Description: Highlights • An eclogite-melt component (slab melt) is present in volcanic rocks throughout the Aleutian arc. • Fluids that drive slab melting are produced by dehydration of serpentinite in the subducting plate. • Slab melting encompasses a large section of mafic oceanic crust unaffected by seawater alteration. • The subducting plate beneath the Aleutian arc is hotter than indicated by most thermal models. Abstract High Mg# andesites and dacites (Mg# = molar Mg/Mg + Fe) from western Aleutian seafloor volcanoes carry high concentrations of Sr (〉1000 ppm) that is unradiogenic (87Sr/86Sr 〈 0.7029) compared to lavas from emergent volcanoes throughout the arc (200–800 ppm Sr, 87Sr/86Sr 〉0.7030). Data patterns in plots of 87Sr/86Sr vs Y/Sr and Nd/Sr imply the existence of an eclogite-melt source component – formed by partial melting of MORB eclogite in the subducting Pacific Plate – which is most clearly expressed in the compositions of western Aleutian andesites and dacites (Nd/Sr and Y/Sr 〈 0.02) and which dominates the source budget for Sr in volcanic rocks throughout the arc. When viewed in combination with inversely correlated εNdεNd and 87Sr/86Sr, these patterns rule out aqueous fluids as an important source of Sr because mixtures of fluids from altered oceanic crust with depleted mantle and sediment produce compositions with 87Sr/86Sr higher than in common Aleutian rocks. The unradiogenic nature of Sr in the western Aleutian andesite–dacite end-member may be understood if H2O required to drive melting of the subducting oceanic crust is transported in fluids containing little Sr. Mass balance demonstrates that such fluids may be produced by dewatering of serpentinite in the mantle section of the subducting plate. If the eclogite-melt source component is present throughout the Aleutian arc, melting of the subducting plate must extend into minimally altered parts of the sheeted dike section or upper gabbros, at depths 〉2 km below the paleo-seafloor. Oxygen isotopes in western Aleutian seafloor lavas, which fall within a narrow range of MORB-like values (δ18O=5.1–5.7δ18O=5.1–5.7), are also consistent with this model. These results indicate that the subducting Pacific lithosphere beneath the Aleutian arc is significantly hotter than indicated my most thermal models.

Description: Highlights • First comprehensive data set of the seamounts from the Walvis Ridge. • The seamounts are 20–40 Myr younger than the age progressive Walvis Ridge basement. • The composition of the seamounts extends from the St. Helena HIMU to EMORB. • The seamounts are derived from a distinct source compared to the Walvis Ridge. • The temporal change from EM I to HIMU could reflect the compositional heterogeneities of the LLSVP. Abstract Volcanic activity at many oceanic volcanoes, ridges and plateaus often reawakens after hiatuses of up to several million years. Compared to the earlier magmatic phases, this late-stage (rejuvenated/post-erosional) volcanism is commonly characterized by a distinct geochemical composition. Late-stage volcanism raises two hitherto unanswered questions: Why does volcanism restart after an extended hiatus and what is the origin of this volcanism? Here we present the first 40Ar/39Ar age and comprehensive trace element and Sr–Nd–Pb–Hf isotopic data from seamounts located on and adjacent to the Walvis Ridge in the South Atlantic ocean basin. The Walvis Ridge is the oldest submarine part of the Tristan-Gough hotspot track and is famous as the original type locality for the enriched mantle one (EM I) end member. Consistent with the bathymetric data, the age data indicates that most of these seamounts are 20–40 Myr younger than the underlying or nearby Walvis Ridge basement. The trace element and isotope data reveal a distinct compositional range from the EM I-type basement. The composition of the seamounts extend from the St. Helena HIMU (high time-integrated 238U/204Pb mantle with radiogenic Pb isotope ratios) end member to an enriched (E) Mid-Ocean-Ridge Basalt (MORB) type composition, reflecting a two-component mixing trend on all isotope diagrams. The EMORB end member could have been generated through mixing of Walvis Ridge EM I with normal (N) MORB source mantle, reflecting interaction of Tristan-Gough (EM I-type) plume melts with the upper mantle. The long volcanic quiescence and the HIMU-like geochemical signature of the seamounts are unusual for classical hotspot related late-stage volcanism, indicating that these seamounts are not related to the Tristan-Gough hotspot volcanism. Two volcanic arrays in southwestern Africa (Gibeon-Dicker Willem and Western Cape province) display similar ages to the late-stage Walvis seamounts and also have HIMU-like compositions, suggesting a larger-scale event at ∼77–49 Ma. We propose that the EM I-like mantle plumes rise from the edges of the African Large Low Shear Velocity Province (LLSVP; Tristan-Gough, Discovery and Shona hotspot), whereas the HIMU-dominated intraplate lavas (St. Helena, Gibeon-Dicker Willem and Western Cape province) and the late-stage Walvis seamounts tap material from internal portions of the African LLSVP, suggesting possible lateral and/or vertical chemical zonation of the African LLSVP.

Description: Highlights • First data on the composition of deep crust and primitive rocks of high-Ti magmatic series of Manihiki Plateau • High potential mantle temperature for Manihiki sources (〉1460oC) suggests a lower mantle plume origin • EM1 signature in high-Ti Manihiki basalts could originate from recycled lower continental crust or re-fertilized SCLM • The presence of refractory mantle in the Manihiki plume explains 30% lower crustal thickness compared to OJP • Manihiki and OJP could have been formed from a geochemically zoned plume or from two spatially separated mantle plumes Abstract Geochemical studies revealed two major (high- and low-Ti) magmatic series composing the Manihiki Plateau in the Western Pacific. Here we report new geochemical data (major and trace element and Sr-Nd-Pb isotope compositions) of the Manihiki rocks. The rocks belong to the previously rarely sampled high-Ti Manihiki series and represent a section of deep crust of the plateau. The rocks were collected by remotely operated vehicle ROV Kiel 6000 during R/V SONNE SO225 expedition from a tectonic block at a stretched and faulted boundary between the Northern and Western Manihiki sub-plateaus. Additional data is presented on samples obtained by dredging during the same cruise. Judging from the age of stratigraphically higher lavas, most samples must be ≥125 Ma old. They comprise fully crystalline microdolerites, aphyric and Ol-Px-Pl-phyric basalts and breccias metamorphosed under greenschist to amphibolite facies with peak metamorphic temperatures of 636–677 °C and pressures of 2.0–2.7 kbar. A single sample of hornblende gabbro was also recovered and likely represents a late stage intrusion. Despite strong metamorphism, the samples from the ROV profile reveal only minor to moderate chemical alteration and their initial compositions are well preserved. The rocks are relatively primitive with MgO up to 13 wt%, range from enriched to depleted in LREE (LaN/SmN = 0.7–1.1), exhibit variable but mostly depleted Nb contents (Nb/Nb* = 0.8–1.3) and display only a narrow range in isotope compositions with strong EM1 characteristics (εNd (t) = 1.8–3.6, 206Pb/204Pb (t) = 17.9–18.1, 207Pb/204Pb (t) = 15.49–15.53, 208Pb/204Pb (t) = 38.08–38.42). The parental magmas are interpreted to originate from a thermochemical plume with a potential mantle temperature 〉1460 °C. The trace element and isotope EM1 signature of the high-Ti rocks reflects the presence of recycled lower continental crust material or re-fertilized subcontinental lithospheric mantle in the plume source. A highly refractory mantle was the primary source of the low-Ti basalts and could also contribute to the origin of high-Ti basalts. On average a more depleted mantle source for the Manihiki rocks can explain ~30% lower crustal thickness of this plateau compared to Ontong Java Plateau, which was mainly formed by melting of similarly hot but more fertile mantle. The presently available data suggest that the sources of Ontong Java and Manihiki Plateaus were compositionally different and could represent two large domains of a single plume or two contemporaneous but separate plumes.

Description: Highlights • Four of the seven seamounts northeast of the Galápagos Platform are drowned islands • The ages of the seamounts range from 5.2 Ma to 0.5 Ma • Seamount morphology changes from conical to elongate at ~1.5 Ma • The locus of volcanism appears to migrate eastward at the rate of Nazca plate motion Abstract We present new geochemical and 40Ar/39Ar analyses from seven seamounts located off the northeastern margin of the shallow Galápagos Platform. Initial volcanism at 5.2 Ma created a small island (Pico) over the current location of the hotspot with geochemically enriched lavas. There is no further record of magmatism in the study area until 3.8 to 2.5 Ma, during which four roughly conical volcanoes (Sunray, Grande, Fitzroy, and Beagle) formed through eruption of lavas derived from a depleted mantle source. Sunray, Fitzroy, and Grande were islands that existed for ~3 m.y. ending with the submergence of Fitzroy at ~0.5 Ma. The youngest seamounts, Largo and Iguana, do not appear to have been subaerial and were active at 1.3 Ma and 0.5 Ma, respectively, with the style of edifice changing from the previous large cones to E-W elongate, composite structures. The progression of magmatism suggests that Pico erupted near 91.5°W near the location of the Galápagos plume while the others formed well east of the plume center. If the locations of initial volcanism are calculated using the eastward velocity of the Nazca plate, there appears to be a progression of younger volcanism toward the east, opposite what would be expected from a fixed mantle plume source. The rate that initial volcanism moves eastward is close to the plate velocity. A combination of higher temperature and geochemical enrichment of the thickened lithosphere of the Galápagos platform could have provided a viscosity gradient at the boundary between the thick lithosphere and the thinner oceanic lithosphere to the northeast. As this boundary moved eastward with the Nazca plate, it progressively triggered shear-driven mantle upwelling and volcanism.

Description: Spatial geochemical zonation is being increasingly recognized in Pacific and Atlantic hotspot tracks and is believed to reflect zonation within plumes upwelling from the margins of the Large Low Shear Velocity Provinces (LLSVPs) at the base of Earth’s mantle. We present new 40Ar/39Ar age data for the Discovery Rise (South Atlantic Ocean) that show an age progression in the direction of plate motion from 23Ma in the southwest to 40Ma in the northeast of the Rise, consistent with formation of the Rise above a mantle plume. The lavas have incompatible element and Sr–Nd–Pb–Hf radiogenic isotope characteristics similar to the enriched DUPAL anomaly occurring in the southern hemisphere. The northern chain of seamounts is compositionally similar to the adjacent Gough subtrack of the bilaterally-zoned Tristan–Gough hotspot track, whereas the southern chain has some of the most extreme DUPAL compositions found in South Atlantic intraplate lavas thus far. The nearby southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge, believed to interact with the Discovery hotspot, shows a similar spatial geochemical distribution, consistent with the Discovery hotspot being zoned over its entire 40Ma history. Our study implies a deep origin for the DUPAL anomaly, suggesting recycling of subcontinental lithospheric mantle (±lower crust) and oceanic crust through the lower mantle. The presence of an additional (Southern Discovery) DUPAL-like component, in addition to the Tristan and Gough/Northern Discovery components, in long-term zoned South Atlantic hotspots, points to the presence of a third lower mantle reservoir and thus is not consistent with the simple model that bilaterally-zoned plumes sample a chemically distinct LLSVP and the ambient mantle outside of the LLSVP.

Description: Shallow (elevated) portions of mid-ocean ridges with enriched geochemical compositions near hotspots document the interaction of hot geochemically enriched plume mantle with shallow depleted upper mantle. Whereas the spatial variations in geochemical composition of ocean crust along the ridge axis in areas where plume-ridge interaction is taking place have been studied globally, only restricted information exists concerning temporal variations in geochemistry of ocean crust formed through plume-ridge interaction. Here we present a detailed geochemical study of 0-1.5 Ma ocean crust sampled from the Western Galápagos Spreading Center (WGSC) axis to 50 km north of the axis, an area that is presently experiencing a high influx of mantle material from the Galápagos Hotspot. The tholeiitic to basaltic andesitic fresh glass and few bulk rock samples have incompatible element abundances and Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic compositions intermediate between depleted normal mid-ocean-ridge basalt (N-MORB) from 〉95.5°W along the WGSC and enriched lavas from the Galápagos Archipelago, displaying enriched (E-)MORB type compositions. Only limited and no systematic geochemical variations are observed with distance from the ridge axis for 〈1.0 Ma old WGSC crust, whereas 1.0-1.5 Ma old crust trends to more enriched isotopic compositions in 87Sr/86Sr, 143Nd/144Nd, 207Pb/204Pb and 208Pb/204Pb isotope ratios. On isotope correlation diagrams, the data set displays correlations between depleted MORB and two enriched components. Neither the geographically referenced geochemical domains of the Galápagos Archipelago nor the end members used for principle component analysis can successfully describe the observed mixing relations. Notably an off-axis volcanic cone at site DR63 has the appropriate composition to serve as the enriched component for the younger WGSC and could represent a portion of the northern part of the Galápagos plume not sampled south of the WGSC. Similar compositions to samples from volcanic cone DR63 have been found in the northern part of the 11-14 Ma Galápagos hotspot track offshore Costa Rica, indicating that this composition is derived from the northern portion of the Galápagos plume. The older WGSC requires involvement of an enriched mantle two (EMII) type source, not recognized thus far in the Galápagos system, and is interpreted to reflect entrained material either from small-scale heterogeneities within the upper mantle or from the mantle transition zone. Overall the source material for the 0-1.5 Ma WGSC ocean crust appears to represent mixing of depleted upper mantle with Northern Galápagos Plume material of relatively uniform composition in relatively constant proportions.

Description: Age progressive hotspot chains are commonly believed to form by decompression melting as the lithosphere moves over a mantle plume. The Tristan-Gough volcanic track in the South Atlantic, composed of the Walvis aseismic ridge and the associated Guyot Province, extends from the Etendeka continental flood basalts (CFBs) in Namibia to the volcanically active islands of Tristan da Cunha and Gough. Here we present new laser step-heating 40Ar/39Ar ages of mineral separates from samples from the Tristan-Gough volcanic track and the Rio Grande Rise. The 40Ar/39Ar ages have primarily been determined on feldspar crystals, but also on biotite crystals (one sample) and whole rock chips (one sample). Our data indicate a younging age progression from the Etendeka CFBs to Tristan da Cunha and Gough. The ages range from 114 Ma at the northeastern end to 58–72 Ma for DSDP Sites 525A and 528 at the southwestern end of the Walvis Ridge, to 27–49 Ma for the Guyot Province and to 80–87 Ma for the Rio Grande Rise, which is believed to represent the counterpart of the Walvis Ridge on the South American Plate. We also found anomalously young (late-stage) volcanism on the Walvis Ridge (~ 55 Ma) and the Rio Grande Rise (~ 46 Ma), which, like late-stage volcanism on other hotspot tracks, represents more silica-undersaturated compositions than the main “shield stage” tholeiitic volcanism. Combining our new ages with published ages for the Etendeka CFBs yields a general volcanic migration rate of ~ 30 mm/a for the Tristan-Gough track assuming a constant velocity of the African Plate. Our new geochronological constraints for an age progression provide further support for a mantle plume origin of the Tristan-Gough track. Finally our new age data imply a faster volcanic migration rate for this hotspot track than previously published rates, which needs to be factored into plate tectonic reconstruction models.

Description: A combined volcanological, geochemical, paleo-oceanological, geochronological and geophysical study was undertaken on the Kurile Basin, in order to constrain the origin and evolution of this basin. Very high rates of subsidence were determined for the northeastern floor and margin of the Kurile Basin. Dredged volcanic samples from the Geophysicist Seamount, which were formed under subaerial or shallow water conditions but are presently located at depths in excess of 2300 m, were dated at 0.84±0.06 and 1.07±0.04 Ma with the laser 40Ar/39Ar single crystal method, yielding a minimum average subsidence rate of 1.6 mm/year for the northeast basin floor in the Quaternary. Trace element and Sr–Nd–Pb isotope data from the volcanic rocks show evidence for contamination within lower continental crust and/or the subcontinental lithospheric mantle, indicating that the basement presently at ∼6-km depth is likely to represent thinned continental crust. Average subsidence rates of 0.5–2.0 mm/year were estimated for the northeastern slope of the Kurile Basin during the Pliocene and Quaternary through the determination of the age and paleo-environment (depth) of formation of sediments from a canyon wall. Taken together, the data from the northeastern part of the Kurile Basin indicate that subsidence began in or prior to the Early Pliocene and that subsidence rates have increased in the Quaternary. Similar rates of subsidence have been obtained from published studies on the Sakhalin Shelf and Slope and from volcanoes in the rear of the Kurile Arc. The recent stress field of the Kurile Basin is inferred from the analysis of seismic activity, focal mechanism solutions and from the structure of the sedimentary cover and of the Alaid back-arc volcano. Integration of these results suggests that compression is responsible for the rapid subsidence of the Kurile Basin and that subsidence may be an important step in the transition from basin formation to its destruction. The compression of the Kurile Basin results from squeezing of the Okhotsk Plate between four major plates: the Pacific, North American, Eurasian and Amur. We predict that continued compression could lead to subduction of the Kurile Basin floor beneath Hokkaido and the Kurile Arc in the future and thus to basin closure.

Description: The Mid-Atlantic Ridge between the Ascension and Bode Verde Fracture Zones exhibits anomalous crustal thickness and geochemical compositions, which could reflect the presence of either small, enriched heterogeneities in the upper mantle or a weak, diffuse mantle plume. We report new trace element (106 samples) and Sr, Nd and Pb (double spike) isotope data from 72 ridge axis samples and 9 off-axis seamount samples between 5 and 11°S, aswell asU–Th–Ra disequilibria data for the seamounts. The U-series data constrain the age of one sample from Seamount D, furthest (120 km) east of the shallowest part of the ridge, to be b10,000 yrs old and the samples from the other three seamounts closer to the ridge to be younger than 240,000 yrs. As can be most clearly discerned on a diagram of 208Pb/206Pb vs. 143Nd/144Nd, at least four distinct components are required to explain the geochemical variations along the ridge: 1) a common depleted (D-MORBlike) component in samples near and north of the Ascension Fracture Zone (4.8–7.6°S), representing the most depleted compositions sampled thus far along the mid-Atlantic ridge, 2) an enriched component upwelling beneath Ascension Island and the northern A1 ridge segment (segment numbers increase from A1 to A4 going south from the Ascension Fracture Zone), 3) an enriched component upwelling beneath the A2 ridge segment, and 4) an enriched component upwelling beneath the line of seamounts east of the A3 segment and the A3 and A4 segments. The A1 and the A3+A4 segment lavas form well-defined mixing arrays, which extend from Ascension Island and the A3 seamounts respectively to the depleted D-MORB component, interpreted to reflect local ambient mantle. We propose that the enriched components represent different packages of subducted ocean crust and/or ocean island basalt (OIB) type volcanic islands and seamounts that have either been recycled through 1) the shallowmantle, upwelling passively beneath the ridge systemor 2) the deep mantle via an actively upwelling heterogeneous mantle plume that interacts with the ridge system.

Description: Here we present the first radiometric age data and a comprehensive geochemical data set (including major and trace element and Sr–Nd–Pb–Hf isotope ratios) for samples from the Hikurangi Plateau basement and seamounts on and adjacent to the plateau obtained during the R/V Sonne 168 cruise, in addition to age and geochemical data from DSDP Site 317 on the Manihiki Plateau. The 40Ar/39Ar age and geochemical data show that the Hikurangi basement lavas (118–96 Ma) have surprisingly similar major and trace element and isotopic characteristics to the Ontong Java Plateau lavas (ca. 120 and 90 Ma), primarily the Kwaimbaita-type composition, whereas the Manihiki DSDP Site 317 lavas (117 Ma) have similar compositions to the Singgalo lavas on the Ontong Java Plateau. Alkalic, incompatible-element-enriched seamount lavas (99–87 Ma and 67 Ma) on the Hikurangi Plateau and adjacent to it (Kiore Seamount), however, were derived from a distinct high time-integrated U/Pb (HIMU)-type mantle source. The seamount lavas are similar in composition to similar-aged alkalic volcanism on New Zealand, indicating a second wide-spread event from a distinct source beginning ca. 20 Ma after the plateau-forming event. Tholeiitic lavas from two Osbourn seamounts on the abyssal plain adjacent to the northeast Hikurangi Plateau margin have extremely depleted incompatible element compositions, but incompatible element characteristics similar to the Hikurangi and Ontong Java Plateau lavas and enriched isotopic compositions intermediate between normal mid-ocean-ridge basalt (N-MORB) and the plateau basement. These younger (not, vert, similar52 Ma) seamounts may have formed through remelting of mafic cumulate rocks associated with the plateau formation. The similarity in age and geochemistry of the Hikurangi, Ontong Java and Manihiki Plateaus suggest derivation from a common mantle source. We propose that the Greater Ontong Java Event, during which not, vert, similar1% of the Earth’s surface was covered with volcanism, resulted from a thermo-chemical superplume/dome that stalled at the transition zone, similar to but larger than the structure imaged presently beneath the South Pacific superswell. The later alkalic volcanism on the Hikurangi Plateau and the Zealandia micro-continent may have been part of a second large-scale volcanic event that may have also triggered the final breakup stage of Gondwana, which resulted in the separation of Zealandia fragments from West Antarctica.