40Ar/39Ar geochronology of submarine Mauna Loa volcano, Hawaii
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors report results of 40Ar/39Ar incremental heating experiments on low-K, tholeiitic lavas from the 1.6 km high Kahuku landslide scarp cutting Mauna Loa's submarine southwest rift zone and from lavas in a deeper section of the rift.
Abstract: [1] New geochronologic constraints refine the growth history of Mauna Loa volcano and enhance interpretations of the petrologic, geochemical, and isotopic evolution of Hawaiian magmatism. We report results of 40Ar/39Ar incremental heating experiments on low-K, tholeiitic lavas from the 1.6 km high Kahuku landslide scarp cutting Mauna Loa's submarine southwest rift zone, and from lavas in a deeper section of the rift. Obtaining precise40Ar/39Ar ages from young, tholeiitic lavas containing only 0.2–0.3 wt.% K2O is challenging due to their extremely low radiogenic 40Ar contents. Analyses of groundmass from 45 lavas yield 14 new age determinations (31% success rate) with plateau and isochron ages that agree with stratigraphic constraints. Lavas collected from a 1250 m thick section in the landslide scarp headwall were all erupted around 470 ± 10 ka, implying an extraordinary period of accumulation of ∼25 mm/yr, possibly correlating with the peak of the shield-building stage. This rate is three times higher than the estimated vertical lava accumulation rate for shield-building at Mauna Kea (8.6 ± 3.1 mm/yr) based on results from the Hawaii Scientific Drilling Project. Between ∼470 and 273 ka, the lava accumulation rate along the southwest rift zone decreased dramatically to ∼1 mm/yr. We propose that the marked reduction in lava accumulation rate does not mark the onset of post-shield volcanism as previously suggested, but rather indicates the upward migration of the magma system as Mauna Loa evolved from a submarine stage of growth to one that is predominantly subaerial, thereby cutting off supply to the distal rift zone. Prior to ∼250 ka, lavas with Loihi-like isotopic signatures were erupted along with lavas having typical Mauna Loa values, implying greater heterogeneity in the plume source earlier in Mauna Loa's growth. In addition to refining accumulation rates and the isotopic evolution of the lavas erupted along the southwest rift zone, our new40Ar/39Ar results constrain the eruption of the Ninole Basalts from 227 to 108 ka and provide maximum estimates on the timing of the Ka Lae and South Kona landslides.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors show that the anomalous low-velocity zones at the core-mantle boundary are storing geochemical anomalies that are enriched in recycled material and sampled by strong mantle plumes and conclude that the geochemical differences between the Kea and Loa trends reflect preferential sampling of these two distinct sources of deep mantle material.
Abstract: Volcanoes formed above the Hawaiian mantle plume exhibit a striking contrast in the geochemical characteristics of the lavas erupted at the northern Kea compared with the southern Loa volcanoes. Isotopic data show that these trends have persisted for more than 5 million years and may mirror compositional heterogeneities in the deep mantle. Linear chains of volcanic ocean islands are one of the most distinctive features on our planet. The longest, the Hawaiian–Emperor Chain, has been active for more than 80 million years, and is thought to have formed as the Pacific Plate moved across the Hawaiian mantle plume, the hottest and most productive of Earth's plumes. Volcanoes fed by the plume today form two adjacent trends, including Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, that exhibit strikingly different geochemical characteristics. An extensive data set of isotopic analyses shows that lavas with these distinct characteristics have erupted in parallel along the Kea and Loa trends for at least 5 million years. Seismological data suggest that the Hawaiian mantle plume, when projected into the deep mantle, overlies the boundary between typical Pacific lower mantle and a sharply defined layer of apparently different material. This layer exhibits low seismic shear velocities and occurs on the Loa side of the plume. We conclude that the geochemical differences between the Kea and Loa trends reflect preferential sampling of these two distinct sources of deep mantle material. Similar indications of preferential sampling at the limit of a large anomalous low-velocity zone are found in Kerguelen and Tristan da Cunha basalts in the Indian and Atlantic oceans, respectively. We infer that the anomalous low-velocity zones at the core–mantle boundary are storing geochemical anomalies that are enriched in recycled material and sampled by strong mantle plumes.
202 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a 5-collector Noblesse mass spectrometer was used to detect 36 Ar + H 35 Cl from a 36 Ar+H 35 Cl + 12 C 3 sum peak at m/e 36.
145 citations
TL;DR: The authors used 13 new 40Ar/39Ar and 4 new 14C datings of volcanic deposits and organic material found within near-coastal aggradational successions deposited by the Tiber River near Rome, Italy, to integrate a larger dataset previously achieved in order to offer independent age constraints to the sea-level fluctuations associated with Late Quaternary glacial cycles during the last 450 ka.
45 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a detailed geochronologic and geochemical study has been conducted on the ultrapotassic rocks of the Colli Albani Volcanic District (Central Italy).
45 citations
TL;DR: The Feni subchron was succeeded by the Huckleberry Ridge excursion for which 40Ar/39Ar sanidine and U-Pb zircon ages of 2.200±0.003 Ma and 2.084± 0.012/0.013 Ma2, respectively, from member B of the huckleberry ridge tuff in Idaho were in agreement as mentioned in this paper.
41 citations
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TL;DR: The IUGS Subcommission on Geochronology (FOOTNOTE 4) as discussed by the authors recommended the adoption of a standard set of decay constants and isotopic abundances in isotope geology.
9,474 citations
TL;DR: This calibration of tephras in marine deposits in Morocco to calibrate the age of Fish Canyon sanidine provides tight constraints for the astronomical tuning of pre-Neogene successions, resulting in a mutually consistent age of ∼65.95 Ma for the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary.
Abstract: Calibration of the geological time scale is achieved by independent radioisotopic and astronomical dating, but these techniques yield discrepancies of ∼1.0% or more, limiting our ability to reconstruct Earth history. To overcome this fundamental setback, we compared astronomical and 40 Ar/ 39 Ar ages of tephras in marine deposits in Morocco to calibrate the age of Fish Canyon sanidine, the most widely used standard in 40 Ar/ 39 Ar geochronology. This calibration results in a more precise older age of 28.201 ± 0.046 million years ago (Ma) and reduces the 40 Ar/ 39 Ar method9s absolute uncertainty from ∼2.5 to 0.25%. In addition, this calibration provides tight constraints for the astronomical tuning of pre-Neogene successions, resulting in a mutually consistent age of ∼65.95 Ma for the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary.
1,261 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the decay constants of 40Ar/39Ar and 40K → 40Ar were compared with the results of the Palisade Rhyolite alkali feldspar.
772 citations
TL;DR: The extensive area covered by major submarine mass wasting deposits on or near the Hawaiian Ridge has been delimited by systematic mapping of the Hawaiian exclusive economic zone using the side-looking sonar system GLORIA as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The extensive area covered by major submarine mass wasting deposits on or near the Hawaiian Ridge has been delimited by systematic mapping of the Hawaiian exclusive economic zone using the side-looking sonar system GLORIA. These surveys show that slumps and debris avalanche deposits are exposed over about 100,000 km2 of the ridge and adjacent seafloor from Kauai to Hawaii, covering an area more than 5 times the land area of the islands. Some of the individual debris avalanches are more than 200 km long and about 5000 km3 in volume, ranking them among the largest on Earth. The slope failures that produce these deposits begin early in the history of individual volcanoes when they are small submarine seamounts, culminate near the end of subaerial shield building, and apparently continue long after dormancy. Consequently, landslide debris is an important element in the internal structure of the volcanoes. The dynamic behavior of the volcanoes can be modulated by slope failure, and the structural features of the landslides are related to elements of the volcanoes including rift zones and fault systems. The landslides are of two general types, slumps and debris avalanches. The slumps are slow moving, wide (up to 110 km), and thick (about 10 km) with transverse blocky ridges and steep toes. The debris avalanches are fast moving, long (up to 230 km) compared to width, and thinner (0.05–2 km); they commonly have a well-defined amphitheater at their head and hummocky terrain in the lower part. Oceanic disturbance caused by rapid emplacement of debris avalanches may have produced high-level wave deposits (such as the 365-m elevation Hulopoe Gravel on Lanai) that are found on several islands. Most present-day submarine canyons were originally carved subaerially in the upper parts of debris avalanches. Subaerial canyon cutting was apparently promoted by the recently steepened and stripped slopes of the landslide amphitheaters.
718 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1970
TL;DR: In this paper, the geological formation of the Hawaiian archipelago is surveyed, and the effects of wind and water on its valleys and mountains are studied, including the effect of volcanic growth.
Abstract: Surveys the geological formation of the Hawaiian Archipelago, studying its gradual, volcanic growth, and the effects of wind and water on its valleys and mountains.
408 citations