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USGS1980

Circum-arctic plate accretion - Isolating part of a pacific plate to form the nucleus of the Arctic Basin

A mosaic of large lithospheric plates rims the Arctic Ocean Basin, and foldbelts between these plates contain numerous allochthonous microplates. A new model for continental drift and microplate accretion proposes that prior to the late Mesozoic the Kula plate extended from the Pacific into the Arctic. By a process of circumpolar drift and microplate accretion, fragments of the Pacific basin, including parts of the Kula plate, were cut off and isolated in the Arctic Ocean, the Yukon-Koyukuk basin in Alaska, and the Bering Sea.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗

USGS1983

Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd, K-Ca, O, and H isotopic study of Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary sediments, Caravaca, Spain: evidence for an oceanic impact site

Isotopic ratios and trace element abundances were measured on samples of Ir-enriched clay at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary, and in carbonate and marl from 5 cm below and 3 cm above the boundary. Samples were leached with acetic acid to remove carbonate, and with hydrochloric acid. Leachates and residues were measured. The Sr, Nd, O and H isotopic compositions of the boundary clay residues are distinct from those of the stratigraphically neighboring materials. The data indicate that most of the clay material was derived from a terrestrial source with relatively low 87 Sr/ 86 Sr and high 143 Nd/ 144 Nd ratios. The δ 18 O data suggest that the detritus has been modified by submarine weathering. K-Ca and Rb-Sr systematics, as well as O isotope ratios of K-feldspar spherules within the boundary clay, suggest that they are predominantly authigenic and may have formed after the time of deposition. However, Sm-Nd and Rb-Sr isotopic data indicate that the spherules contain relict material that provides information on the nature of the original detritus. The isotopic evidence for foreign terrestrial detritus in the boundary clay, the low rare earth element concentrations and high Ni concentration, support the hypothesis of a terminal Cretaceous asteroidal impact that produced a global layer of fallout. The data are most easily explained if the impact site was on oceanic crust rather than continental crust, and if a substantial fraction of the fallout was derived from relatively deep within the lithosphere (>3 km). This would probably require a single large impactor.

Caravaca↗

USGS1984

Geochemistry of tholeiitic and alkalic lavas from the Koolau Range, Oahu, Hawaii: Implications for Hawaiian volcanism

Lavas of the post-erosional, alkalic Honolulu Volcanics have significantly lower 87 Sr/ 86 Sr and higher 143 Nd/ 144 Nd than the older and underlying Koolau tholeiites which form the Koolau shield of eastern Oahu, Hawaii. Despite significant compositional variation within lavas forming the Honolulu Volcanics, these lavas are isotopically (Sr, Nd, Pb) very similar which contrasts with the isotopic heterogeneity of the Koolau tholeiites. Among Hawaiian tholeiitic suites, the Koolau lavas are geochemically distinct because of their lower iron contents and Sr and Nd isotopic ratios which range to bulk earth values. These geochemical data preclude simple models such as derivation of the Honolulu Volcanics and Koolau tholeiites from a common source by different degrees of melting or by mixing of two geochemically distinct sources. There may be no genetic relationship between the origin and evolution of these two lava suites; however, the trend shown by Koolau Range lavas of increasing 143 Nd/ 144 Nd and decreasing 87 Sr/ 86 Sr with decreasing eruption age and increasing alkalinity also occurs at Haleakala, East Molokai and Kauai volcanoes. A complex mixing model proposed for Haleakala lavas can account for the variations in Sr and Nd isotopic ratios and incompatible element abundances found in lavas from the Koolau Range. This model may reflect mixing and melting processes occurring during ascent of relatively enriched mantle through relatively depleted MORB-related lithosphere. Although two isotopically distinct components may be sufficient to explain Sr and Nd isotopic variations at individual Hawaiian volcanoes, more than two isotopically distinct materials are required to explain variations of Sr, Nd and Pb isotopic ratios in all Hawaiian lavas.

Hawaii↗

USGS1984

Triple junction magmatism: a geochemical study of Neogene volcanic rocks in western California

Inception of volcanism at late Oligocene to Recent centers in the eastern Coast Ranges of California (ECR suite) regularly decreases in age northward and is correlated with the northward migration of the transform-transform-trench Mendocino triple junction (MTJ). Miocene volcanism in the southern California basin (SCB suite) is spatially and temporally associated with the transform-ridge-trench Rivera triple junction (RTJ). The tholeiitic to calc-alkaline rocks in both suites were erupted through older trench melange while arc magmatism was occurring several hundred kilometers to the east. Therefore they are not related to subduction zone magmatism, but instead to interactions of the MTJ and RTJ with the continental margin. The ECR rocks, dominantly intermediate to silicic in composition, have relatively high δ 18 O values up to 11.3, 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios up to 0.7055, as well as relatively high Th contents, suggesting that crustal anatexis played a dominant role in their generation. Coupled crystal fractionation and crustal assimilation by an initially basaltic magma cannot explain the high δ 18 O values and 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios because greater than 95% of the basalt would need to crystallize. In contrast, the SCB rocks, dominantly mafic to intermediate in composition, have relatively low δ 18 O values down to 5.2 and 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios down to 0.7025 suggesting that these rocks were derived dominantly from a mantle source. Whether crustal anatexis occurs is determined largely by the type of stress a triple junction imposes upon the continental margin. Both the MTJ and RTJ are associated with high heat flow and magma fluxes from the mantle. The transform-transform-trench MTJ is associated with locally variable mild extension to compression and therefore allows pooling of basaltic magma in the crust to initiate crustal melting. The high rates of continental extension associated with the transform-ridge-trench RTJ prevents such pooling of magma. The space created by decoupling of the subducted slab at a transform-transform-trench triple junction might promote passive upwelling of mantle material to fill it and induce melting to generate basalts. Mafic volcanic rocks of this origin may provide a unique view of the subcontinental mantle at the continental margin. 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios as low as 0.70255 for mafic volcanic rocks in the Sonoma-Tolay center associated with the MTJ contrast with high La/Sm ratios of 1.1 to 1.3 and low Zr/Nb,Hf/Ta,La/Th , and La/Ta ratios of 5.0 to 6.7, 2.6 to 3.5, 4.7 to 8.8, and 10.2 to 12.5, respectively. These data suggest that the mantle beneath parts of western California may have originally been depleted but has been enriched relatively recently. Such enrichment might have occurred by metasomatic processes associated with crustal accretion and/or juxtaposition of differing lithospheric mantle in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗

USGS1986

Carbon isotope systematics of a mantle "hotspot": A comparison of Loihi Seamount and MORB glasses

The carbon isotope geochemistry of glasses from Loihi Seamount has been compared with that of MORB glasses. Stepped heating shows two carbon components in both sample suites: (1) isotopically light carbon ( avg. δ 13 C = −26.3‰ ) released < 600°C, ascribed to surficial contamination, and (2) isotopically heavy carbon released > 600°C, regarded as indigenous. The high-temperature component in MORB samples varied from 52 to 169 ppm C, average δ 13 C = −6.6‰ , consistent with previous studies (overall MORD average δ 13 C = −6.4 ± 0.9‰ ), and new results for Indian Ocean glasses are similar to Atlantic and Pacific Ocean samples. Carbon release profiles produced by stepped heating may be typical of locality, but there are no significant differences in δ 13 C values between MORB samples from different areas. Lower yields (17–110 ppm C) correlated with depth in the Loihi samples suggest that they are partially degassed. This degassing has not affected δ 13 C values significantly (avg. −5.8‰). Loihi tholeiites have higher δ 13 C (avg. −5.6‰) than the alkali basalts (avg. −7.1‰). Carbon abundances correlate well with He concentration data. Comparison of the δ 13 C values with trace element and He, Sr, Nd, and Pb isotope data from the literature suggests that the Loihi samples with highest δ 13 C have high 3 He/ 4 He and possibly the least depleted 143 Nd/ 144 Nd and 87 Sr/ 86 Sr. The carbon isotope data are consistent with previous models for Loihi involving several mantle sources, lithospheric contamination, and mixing. The slightly higher δ 13 C of Loihi tholeiites suggests that the undegassed “plume” component manifested by high 3 He/ 4 He values might have δ 13 C about 1‰ higher than the MORB average.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗

USGS1987

Stable isotope compositions and water contents of boninite series volcanic rocks from Chichi-jima, Bonin Islands, Japan

Measurements of stable isotope compositions and water contents of boninite series volcanic rocks from the island of Chichi-jima, Bonin Islands, Japan, confirm that a large amount (1.6–2.4 wt.%) of primary water was present in these unusual magmas. An enrichment of 0.6‰ in 18 O during differentiation is explained by crystallization of 18 O-depleted mafic phases. Silicic glasses have elevated δ 18 O values and relatively low δD values indicating that they were modified by low-temperature alteration and hydration processes. Mafic glasses, on the other hand, have for the most part retained their primary isotopic signatures since Eocene time. Primary δD values of −53 for boninite glasses are higher than those of MORB and suggest that the water was derived from subducted oceanic lithosphere.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗

USGS1988

Pb, Sr, and Nd isotopic compositions of a suite of Late Archean, igneous rocks, eastern Beartooth Mountains: Implications for crust-mantle evolution

A series of compositionally diverse, Late Archean rocks (2.74–2.79 Ga old) from the eastern Beartooth Mountains, Montana and Wyoming, U.S.A., have the same initial Pb, Sr, and Nd isotopic ratios. Lead and Sr initial ratios are higher and Nd initial ratios lower than would be expected for rocks derived from model mantle sources and strongly indicate the involvement of an older crustal reservoir in the genesis of these rocks. Crustal contamination during emplacement can be ruled out for a variety of reasons. Instead a model involving subduction of continental detritus and contamination of the overlying mantle as is often proposed for modern subduction environments is preferred. This contaminated mantle would have all the isotopic characteristics of mantle enriched by internal mantle metasomatism but would require no long-term growth or changes in parent to daughter element ratios. This contaminated mantle would make a good source for some of the Cenozoic mafic volcanics of the Columbia River, Snake River Plain, and Yellowstone volcanic fields that are proposed to come from ancient, enriched lithospheric mantle. The isotopic characteristics of the 2.70 Ga old Stillwater Complex are a perfect match for the proposed contaminated mantle which provides an alternative to crustal contamination during emplacement. The Pb isotopic characteristics of the Late Archean rocks of the eastern Beartooth Mountains are similar to those of other Late Archean rocks of the Wyoming Province and suggest that Early Archean, upper crustal rocks were common in this terrane. The isotopic signatures of Late Archean rocks in the Wyoming Province are distinctive from those of other Archean cratons in North America which are dominated by a MORB-like, Archean mantle source (Superior Province) and/or a long-term depleted crustal source (Greenland).

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗

USGS1988

Sr and Nd isotopic and trace element compositions of Quaternary volcanic centers of the Southern Andes

Isotopic compositions of samples from six Quaternary volcanoes located in the northern and southern extremities of the Southern Volcanic Zone (SVZ, 33–46°S) of the Andes and from four centers in the Austral Volcanic Zone (AVZ, 49–54°S) range for 87 Sr/ 86 Sr from 0.70280 to 0.70591 and for 143 Nd/ 144 Nd from 0.51314 to 0.51255. The ranges are significantly greater than previously reported from the southern Andes but are different from the isotopic compositions of volcanoes in the central and northern Andes. Basalts and basaltic andesites from three centers just north of the Chile Rise-Trench triple junction have 87 Sr/ 86 Sr , 143 Nd/ 144 Nd , La/Yb , Ba/La , and Hf/Lu that lie within the relatively restricted ranges of the basic magmas erupted from the volcanic centers as far north as 35°S in the SVZ of the Andes. The trace element and Sr and Nd isotopic characteristics of these magmas may be explained by source region contamination of subarc asthenosphere, with contaminants derived from subducted pelagic sediments and seawater-altered basalts by dehydration of subducted oceanic lithosphere. In the northern extremity of the SVZ between 33° and 34°S, basaltic andesites and andesites have higher 87 Sr/ 86 Sr , Rb/Cs , and Hf/Lu , and lower 143 Nd/ 144 Nd than basalts and basaltic andesites erupted farther south in the SVZ, which suggests involvement of components derived from the continental crust. In the AVZ, the most primitive sample, high-Mg andesite from the southernmost volcanic center in the Andes (54°S) has Sr and Nd isotopic compositions and KR/b and Ba/La similar to MORB. The high La/Yb of this sample suggests formation by small degrees of partial melting of subducted MORB with garnet as a residue. Samples from centers farther north in the AVZ show a regionally regular northward increase in SiO 2 , K 2 O, Rb, Ba, Ba/La , and 87 Sr/ 86 Sr/ and decrease in MgO, Sr, KR/b , Rb/Cs , and 143 Nd/ 144 Nd , suggesting increasingly greater degrees of fractional crystallization and associated intra-crustal contamination.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗

USGS1988

Pb, Nd, and Sr isotopic evidence for a multicomponent source for rocks of Cook-Austral Islands and heterogeneities of mantle plumes

Sr, Nd, and Pb isotopic compositions were measured in alkaline volcanic rocks (alkali basalt, ankaramite, nephelinite, phonolite, and trachyte) from the South Cook Islands (Aitutaki, Mauke, Rarotonga, Atiu, and Mangaia) and the Austral Islands (Rimatara and Rurutu). The results show that the Cook-Austral rocks have an extremely wide range in isotopic compositions of Pb: 206 Pb 204 Pb "> 206 Pb 204 Pb from 18.25 to 21.76, 207 pb 204 pb "> 207 pb 204 pb from 15.48 to 15.83, and sol 208 pb 204 Pb "> sol 208 pb 204 Pb from 38.37 to 40.62, whereas isotopic compositions of Sr and Nd are less variable. Isotopically, Mangaia, Rimatara, and Rurutu form one group (Mangaia group), which shows extremely radiogenic Pb isotopic compositions but near-MORB (mid-oceanic ridge basalts) values for Sr and Nd isotopic ratios. In contrast, samples from Aitutaki, Rarotonga, Mauke, and Atiu (Aitutaki group) have high 207 Pb 204 Pb "> 207 Pb 204 Pb and 208 Pb 204 Pb "> 208 Pb 204 Pb and moderately high 87 Sr 86 Sr "> 87 Sr 86 Sr (Dupal anomaly). The Aitutaki group could have been derived from heterogeneous mantle plumes, which rose from the enriched deep mantle (the almost primitive lower mantle or recycled continental and oceanic slabs). On the other hand, the Mangaia component could have been derived from the depleted upper mantle which may have been metasomatized with a CO 2 -rich fluid, as indicated by the near-MORB values of Sr and Nd isotopes. Although Pb isotopic data of the two groups cannot be distinguished from each other statistically, the end components of the Pb-Pb system do not match with those of the Nd-Sr system. Thus, the data must be explained by a multi-, at least three, component mixing model: the mantle plumes (Dupal component and a recycled oceanic slab), metasomatized upper mantle, and lithosphere. The K-Ar ages and isotopic characteristics of the Cook-Austral rocks indicate that if one mantle plume rises from the deep mantle in this region, it has separated into at least two segments on the way to the surface.

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta↗

USGS1995

Osmium and neodymium isotopic constraints on the temporal and spatial evolution of Siberian flood basalt sources

Picrites from the Gudchikhinsky suite, the oldest rocks examined, have ??Os of +5.3 to +6.1 and ??Nd of +3.7 to +4.0. The osmium and neodymium isotopic compositions of these rocks are similar to some modern ocean-island basalts (OIB), consistent with their derivation from an mantle plume. Picrites from the stratigraphically higher Tuklonsky suite have similar ??Os of +3.4 to +6.5, but ??Nd of -0.9 to -2.6. The similar ??Os, but lower ??Nd , suggest that some magmas from the same OIB-type, mantle source were contaminated by lithospheric components. A differentiated ankaramite flow, associated with the top of the stratigraphically higher Morongovsky suite, has ??Os of +9.8 to +10.2 and ??Nd of +1.3 to +1.4. The higher ??Os may indicate that the plume source was heterogeneous with respect to osmium isotopic composition, consistent with osmium isotopic measurements in rocks from other plume sources. Mg-rich, alkaline rocks (meymechites) from the Guli area that erupted much nearer the end of the flood-basalt event have ??Os of -1.2 to -2.6 and ??Nd of +3.7 to +4.9. These rocks were probably produced by low degrees of partial melting of mantle after the main stages of flood-basalt production. -from Authors

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta↗

USGS1983

Two classes of volcanic plumes on Io

Comparison of Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 images of the south polar region of Io has revealed that a major volcanic eruption occured there during the period between the two spacecraft encounters. An annular deposit ∼1400 km in diameter formed around the Aten Patera caldera (311°W, 48°S), the floor of which changed from orange to red-black. The characteristics of this eruption are remarkably similar to those described earlier for an eruption centered on Surt caldera (338°W, 45°N) that occured during the same period, also at high latitude, but in the north. Both volcanic centers were evidently inactive during the Voyager 1 and 2 encounters but were active sometime between the two. The geometric and colorimetric characteristics, as well as scale of the two annular deposits, are virtually identical; both resemble the surface features formed by the eruption of Pele (255°W, 18°S). These three very large plume eruptions suggest a class of eruption distinct from that of six smaller plumes observed to be continously active by both Voyagers 1 and 2. The smaller plumes, of which Prometheus is the type example, are longer-lived, deposit bright, whitish material, erupt at velocities of ∼0.5 km sec −1 , and are concentrated at low latitudes in an equatorial belt around the satellite. The very large Pele-type plumes, on the other hand, are relatively short-lived, deposit darker red materials, erupt at ∼1.0 km sec −1 , and (rather than restricted to a latitudinal band) are restricted in longitude from 240° to 360°W. Both direct thermal infrared temperature measurements and the implied color temperatures for quenched liquid sulfur suggest that hot spot temperatures of ∼650°K are associated with the large plumes and temperatures <400°K with the small plumes. The typical eruption duration of the small plumes is at least several years; that of the large plumes appears to be of the order of days to weeks. The two classes therefore differ by more than two orders of magnitude in duration of eruption. Based on uv, visible, and infrared spectra, the small plumes seem to contain and deposit SO 2 in their annuli whereas the large plumes apparently do not. Two other plumes that occur at either end of the linear feature Loki may be intermediate or hybrid between the two classes, exhibiting attributes of both. Additionally, Loki occurs in the area of overlap in the regional distributions of the two plume classes. Two distinct volcanic systems involving different volatiles may be responsible for the two classes. We propose that the discrete temperatures associated with the two classes are a direct reflection of sulfur's peculiar variation in viscosity with temperature. Over two temperature ranges (∼400 to 430°K and >650°K), sulfur is a low-viscosity fluid (orange and black, respectively); at other temperatures it is either solid or has a high viscosity. As a result, there will be two zones in Io's crust in which liquid sulfur will flow freely: a shallow zone of orange sulfur and a deeper zone of black sulfur. A low-temperature system driven by SO 2 heated to 400 to 400°K by the orange sulfur zone seems the best model for the small plumes; a system driven by sulfur heated to >650°K by hot or even molten silicates in the black sulfur zone seems the best explanation for the large plume class. The large Pele-type plumes are apparently concentrated in a region of the satellite in which a thinner sulfur-rich crust overlies the tidally heated silicate lithosphere, so the black sulfur zone may be fairly shallow in this region. The Prometheus-type plumes are possibly confined to the equatorial belt by some process that concentrates SO 2 fluid in the equatorial crust.

Icarus↗

USGS1994

An inverted metamorphic field gradient in the central Brooks Range, Alaska and implications for exhumation of high-pressure/low-temperature metamorphic rocks

During exhumation of the Brooks Range internal zone, amphibolite-facies rocks were emplaced atop the blueschist/greenschist facies schist belt. The resultant inverted metamorphic field gradient is mappable as a series of isograds encountered as one traverses up structural section. Amphibolite-facies metamorphism occurred at ??? 110 Ma as determined from 40Ar 39Ar analysis of hornblende. This contrasts with 40Ar 39Ar phengite cooling ages from the uderlying schist belt, which are clearly older (by 17-22 m.y.). Fabrics in both the amphibolite-facies rocks and schist belt are characterized by repeated cycles of N-vergent crenulation and transposition that was likely associated with out-of-sequence ductile thrusting in the internal zone of the Brooks Range orogen. Contractional deformation occurred in an overall environment of foreland-directed tectonic transport, broadly synchronous with exhumation of the internal zone, and shortening within the thin-skinned fold and thrust belt. These data are inconsistent with a recently postulated mid-Cretaceous episode of lithospheric extension in northern Alaska. ?? 1994.

LITHOS↗

USGS1982

Sedimentation and deformation in the Amlia Fracture Zone sector of the Aleutian Trench

A wedge-shaped, landward thickening mass of sedimentary deposits composed chiefly of terrigenous turbidite beds underlies the west-south west-trending Amlia sector (172°20′–173°30′W) of the Aleutian Trench. Pacific oceanic crust dips northward beneath the sector's sedimentary wedge and obliquely underthrusts (30° off normal) the adjacent Aleutian Ridge. The trench floor and subsurface strata dip gently northward toward the base of the inner trench slope. The dip of the trench deposits increases downsection from about 0.2° at the trench floor to as much as 6–7° just above basement. The wedge is typically 2–2.5 km thick, but it is thickest (3.7–4.0 km) near the base of the inner slope overlying the north-trending Amlia Fracture Zone and also east of this structure. Slight undulations and relatively abrupt offsets of the trench floor reflect subsurface and generally west-trending structures within the wedge that are superimposed above ridges and swales in the underlying oceanic basement. The southern or seaward side of some of these structures are bordered by high-angle faults or abrupt flexures. Across these offsets the northern side of the trench floor and underlying wedge is typically upthrown. West-flowing turbidity currents originating along the Alaskan segment of the trench (1200 km to the east) probably formed the greater part of the Amlia wedge during the past 0.5 m.y. The gentle northward or cross-trench inclination of the trench floor and underlying wedge probably reflects regional downbending of the oceanic lithosphere and trench-floor basement faulting and rotation. Much of the undulatory flexuring of the trench wedge can be attributed to differential compaction over buried basement relief. However, abrupt structural offsets attest to basement faulting. Faulting is associated with extensional earthquakes in the upper crust. The west-trending basement offsets are probably normal faults that dip steeply south or antithetic to the north dip of the subducting oceanic crust. Up-to-arc extensional faulting can be attributed to the downbending of the Pacific plate into the Aleutian subduction zone. The rupturing direction and dip is controlled by zones of crustal weakness that parallel north Pacific magnetic anomalies, which were formed south of a late Cretaceous—early Tertiary spreading center (Kula—Pacific Ridge). The strike of these anomalies is fortuitously nearly parallel to the Amlia sector. The up-to-arc fracturing style may locally assist in elevating blocks of trench deposits to form the toe of the trench's landward slope, which is in part underlain by a compressionally thickened accretionary mass of older trench deposits. Compressional structures that can be related to underthrusting are only indistinctly recorded in the turbidite wedge that underlies the trench floor.

Alaska↗

USGS1983

K-Ar ages and the opening of the South Atlantic Ocean: Basaltic rock from the Brazilian margin

New K-Ar ages for 13 samples of basalt, gabbro, wehrlite, and trachyandesite drilled from the Brazilian continental shelf and coastline yield information about the timing of the opening of the South Atlantic and the nature of the crust seaward from the Brazil margin. The oldest basalt is 138.1 ± 3.5 m.y. "> 138.1 ± 3.5m.y. old and from offshore at 24.5°S; it represents Serra Geral flood basalt on attenuated crust in the Santos basin. Basalts from the coastline at 19.5°S are mixed with terrigenous graben sediments, and their ages confirm that rifting was underway before 130 m.y. Offshore sites in the Campos basin, ∼22°–23°S, 41°W, have basalt ranging from 124 to 112 m.y. in age and mostly continental flood basalt in composition. One 112-m.y. basalt, however, is MORB-like and could therefore represent oceanic lithosphere mixed with continental crust about 50 km from the shoreline at ∼22.5°S. Other samples reveal compositionally varied intraplate, passive-margin magmatism occurring 75-43 m.y. ago. They correlate with profuse contemporary alkalic magmatism on the southeastern Brazil coast and probably represent reactivation of zones of “weakness” (i.e., fracture zone-lineaments).

Marine Geology↗

USGS1994

New uranium-series ages of the Waimanalo Limestone, Oahu, Hawaii: implications for sea level during the last interglacial period

The Waimanalo Formation (limestone) of Oahu has been correlated with the last interglacial period based on U-series dating of corals by T.-L. Ku and colleagues. The limestone consists of growth-position corals and overlying coral conglomerate. An apparent bimodal distribution of ages for the growth-position corals (mean age = 133 ka) and the overlying coral conglomerate (mean age = 119 ka) has been interpreted to represent two distinct high stands of sea that occurred within the last interglacial period. Both growth-position corals and overlying, conglomerate coral occur in an outcrop east of Kaena Point and consist mainly of Pocillopora and Porites. U-seriesages of growth-position corals that show closed-system conditions are 120 ± 3 ka and 127 ± 4 ka; overlying conglomerate corals have U-seriesages that range from 120 ± 3 ka to 138 ± 4 ka. At Kahe Point, conglomerate corals have ages of 120 ± 3 ka and 134 ± 4 ka. These data show that the growth position corals are not systematically older than the conglomerate corals; thus, there is no evidence for two distinct high stands of sea. Waimanalo deposits at Kahe Point and Mokapu Point (new U-seriesages of 134 ± 4 ka and 127 ± 3 ka) have beach deposits as high as 12.5 m and, at Mokapu Point, growth-position corals as high as 8.5 m. A last-interglacial sea-level stand of +8.5 to +12.5 m conflicts with estimates of +6 m from a number of tectonically stable coastlines and islands in the western Atlantic Ocean. We infer, therefore, that Oahu may be undergoing uplift at a low rate. This uplift may be due to compensatory lithospheric flexure, because the island of Hawaii has been subsiding throughout much of the Quaternary from volcanic loading. Because of this possible uplift, Oahu and islands like it elsewhere in the Pacific cannot be used as reference points for sealevel during the last interglacial period.

Hawai'i↗

USGS1979

Deep structure under Yellowstone National Park U.S.A.: A continental "hot spot"

In order to understand the origin of long-lived loci of volcanism (sometimes called “hot spots”) and their possible role in global tectonic processes, it is essential to know their deep structure. Even though some work has been done on the crustal, upper-mantle, and deep-mantle structure under some of these “hot spots”, the picture is far from clear. In an attempt to study the structure under the Yellowstone National Park U.S.A., which is considered to be such a “hot spot”, we recorded teleseisms using 26 telemetered seismic stations and three groups of portable stations. The network was operated within a 150 km radius centered on the Yellowstone caldera, the major, Quaternary volcanic feature of the Yellowstone region. Teleseismic delays of about 1.5 sec are found inside the caldera, and the delays remain high over a 100 km wide area around the caldera. The spatial distribution and magnitude of the delays indicate the presence of a large body of low-velocity material with horizontal dimensions corresponding approximately to the caldera size (40 km × 80 km) near the surface and extending to a depth of 200–250 km under the caldera. Using ray-tracing and inversion techniques, it is estimated that the compressional velocity inside the anomalous body is lower than in the surrounding rock by about 15% in the upper crust and by 5% in the lower crust and upper mantle. It is postulated that the body is partly composed of molten rock with a high degree of partial melting at shallow depths and is responsible for the observed Yellowstone volcanism. The large size of the partially molten body, taken together with its location at the head of a 350 km zone of volcanic propagation along the axis of the Snake River Plain, indicates that the volcanism associated with Yellowstone has its origin below the lithosphere and is relatively stationary with respect to plate motion. Using our techniques, we are unable to detect any measurable velocity contrast in the mantle beneath the low-velocity body, and, hence, we are unable to determine whether the Yellowstone melting anomaly is associated with a deep heat source or with any deep phenomenon such as a convection plume, chemical plume, or gravitational anchor.

Wyoming↗

USGS1985

Accretion tectonics and crustal structure in Alaska

The entire width of the North American Cordillera in Alaska is made up of "suspect terranes". Pre-Late Cretaceous paleogeography is poorly constrained and the ultimate origins of the many fragments which make up the state are unclear. The Prince William and Chugach terranes accreted since Late Cretaceous time and represent the collapse of much of the northeast Pacific Ocean swept into what today is southern Alaska. Greater Wrangellia, a composite terrane now dispersed into fragments scattered from Idaho to southern Alaska, apparently accreted into Alaska in Late Cretaceous time crushing an enormous deep-marine flysch basin on its inboard side. Most of interior eastern Alaska is the Yukon Tanana terrane, a very large entirely fault-bounded metamorphic-plutonic assemblage covering thousands of square kilometers in Canada as well as Alaska. The original stratigraphy and relationship to North America of the Yukon-Tanana terrane are both obscure. A collapsed Mesozoic flysch basin, similar to the one inboard of Wrangellia, lies along the northern margin. Much of Arctic Alaska was apparently a vast expanse of upper Paleozoic to Early Mesozoic deep marine sediments and mafic volcanic and plutonic rocks now scattered widely as large telescoped sheets and Klippen thrust over the Ruby geanticline and the Brooks Range, and probably underlying the Yukon-Koyukuk basin and the Yukon flats. The Brooks Range itself is a stack of north vergent nappes, the telescoping of which began in Early Cretaceous time. Despite compelling evidence for thousands of kilometers of relative displacement between the accreted terranes, and large amounts of telescoping, translation, and rotation since accretion, the resulting new continental crust added to North America in Alaska carries few obvious signatures that allow application of currently popular simple plate tectonic models. Intraplate telescoping and strike-slip translations, delamination at mid-crustal levels, and large-scale lithospheric wedging were important processes in northern Cordilleran tectonic evolution.

Alaska↗

USGS1987

Spectral analysis of topography and gravity in the Basin and Range Province

A two-dimensional spectral analysis has been carried out for the topography and the Bouguer gravity anomaly of the Basin and Range Province in western North America. The aim was to investigate the possible presence of dominant wavelengths in the deformation pattern at the surface and at the depth of compensation. The results suggest that a 200-km wavelength in the deep compensating mass distribution has been inherited from an early tectonic phase of extension at an azimuth N65??E. The corresponding surface topography exhibits prominent overtones at wavelength of 100, 75, and possibly 45 km. It is argued that these characterize the non-linear rheology of the upper crust. The short wavelengths in the topography reflect the present phase of deformation, mixed with the results of the older deformations. These results point to a need to extend the physical models of lithospheric stretching beyond the presently available one-phase scenario. However, they show that the boudinage instability concept is consistent with the data.

Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah↗