Intercalibration of the Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería (SERNAGEOMIN), Chile and WiscAr 40Ar/39Ar laboratories for Quaternary dating

Accurate and precise dating of Quaternary lavas and pyroclastic flow or fall deposits is essential for understanding the evolution of active volcanoes and providing context for future eruptions and hazard assessment. The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar method is commonly employed to date these volcanic materials, however, dating young (<150 ka) K₂O-poor materials can be challenging owing to low radiogenic ⁴⁰Ar* contents that can be difficult to distinguish from trapped atmospheric argon. To address this challenge, a collaborative intercalibration exercise involving the University of Wisconsin-Madison WiscAr Laboratory and the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar Laboratory of the Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería (SERNAGEOMIN), Chile was conducted on a common set of samples with the aim of refining our methods and optimizing precision and accuracy of age determinations. Groundmass and plagioclase samples were analyzed on a 5-collector Noblesse ion counting mass spectrometer in the WiscAr lab, whereas measurements in the SERNAGEOMIN lab were performed using an ARGUS VI spectrometer equipped with faraday detectors and one compact discrete dynode electron multiplier. Samples for the intercalibration were collected jointly from three Andean Southern Volcanic Zone volcanoes to evaluate the capability of each laboratory to date different materials. Samples from lava flows with 1.0–3.2 wt % K₂O from Planchon-Peteroa volcanic complex and with <1.0 wt % K₂O from Calbuco Volcano that are the focus of ongoing geological studies were measured in both laboratories. Single crystals of plagioclase (0.6–1.0 wt% K₂O) were measured from the voluminous Diamante (Pudahuel) ignimbrite sourced from the Diamante Caldera. Multiple rounds of experiments were conducted including co-irradiation of samples at Oregon State University, as well as irradiations using the CCHEN reactor in Chile to investigate differences in neutron fluence parameters. As a result, SERNAGEOMIN has modified long-used protocols for the CCHEN reactor so that Quaternary samples may be irradiated for periods of time most appropriate for their age. Although less precise than plateau ages, the isochron ages generated in the two laboratories agree at 2σ for each sample. Six of six co-irradiated samples from Planchon-Peteroa yield plateau ages that also show inter-lab agreement at 2σ. The low K₂O lavas from Calbuco proved more challenging with only three out of five plateau ages in agreement between labs. SERNAGEOMIN blanks were higher and more variable in Calbuco experiments, thus, differences in the variability of the measured ³⁶Ar blanks between the two laboratories may explain the discrepancy in plateau ages. Analysis of single plagioclase crystals from the Diamante Ignimbrite show excellent agreement between labs for both weighted mean apparent ages and isochron ages. We favor an isochron age for the ignimbrite of 132.4 ± 2.2 ka, however, discrepancies in results between samples from three different outcrops present an interesting geochronologic problem that warrants further study. Overall, the consistency of the results between labs is promising. These new precise age determinations significantly improve our understanding of the temporal evolution of these active volcanoes.     

Dating young MORB of the Central Indian Ridge (19°S): Unspiked K-Ar technique limitations versus 40Ar/39Ar incremental heating method

We have applied the unspiked K-Ar and the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar methods to samples precisely collected and localised, on both Central Indian Ridge flanks, to test their effectiveness and reliability when applied to the dating of recent (i.e. less than 1 Ma) MORBs. Twenty six samples) from the sixty five samples collected every ∼500 m up to the Brunhes-Matuyama boundary on both ridge flanks, were selected based on their distance from the ridge axis. Therefore, we can evaluate whether the isotopic ages are a good indicator of the crystallisation age by considering their geographic position with respect to the ridge axis (zero age) and the B/M magnetic boundary. Direct comparison of the isotopic and model ages shows that only 9 out of 26 samples were successfully dated. The GIMNAUT – MORB's test case amply demonstrates that the unspiked K-Ar technique, when applied to submerged volcanic samples, is subject to potentially defective assumptions of trapped atmospheric argon, excess/fractionated argon and extremely sensitive to alteration. Although the unspiked K-Ar technique is theoretically capable to produce high precision ages, the comparison with the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar techniques reveals that only 15% (i.e. 4 samples out of 26) of the ages obtained here are geologically meaningful. Five of the seven ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar incremental heating experiments provide meaningful ages. Because potential sources of systematic errors such as excess ⁴⁰Ar*, recoil of ³⁹Ar_K and ³⁷Ar_Ca can be identified and because effects of alteration are significantly reduced by the pre-heating of the samples up to 500–600°c, the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar incremental heating method appears to be the method of choice to date MORBs.     

松辽盆地北缘的上地幔速度结构及该区火山成因探讨

中国东北是研究板内新生代火山活动及其成因的天然场所.以往的研究根据不同的壳幔速度结构,提出多种模型用以解释中国东北地区的火山活动.由于松辽盆地北缘的观测台站相对较少,导致这些模型对盆地北缘的约束较弱.我们利用近年来覆盖松辽盆地北缘的流动宽频带观测台站数据开展远震体波走时层析成像研究,获得了深达800 km的深部速度结构,在盆地北缘的火山群区域内得到如下认识：诺敏河和五大连池火山群共用一个200~300 km深处的地幔岩浆房.该地幔岩浆房内的低速异常为水平展布,未下延至地幔转换带内,并仅在该区域上地幔的局部范围内有所体现.结合前人的研究结果分析,我们认为该水平的局部低速异常可能是中生代晚期岩石圈拆沉导致的软流圈上涌热物质.     

Geomorphology of the Sub-Antarctic Australian Territory of Heard Island-McDonald Island

The geomorphology of Heard Island-McDonald Island is primarily the product of close interplay between volcanism, glaciation, and vigorous marine processes in a stormy sub-Antarctic environment. The dominant landform is the strato-volcano Big Ben (2745m), which is the highest mountain on Australian territory outside Antarctica. Other volcanic landforms include scoria cones, domes, open vertical volcanic conduits, lava flows and lava tubes. Volcanic activity is ongoing from the summit of Big Ben, and from Samarang Hill on McDonald Island. Early, but unproven, glacial sediments may exist within the Late Miocene - Early Pliocene Drygalski Formation, which forms a 300m high plateau along the northern coast of Heard Island. Growth of the present glaciers, some of which reach sea level, has been a response to progressive growth of the volcanoes. A variety of erosional and depositional glacial landforms is present, including major lateral moraines and extensive hummocky moraines. Vigorous longshore drift and an abundant sediment supply have produced a large spit at the downdrift end of the island, and formed bars from reworked glacigenic sediment that now impound proglacial estuarine lagoons, some of which have grown rapidly over recent decades as tidewater glaciers have retreated. Integrated study of the volcanic, glacial and coastal sequences offers the possibility of constructing a well-dated record of climate change. Research into the geomorphology, surficial sediments, and contemporary geomorphological processes, including glaciofluvial sediment flux, is also important as an aid to environmental management on land, and to management of the adjacent marine environment.     

Sedimentary Basin Analysis and Petroleum Potential of the Cretaceous Yuchon Group in Haenam Depression, SW Korea

IntroductionThe Haenam Depression filled with the LateCretaceous sediments and volcanics lies to the southwestern coast of Korea peninsula. The Cretaceousstrata (Yucheon Group) cover an area of ca. 200km2in the Haenam and Mokpo area. Regional geologicalsu…     

卡拉麦里缝合带后碰撞背景与火山岩油气藏关系探讨

北疆地区卡拉麦里洋盆关闭后,两侧陆块处于松散拼贴状态,发育了陆间残余海盆,表明该缝合带是通过软碰撞作用形成的;后碰撞期,沿缝合带发育较大规模的火山活动。近年来的油气勘探表明,这些后碰撞火山岩中赋存了丰富的油气资源。本文对卡拉麦里缝合带多个火山岩油气藏的主要控制因素进行了分析,结果表明,卡拉麦里缝合带后碰撞期幔源岩浆底垫和火山活动有利地促进了该区烃源岩中有机质的热演化;后碰撞期的构造演化与石炭系烃源岩的分布、火山岩储集空间的形成和演化、油气盖层的发育等紧密相关,同时还通过断裂、不整合和反转构造等控制了油气的运移和保存,这些都为形成火山岩油气藏创造了有利条件。卡拉麦里缝合带火山岩油气藏具有良好的勘探前景,其中陆东—五彩湾地区火山岩油气藏主要位于石炭系顶面的风化壳内,滴南凸起中西部是最有利的地段,五彩湾凹陷残余构造高点也较为有利。     

Tvashtar awakening detected in April 2006 with OSIRIS at the W.M. Keck Observatory

We detected a volcanic outburst in Io's northern hemisphere on 17 April 2006 with the OSIRIS imaging spectrometer at Keck, and confirmed it was still erupting on 2 June 2006. The eruption, which we name 060417A, was located in Tvashtar Paterae, ∼100 km southeast of the February 2000 eruption. The observed temperature was , over a surface area of , providing a total thermal output of .     

Volcanic and structural history of the rocks exposed at Pickering Crater (Daedalia Planum, Mars)

In the western hemisphere of Mars Amazonian volcanism from Arsia Mons produced the smooth surfaces of Daedalia Planum and masks older rocks. Close to the southern termination of Daedalia Planum basement rocks are exposed in which are preserved craters that escaped or were only partially filled by this most recent volcanism. Pickering Crater is an approximately 130 km diameter crater. The youngest lavas flowed into this crater from Daedalia Planum by way of a NW rim breach, covering its western part. East of a well-defined flow front an older lava sequence with a distinctive platy surface and derived from a more proximal unestablished source to the northeast is exposed. Several units are identified within this sequence on the basis of surface texture, which is more subdued in progressively older rocks. Only local mapping of the flow front boundaries of these units is possible because of incomplete coverage by high resolution imagery. During emplacement of the older lavas a NE-SW striking en echelon graben system and parallel smaller troughs and dikes formed under inferred regional NW-SE extension. A much earlier strike-slip regime pre-dating the lavas exposed in the crater floor is postulated, based on the highly fretted nature of the rim of Pickering Crater and an elongated smaller crater to its northeast, approximately 40 km long in the NE-SW direction. The rims of these craters contrast with that of a smoother rimmed impact crater in the southeast that was excavated subsequent to strike-slip deformation but prior to the emplacement of platy surfaced lavas.     

Shallow radar (SHARAD) sounding observations of the Medusae Fossae Formation, Mars

The SHARAD (shallow radar) sounding radar on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter detects subsurface reflections in the eastern and western parts of the Medusae Fossae Formation (MFF). The radar waves penetrate up to 580 m of the MFF and detect clear subsurface interfaces in two locations: west MFF between 150 and 155° E and east MFF between 209 and 213° E. Analysis of SHARAD radargrams suggests that the real part of the permittivity is ∼3.0, which falls within the range of permittivity values inferred from MARSIS data for thicker parts of the MFF. The SHARAD data cannot uniquely determine the composition of the MFF material, but the low permittivity implies that the upper few hundred meters of the MFF material has a high porosity. One possibility is that the MFF is comprised of low-density welded or interlocked pyroclastic deposits that are capable of sustaining the steep-sided yardangs and ridges seen in imagery. The SHARAD surface echo power across the MFF is low relative to typical martian plains, and completely disappears in parts of the east MFF that correspond to the radar-dark Stealth region. These areas are extremely rough at centimeter to meter scales, and the lack of echo power is most likely due to a combination of surface roughness and a low near-surface permittivity that reduces the echo strength from any locally flat regions. There is also no radar evidence for internal layering in any of the SHARAD data for the MFF, despite the fact that tens-of-meters scale layering is apparent in infrared and visible wavelength images of nearby areas. These interfaces may not be detected in SHARAD data if their permittivity contrasts are low, or if the layers are discontinuous. The lack of closely spaced internal radar reflectors suggests that the MFF is not an equatorial analog to the current martian polar deposits, which show clear evidence of multiple internal layers in SHARAD data.     

Minimum estimates of the amount and timing of gases released into the martian atmosphere from volcanic eruptions

Volcanism has been a major process during most of the geologic history of Mars. Based on data collected from terrestrial basaltic eruptions, we assume that the volatile content of martian lavas was typically ∼0.5 wt.% water, ∼0.7 wt.% carbon dioxide, ∼0.14 wt.% sulfur dioxide, and contained several other important volatile constituents. From the geologic record of volcanism on Mars we find that during the late Noachian and through the Amazonian volcanic degassing contributed ∼0.8 bar to the martian atmosphere. Because most of the outgassing consisted of greenhouse gases (i.e., CO₂ and SO₂) warmer surface temperatures resulting from volcanic eruptions may have been possible. Our estimates suggest that ∼1.1 × 10²¹ g (∼8 ± 1 m m⁻²) of juvenile water were released by volcanism; slightly more than half the amount contained in the north polar cap and atmosphere. Estimates for released CO₂ (1.6 × 10²¹ g) suggests that a large reservoir of carbon dioxide is adsorbed in the martian regolith or alternatively ∼300 cm cm⁻² of carbonates may have formed, although these materials would not occur readily in the presence of excess SO₂. Up to ∼120 cm cm⁻² (2.2 × 10²⁰ g) of acid rain (H₂SO₄) may have precipitated onto the martian surface as the result of SO₂ degassing. The hydrogen flux resulting from volcanic outgassing may help explain the martian atmospheric D/H ratio. The amount of outgassed nitrogen (∼1.3 mbar) may also be capable of explaining the martian atmospheric ¹⁵N/¹⁴N ratio. Minor gas constituents (HF, HCl, and H₂S) could have formed hydroxyl salts on the surface resulting in the physical weathering of geologic materials. The amount of hydrogen fluoride emitted (1.82 × 10¹⁸ g) could be capable of dissolving a global layer of quartz sand ∼5 mm thick, possibly explaining why this mineral has not been positively identified in spectral observations. The estimates of volcanic outgassing presented here will be useful in understanding how the martian atmosphere evolved over time.