Mantle Sources and the Highly Variable Role of Continental Lithosphere in Basalt Petrogenesis of the Kerguelen Plateau and Broken Ridge LIP: Results from ODP Leg 183

Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 183 was designed to investigatethe origin and evolution of the large igneous province composedof the Kerguelen Plateau and Broken Ridge. Of the eight sitesdrilled, basalt was recovered from seven, five on the plateauand two on Broken Ridge. We present results from four of thesesites, 1136, 1138, 1141 and 1142. Although this large igneousprovince is interpreted as being derived from the Kerguelenmantle plume, the geochemical characteristics of basalt fromsome parts of the province indicate a role for continental lithosphere.The 118–119 Ma basalt flows recovered in the SouthernKerguelen Plateau (Site 1136) have a more subtle continentalsignature than shown by basalt at Leg 119 Site 738. A continentalsignature is absent in the 100–101 Ma tholeiitic basaltsat Site 1138 in the Central Kerguelen Plateau (CKP); their age-correctedNd–Sr–Pb isotopic values and incompatible elementratios are similar to those estimated for primitive mantle.These flows may represent a major mantle source in the Kerguelenstarting-plume head. The 20 basalt units identified are a productof magma chamber replenishment, fractional crystallization,and resorption of crystallizing phases. The topmost unit, Unit1, is a dacite that evolved from a basalt magma similar to thoserepresented by Units 3–22; unlike the basalts the dacitemagma was probably influenced by continental material. MiddleCretaceous (     

PATTERNS—WITH A PINCH OF SALT *

The time-honoured method of attenuating coherent noise in the seismic record is by the use of source and geophone arrays. In theory, and using methods familiar in the synthesis of digital frequency filters, arrays can be designed having virtually any desired response in the wavenumber spectrum. In practice, arrays cannot be implemented with the same precision that is applied in design. The response actually achieved must be compromized by a number of factors. These include inaccuracies in the effectiveness or positioning of individual array elements, variations in ground coupling, and the effect of local heterogenities in the environment of the array. We have no reliable way of knowing how well a particular array will perform from one location to the next. Statistical modelling methods have been applied to examine the effects of implementation errors. Experimental results, supported by statistical theory, show that errors are expected to impose a limit upon the rejection capabilities of an array. The expected limiting value of attenuation due to errors in element weights is inversely proportional to the standard deviation of errors and directly proportional to the square root of the number of array elements. Position errors exert a limiting influence which is wavenumber dependent such that attenuation decreases with increasing wavenumber. For arrays of common dimensions, Gaussian random errors of 10% standard deviation in element weights and positions result in an expected attenuation limit of about 30 dB. It follows that the more ambitious array designs are less tolerant of errors, and must be implemented with greater care and precision in the field. The present work enables us to specify tolerances for any particular array design. Ultimately, the degree of pattern refinement which may be effectively employed in any area is determined by errors which are associated with the array environment. Complex arrays are expensive to operate. In order to avoid over-design it would be useful to establish the magnitude of errors to be expected under different terrain conditions.     

Geochemistry of Flood Basalts of the Toranmal Section, Northern Deccan Traps, India: Implications for Regional Deccan Stratigraphy

Tholeiitic lavas forming a flood basalt sequence of 870 m thicknessat Toranmal in the northern Deccan Traps have a large rangein isotopic ratios [     

Age and Geochemistry of Basement and Alkalic Rocks of Malaita and Santa Isabel, Solomon Islands, Southern Margin of Ontong Java Plateau

Geochemical and ⁴⁰ Ar—³⁹ Ar studies of the Malaita OlderSeries and Sigana Basalts, which form the basement of Malaitaand the northern portion of Santa Isabel, confirm the existenceof Ontong Java Plateau (OJP) crust on these islands. Sr, Nd,and Pb isotopic ratios of Malaita Older Series and Sigana lavasfall within limited ranges [(⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr)T= 0.70369–0.70423,E_Nd(T)= + 3.7 to +6.0, and ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 18.25–18.64]virtually indistinguishable from those found in the three OJPbasement drill sites as far as 1600 km away, indicating a uniformhotspot-like mantle source with a slight ‘Dupal’signature for the world's largest oceanic plateau. Three chemicaltypes of basalts are recognized, two of which are equivalentto two of the three types drilled on the plateau, and one withno counterpart, as yet, on the plateau; the chemical data indicateslightly different, but all high, degrees of melting and slightvariation in source composition. All but one of the ⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Arplateau ages determined for Malaita Older Series and SiganaBasalt lavas are identical to those found at the distant drillsites: 121.30.9 Ma and 92.01.6 Ma, suggesting that two short-lived,volumetrically important plateau-building episodes took place30 m.y. apart. Aside from OJP lavas, three isotopically distinctsuites of alkalic rocks are present. The Sigana Alkalic Suitein Santa Isabel has an ⁴⁰ Ar-³⁹ Ar age of 91.70.4 Ma, the sameas that of the younger OJP tholeiites, yet it displays a distinct’HIMU‘ -type isotopic signature [²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb 20.20,(⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) T 0.7032, _Nd(T) 4.4], possibly representing small-degreemelts of a minor, less refractory component in the OJP mantlesource region. The Younger Series in southern Malaita has an⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar age of 44 Ma and isotopic ratios [_Nd(T)=-0.5 to +1.0,(⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr)_T =0.70404–0.70433, ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 18.57–18.92]partly overlapping those of the ‘PHEM’ end-memberpostulated for Samoa, and those of present-day Rarotonga lavas;one or both of these hotspots may have caused alkalic volcanismon the plateau when it passed over them at 44 Ma. The NorthMalaita Alkalic Suite in northernmost Malaita is probably ofsimilar age, but has isotopic ratios [(⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) _T 0.7037,_Nd(T) +4.5, ²⁰⁶pb/²⁰⁴pb 18.8) resembling those of some OJP basementlavas; it may result from a small amount of melting of agedplateau lithosphere during the OJP's passage over these hotspots.Juxtaposed against OJP crust in Santa Isabel is an 62–46-Maophiolitic (sensu lato) assemblage. Isotopic and chemical datareveal Pacific-MORB-like, backarc-basin-like, and arc-like signaturesfor these rocks, and suggest that most formed in an arc—backarcsetting before the Late Tertiary collision of the OJP againstthe old North Solomon Trench. The situation in Santa Isabelappears to provide a modern-day analog for some Precambriangreenstone belts. KEY WORDS: oceanic plateaux; Ontong Java Plateau; Solomon Islands; Sr-Nd-Pb isotopes; age and petrogenesis ^*Corresponding author.     

Volcanism at the Edge of the Hawaiian Plume: Petrogenesis of Submarine Alkalic Lavas from the North Arch Volcanic Field

Submarine lavas erupted onto the Hawaiian arch 200–400km north of Oahu show that the areal extent of Hawaiian volcanismis much larger than previously recognized. The North Arch volcanicfield comprises 25 000 km² of     

Geochemistry of Picritic and Associated Basalt Flows of the Western Emeishan Flood Basalt Province, China

Picritic lava flows near Lijiang in the late Permian Emeishanflood basalt province are associated with augite-phyric basalt,aphyric basalt, and basaltic pyroclastic units. The dominantphenocryst in the picritic flows is Mg-rich olivine (up to 91·6%forsterite component) with high CaO contents (to 0·42wt %) and glass inclusions, indicating that the olivine crystallizedfrom a melt. Associated chromite has a high Cr-number (73–75).The estimated MgO content of the primitive picritic liquidsis about 22 wt %, and initial melt temperature may have beenas high as 1630–1690°C. The basaltic lavas appearto be related to the picritic ones principally by olivine andclinopyroxene fractionation. Age-corrected Nd–Sr–Pbisotope ratios of the picritic and basaltic lavas are indistinguishableand cover a relatively small range [e.g. _Nd(t) = –1·3to +4·0]. The higher _Nd(t) lavas are isotopically similarto those of several modern oceanic hotspots, and have ocean-island-likepatterns of alteration-resistant incompatible elements. Heavyrare earth element characteristics indicate an important rolefor garnet during melting and that the lavas were formed byfairly small degrees of partial melting. Rough correlationsof isotope ratios with ratios of alteration-resistant highlyincompatible elements (e.g. Nb/La) suggest modest amounts ofcontamination involving continental material or a relativelylow-_Nd component in the source. Overall, our results are consistentwith other evidence suggesting some type of plume-head originfor the Emeishan province. KEY WORDS: Emeishan; flood basalts; picrites; mantle plumes; late Permian     

The Cretaceous Igneous Province of Madagascar: Geochemistry and Petrogenesis of Lavas and Dykes from the Central-Western Sector

The Cretaceous lava sequence and associated mafic dyke swarmin central–western Madagascar (Mailaka and Bemaraha areas)range in composition from picrite basalts to cordierite–orthopyroxene-bearingrhyodacites (MgO from 14 to 0·6 wt %). Petrographic andchemical data indicate the presence of both tholeiitic and transitionalmagma series, with variable degree of rare earth element enrichment[(La/Nd)_n = 1–1·4 for tholeiites vs (La/Nd)_n =0·65–1 for transitional rocks]. Initial (at 88Ma) ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and     

Basement Geochemistry and Geochronology of Central Malaita, Solomon Islands, with Implications for the Origin and Evolution of the Ontong Java Plateau

Sections of Ontong Java Plateau basalt basement in central Malaita(Solomon Islands) are 0·5–3·5 km thick andresemble a much-expanded version of that recovered at OceanDrilling Program Site 807. ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar ages (121–125Ma) are identical to those for Site 807, southern Malaita, RamosIsland, parts of the island of Santa Isabel, and Deep Sea DrillingProject Site 289; the     

Evidence for a Widespread Tethyan Upper Mantle with Indian-Ocean-Type Isotopic Characteristics

The mantle sources of Tethyan basalts and gabbros from Iran,Tibet, the eastern Himalayas, the seafloor off Australia, andpossibly Albania were isotopically similar to those of present-dayIndian Ocean ridges and hotspots. Alteration-resistant incompatibleelement compositions of many samples resemble those of ocean-ridgebasalts, although ocean-island-like compositions are also present.Indian-Ocean-type mantle was widespread beneath the Neotethysin the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, and present beneath atleast parts of the Paleotethys as long ago as the Early Carboniferous.The mantle beneath the Indian Ocean today thus may be largely‘inherited’ Tethyan mantle. Although some of theTethyan rocks may have formed in intra-oceanic back-arcs orfore-arcs, contamination of the asthenosphere by material subductedshortly before magmatism cannot be a general explanation fortheir Indian-Ocean-ridge-like low-²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb signatures. Supplyof low-²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb material to the asthenosphere via plumesis not supported by either present-day Indian Ocean hotspotsor the ocean-island-like Tethyan rocks. Old continental lowercrust or lithospheric mantle, including accreted, little-dehydratedmarine sedimentary material, provides a potential low-²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pbreservoir only if sufficient amounts of such material can beintroduced into the asthenosphere over time. Anciently subductedmarine sediment is a possible low-²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb source only ifthe large increase of U/Pb that occurs during subduction-relateddewatering is somehow avoided. Fluxing of low-U/Pb fluids directlyinto the asthenosphere during ancient dewatering and introductionof ancient pyroxenitic lower-crustal restite or basaltic lower-arccrust into the asthenosphere provide two other means of creatingTethyan–Indian Ocean mantle, but these mechanisms, too,have potentially significant problems. KEY WORDS: Indian Ocean; mantle geochemical domains; ophiolites; Tethyan Ocean