positively with Ba concentrations and likely reflect the influence of a slab-derived fluid. As a result of the high oxidation states, the solubility of sulfur in these potassic magmas is enhanced. Indeed the sulfur content of both the whole rock and the apatite phenocrysts (and in olivine melt inclusions reported in the literature) suggest that part of their pre-eruptive sulfur gas (SO₂) concentrations could have been discharged to the atmosphere in amounts comparable to the 1982 eruption of El Chichón, although over a prolonged period spanning thousands of years (not per eruption).Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article at Editorial responsibility: J. Donnelly-Nolan     

Tectono-magmatic evolution of the West Philippine-Mariana region and the origin of boninites

Re-examination of published data on the tectomagmatic evolution of the West Philippine-Mariana region indicate that arc magmatism and back-arc extensional pulses are not synchronous but are largely asynchronous. Arc volcanism ceases within a few million years of the development of a back-arc basin, and recommences oceanward on a new arc during the final stages in the development of the back-arc basin. Following Karig's model, we believe that ascent beneath the arc axial chain of a line of diapirs of MORB-source mantle interferes with processes of arc magma generation and arc magmatism wanes. Partial melting of the diapirs produces voluminous MORB-type tholeiites which split the arc and form the crust of a widening back-arc basin.We show for both the West Philippine-Mariana region, and occurrences of boninite-like lavas in ophiolites, that boninites appear to be erupted after arc magmatism and immediately before eruption of MORB-type lavas.Passage of a diapir of hot MORB-source mantle through refractory sub-arc peridotite which has been enriched in LILE and H₂O, will result in limited partial melting of the hydrous peridotite and the restricted production of boninitic magmas. These are more likely to erupt modified or only slightly modified by crystal fractionation through the thin forearc crust. Continued ascent of the MORB-source mantle diapir will result in it partially melting to yield MORB tholeiites which erupt shortly after, and in considerably more voluminous amounts, than the boninites.Finally we suggest that forearcs regions are likely to be incorporated into foldbelts and that boninite (or low-Ti lava)-bearing ophiolites may characterize such regions.     

Geochemistry of quaternary volcanism in the Sunda-Banda arc, Indonesia, and three-component genesis of island-arc basaltic magmas

Volcanic rocks of the Sunda and Banda arcs range from tholeiitic through calcalkaline and shoshonitic to leucititic, the widest compositional span of mafic magmatism known from an active arc setting.Mafic rocks in our data set, which includes 315 new analyses of volcanic rocks from twelve Quaternary volcanoes, including Batu Tara in the previously geochemically unknown Flores-Lembata arc sector, are generally similar to those from other island arcs: most contain <1.3 wt. % TiO₂ and 16–22 wt. % Al₂O₃, and have characteristically high K/Nb and La/Nb values. Abundances of P, Ba, Rb, Sr, La, Ce, Nd, Zr and Nb increase sympathetically with increasing K₂O contents of mafic rocks but those of Na, Ti, Y and Sc vary little throughout the geochemical continuum from low-K tholeiitic to high-K leucititic rocks.Excluding Sumatra and Wetar, which possess mainly dacitic and rhyolitic volcanics, the Sunda-Banda arc is divisible into four geochemical arc sectors with boundaries that correlate with major changes in regional tectonic setting and geological history. From west to east, the West Java, Bali and Flores arc sectors each comprise volcanoes which become progressively more K-rich eastwards, culminating in the leucitite volcanoes Muriah, Soromundi and Sangenges, and Batu Tara, respectively. In the most easterly Banda sector, the volcanics vary from high- to low-K eastwards around the arc.Correlations between geochemistry and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values show separate trends for each of the four arc sectors, believed to be the result of involvement of at least three geochemically and isotopically distinct components in the source regions of the arc magmatism.A dominant source component with a low K content and a low ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr value, and common to all sectors, is probably peridotitic mantle. A second component, with low K content but high ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr value, appears to be crustal material. This component is most apparent in the Banda sector, in keeping with that sector's tectonic setting close to Precambrian Australian continental crust, but it is also present to lesser extents in the West Java and Flores sectors.However, the most marked geochemical and isotopic variations shown by the arc volcanics are primarily due to the involvement of a third component, which is rich in K-group elements but has relatively low ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values. This component appears to be mantle-derived and is least overprinted by crustal material in the Bali sector volcanics where the Pb, Be, U-Th and O isotope characteristics of the rocks support the suggestion that their genesis has not involved incorporation of recently subducted, continent-derived sialic material.The high, regionally persistent, Th/U value (about 4.3) of the Sunda subarc mantle, obtained from U-Th isotopic data, suggests a close association could exist between the K-rich component and the southern hemisphere ‘DUPAL’ mantle isotopic anomaly.     

Volcanoes of the southwestern extension of the active Mariana island arc: New swath-mapping and geochemical studies

Until recently it was thought that the volcanoes of the Mariana island arc of the western Pacific terminated at Tracey Seamount at ∼ 14°N immediately west of Guam. Sea floor mapping in 1995 shows a series of large volcanic seamounts stretching westward for nearly 300 km beyond that point. The morphology, spacing, and composition of those sampled are consistent with their having formed as a consequence of eruption of suprasubduction zone arc magmas. The relationships of the volcanoes to the tectonic processes of subduction of the Pacific plate beneath the southern portion of the Mariana convergent plate margin are becoming increasingly clear as new bathymetry and geochemical data are amassed. The volcanoes along this trend that lie closest to Guam are forming where the center of active extension in the back-arc basin intersects the line of arc volcanoes. They develop well-defined rifts that are parallel to rift structures along the extension center, whereas volcanoes of the spreading axis to the north are smaller than the frontal arc volcanoes and tend to form along lineaments. Compositions of lavas from these intersection volcanoes bear some similarities to back-arc basin basalt, but are on the whole well within the range of compositions for Mariana island arc lavas. The Pacific plate subducts nearly orthogonal to the strike of the trench along the southern part of the Mariana system and the distance to the arc line from the trench axis is only ∼ 150 km. Several deep fault-controlled canyons on the inner slope of the southern Mariana trench indicate an enhanced tectonic extension of this plate margin. The presence of these active arc volcanoes and the existence of the orthogonal normal faulting along the southern Mariana forearc supports a model of radial extension for formation of the Mariana Trough, a model previously dismissed because of the lack of evidence of these two major geological features.     

Magmatic evolution of the basaltic shield volcanoes of Reunion Island

Chemical data are presented for the basic lavas of the two volcanic shields, Piton des Neiges and Piton de la Fournaise, which comprise Reunion Island. In addition, data for cumulate xenoliths have been used to predict mineral/melt distribution coefficient values for the Reunion magmas.The younger volcanic shield, Piton de la Fournaise, comprises two lava sequences, the >0.5−0.2-m.y. B.P. Primary Shield lavas, and the <0.2-m.y. B.P. Caldera Series lavas. Fractional crystallization models for these lavas indicate that olivine is the major fractionating phase during the evolution from the parental basalt composition to the average basaltic liquid. Only during the evolution of the older, Primary Shield lavas has the common fractionation of an ol + cpx + plag + mt assemblage resulted in the eruption of hawaiitic, ankaramitic and feldspar-phyric lavas. The restriction of the Caldera Series liquids predominantly to olivine fractionation and the extensive cotectic fractionation during the evolution of the Primary Shield sequences is interpreted in terms of the maturity of the volcanic center. The younger stages of evolution involve high magma input into a well-developed feeder and reservoir system, thus maintaining the liquids above a cotectic surface. Whereas, during the evolution of the Primary Shield lavas, lower magma input rates into a less well-developed feeder system increased the probability of the fractionating liquid attaining a cotectic surface. Fractional crystallization accounts for all the chemical variation observed for the Piton de la Fournaise basaltic magmas. The analytical data are closely comparable to the rare earth element (REE) and trace element fractionation curves predicted by least-squares calculations, this supports the use of such models in quantitative evaluation of fractional crystallization.A preliminary survey of Sr isotope values indicates that the oldest (>2 m.y. B.P.) lava sequences of Piton des Neiges may be derived from a source which was isotopically distinct from that of the <2 m.y. B.P. lavas of both volcanic shields. These latter sequences are remarkably consistent in both isotopic and trace element abundance implying a homogeneous source material and an invariable partial melting process. Partial melting calculations indicate that the basaltic lavas have been derived by 5–10% melting of a garnet-poor peridotite (cpx/gt 9). Systematic differences in the light- and heavy-REE patterns between similar basaltic provinces are interpreted to be a result of variation in the nature of the phases buffering the entry of light- and/or heavy-REE into the melt during partial fusion.     

Evidence for magma mixing in the Mariana arc system

Volcanoes of the Mariana arc system produce magmas that belong to several liquid lines of descent and that originated from several different primary magmas. Despite differences in parental magmas, phenocryst assemblages are very similar throughout the arc. The different liquid lines of descent are attributed to differences in degree of silica saturation of the primary liquids and in the processes of magmatic evolution (fractional crystallization vs magma mixing). Pseudoternary projections of volcanic rocks from several arc volcanoes are used to show differences between different magmatic suites. In most of the arc, parental liquids were Ol- and Hy-normative basalts that crystallized olivine, augite, and plagioclase (± iron-titanium oxide) and then plagioclase and two pyroxenes, apparently at low pressure. Eruptive rocks follow subparallel liquid lines of descent on element–element diagrams and on pseudoternary projections. Magmas at North Hiyoshi are Ne-normative and have a liquid line of descent along the thermal divide due to precipitation of olivine, augite, and plagioclase. Derived liquids are large ion lithophile element (LILE)-rich. Magmas at other Hiyoshi seamounts included an alkaline component but had more complex evolution. Those at Central Hiyoshi formed by a process dominated by mixing alkaline and subalkaline magmas, whereas those at other Hiyoshi seamounts evolved by combined magma mixing and fractional crystallization. Influence of the alkaline component wanes as one goes south from North Hiyoshi. Alkaline and subalkaline magmas were also mixed to produce magmas erupted at the Kasuga seamounts that are behind the arc front. The alkaline magmas at both Hiyoshi and Kasuga seamounts had different sources from those of the subalkaline magmas at those sites as indicated by trace element ratios and by _Nd.     

Explosive silicic volcanism in Iceland and the Jan Mayen area during the last 6 Ma: sources and timing of major eruptions

Fifty-three major explosive eruptions on Iceland and Jan Mayen island were identified in 0–6-Ma-old sediments of the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans by the age and the chemical composition of silicic tephra. The depositional age of the tephra was estimated using the continuous record in sediment of paleomagnetic reversals for the last 6 Ma and paleoclimatic proxies (δ¹⁸O, ice-rafted debris) for the last 1 Ma. Major element and normative compositions of glasses were used to assign the sources of the tephra to the rift and off-rift volcanic zones in Iceland, and to the Jan Mayen volcanic system. The tholeiitic central volcanoes along the Iceland rift zones were steadily active with the longest interruption in activity recorded between 4 and 4.9 Ma. They were the source of at least 26 eruptions of dominant rhyolitic magma composition, including the late Pleistocene explosive eruption of Krafla volcano of the Eastern Rift Zone at about 201 ka. The central volcanoes along the off-rift volcanic zones in Iceland were the source of at least 19 eruptions of dominant alkali rhyolitic composition, with three distinct episodes recorded at 4.6–5.3, 3.5–3.6, and 0–1.8 Ma. The longest and last episode recorded 11 Pleistocene major events including the two explosive eruptions of Tindfjallajökull volcano (Thórsmörk, ca. 54.5 ka) and Katla volcano (Sólheimar, ca. 11.9 ka) of the Southeastern Transgressive Zone. Eight major explosive eruptions from the Jan Mayen volcanic system are recorded in terms of the distinctive grain-size, mineralogy and chemistry of the tephra. The tephra contain K-rich glasses (K₂O/SiO₂>0.06) ranging from trachytic to alkali rhyolitic composition. Their normative trends (Ab–Q–Or) and their depleted concentrations of Ba, Eu and heavy-REE reflect fractional crystallisation of K-feldspar, biotite and hornblende. In contrast, their enrichment in highly incompatible and water-mobile trace elements such as Rb, Th, Nb and Ta most likely reflect crustal contamination. One late Pleistocene tephra from Jan Mayen was recorded in the marine sequence. Its age, estimated between 617 and 620 ka, and its composition support a common source with the Borga pumice formation at Sør Jan in the south of the island.     

Rejuvenated-stage volcanism after 0.6-m.y. quiescence at West Maui volcano, Hawaii: new evidence from K–Ar ages and chemistry of Lahaina Volcanics

West Maui’s rejuvenated-stage Lahaina Volcanics were erupted from four discrete sites. New K–Ar ages indicate two pulses of volcanism, the older about 0.6 Ma and the younger about 0.4 Ma. Compositionally the lava flows are entirely basanitic, but each pulse is diverse. The underlying postshield-stage Honolua Volcanics were emplaced by about 1.2 Ma on the basis of previously published ages. Therefore the duration of volcanic quiescence prior to rejuvenation is about 0.6 m.y. at West Maui, much longer than estimated previously.     

Fine-scale isotopic variation in Mariana Trough basalts: evidence for heterogeneity and a recycled component in backarc basin mantle

Fine-scale sampling with alvin and by dredging of the axial ridge in the Mariana Trough between 17°40′N and 18°30°N recovered basalts with isotopic compositions that span the range between N-type MORB and Mariana island arc basalts. There is a local tectonic-morphological control on basalt compositions; MORB-like basalts are found on the deeper ridge segment bounded by the Pagan transform and the ridge offset at 17°56′N, while basalts from the shallower ridge to the north are typical Mariana Trough basalts (MTB) having compositions intermediate between the two endmember rock types. Arc-like basalts were recovered from one site on the axial ridge.The discovery of basalts with such diverse isotopic characteristics from a short (100 km) section of this backarc spreading center constrains the chemical characteristics and distribution of mantle source variability in the Mariana Trough. SrNdPb isotopic variability suggests that the MTB source is heterogeneous on the scale of individual melt batches. The principal component in the MTB mantle source region is depleted peridotite similar to the source of MORB. The enriched component, most evident in the arc-like basalts and intimately mixed in MTB, has isotopic characteristics similar to those observed in the Mariana arc basalts. The isotopic data suggest that source variability for Mariana axial ridge basalts can be explained by mixed arc-like and MORB-like mantle. We hypothesize that there are fragments of old oceanic lithosphere in the backarc source region. This lithospheric component may reflect remnants of subducted seafloor or forearc-volcanic arc mantle that predate rifting in the backarc basin.