Apparent partial loss age spectra of Neoarchean hornblende (Murmansk Terrane, Kola Peninsula, Russia): the role of biotite inclusions revealed by 40Ar/39Ar laserprobe analysis

Metamorphic hornblende frequently yields spectra with progressively increasing 40Ar/39Ar age steps, often interpreted as caused by partial resetting due to thermally activated radiogenic argon loss by solid-state diffusion. Yet, in many cases rising Ca/K ratio spectra for such samples imply the presence of minor inclusions of K-contaminant minerals. To avoid parts of grains with mineral inclusions or compositional zoning we drilled tiny discs from thin sections under a petrographic microscope. Laser step-heating of drilled biotite-free hornblende discs yielded flat age and ratio spectra. In contrast, furnace step-heated hornblende separates from the same samples produced apparent loss age spectra. Moreover, biotite-free samples yielded flat spectra by laser and furnace dating. Consequently, apparent loss spectra result from degassing of included substantially younger biotite before its hornblende host during laboratory step-heating; c. 2640 Ma hornblende ages constrain the Murmansk Terrane's cooling

Age of the Cretaceous alkaline magmatism in northeast Iberia: implications for the Alpine cycle in the Pyrenees

Cretaceous magmatism in northeast Iberia is related to the opening of the Bay of Biscay and counterclockwise rotation of Iberia with respect to Europe and predates the collision between Iberia and Europe that resulted in the formation of the Pyrenees. To better constrain the age of this magmatism, we have undertaken a Ar/Ar study on samples from the Pyrenees and the Catalonian Coastal Ranges. In the Basque-Cantabrian Basin and the North Pyrenean Basins, we have obtained Albian ages (ca. 102 Ma). In the northern Catalonian Coastal Ranges, we have obtained Campanian ages (ca. 79 Ma). We integrate our data with a review of previously published ages and discuss our results in terms of their geodynamic significance. The Cretaceous magmatism in the Pyrenees is Albian-Santonian (mostly occurring between 105 to 85 Ma) and was emplaced in a tectonically unclear context after the opening of the Bay of Biscay and rotation of Iberia. The magmatism in the Catalonian Coastal Ranges is well constrained to ca. 79 Ma and could mark the onset of Alpine shortening in the Pyrenean realm in northeasternmost Iberia. Finally, we describe a Late Triassic (ca. 232 Ma)-Early Jurassic (ca. 180 Ma) phase of magmatism in the Central Pyrenees, previously considered to be Cretaceous, that widens temporally and geographically the extent of the rift-related alkaline magmatism in southwestern Europe at that time. Key Points New Ar/Ar data update the age of the Cretaceous magmatism in NE Iberia Magmatism in the Pyrenees postdates the rotation of Iberia Magmatism in the Catalonian Coastal Ranges could mark the onset of Alpine shortenin

Triassic pegmatites in the Mesozoic middle crust of the Southern Alps (Italy): Fluid inclusions, radiometric dating and tectonic implications

The schists in the northern part of the South-Alpine crystalline basement along Lake Como record Barrovian syn-kinematic metamorphism of Variscan age. They cooled below the Rb-Sr whole rock closing temperature at ca. 300 Ma and were exhumed by ca. 6-7 km before the Late Permian. In the Middle Triassic a thermal perturbation affected the South-Alpine middle crust leading to the widespread transformation of garnets into biotite + sillimanite aggregates under static conditions. Anatectic pegmatites were emplaced roughly contemporaneous with the peak temperature conditions. Rb-Sr mineral ages on pegmatites, schists and marbles between 229 and 194 Ma show the crust was again cooling during the Late Triassic, when continental rifting started. Stretching leading eventually to the opening of the Ligurian-Piemont ocean continued until Middle Jurassic times. Fluid inclusion data from the pegmatites establish that only limited decompression took place during Late Triassic to Early Cretaceous cooling. As a result of Alpine shortening, the rocks were eventually exhumed to the surface

Apparent partial loss age spectra of Neoarchaean hornblende (Kola Peninsula, Russia): the role of included biotite shown by Ar/Ar laserprobe analysis

Metamorphic hornblende frequently yields spectra with progressively increasing Ar/Ar age steps, often interpreted as caused by partial resetting due to thermally activated radiogenic argon loss by solid-state diffusion. Yet, in many cases rising Ca/K ratio spectra for such samples imply the presence of minor inclusions of K-contaminant minerals. In order to avoid parts of grains with mineral inclusions or compositional zoning we drilled tiny discs from thin sections under a petrographic microscope. Laser step-heating of such micro-sampled biotite-free hornblende discs yielded flat age, Ca/K and Cl/K ratio spectra. In contrast, furnace step-heated hornblende separates from the same samples produced spectra with progressively increasing apparent ages and Ca/K ratios. Biotite-free samples yielded flat age and ratio spectra by both laser and furnace analysis. So, apparent loss spectra result from degassing of included much younger biotite before its hornblende host during laboratory step-heatin

40Ar/39Ar laserprobe dating of mylonitic fabrics in a polyorogenic terrane of NW Iberia

The tectonothermal evolution of a polyorogenic terrane in the Variscan belt of NW Spain has been constrained by 40Ar/39Ar laserprobe incremental heating experiments on mylonitic fabrics developed in major structures. Transitional levels between HP–HT and IP upper units in the O´ rdenes Complex where metamorphic and structural records demonstrate two cycles of burial and exhumation were selected for dating. Two groups of ages have been defined: (1) Silurian–Early Devonian, obtained from mylonites of the Forna´s extensional detachment, here considered as the minimum age for the start of tectonic exhumation of the HP– HT units and an upper age-limit for the HP–HT event itself; (2) Early to Mid-Devonian, from structures related to the Variscan convergence in the area, which include top-to-the-east thrusts and extensional detachments. A single, younger Carboniferous age obtained from the uppermost allochthonous sequences possibly reflects the final stages of emplacement of the allochthonous complexes. Our data indicate a polyorogenic character for a part of the Iberian allochthonous complexes, including Variscan (sensu stricto) and Early Variscan convergence, as well as an older, Early Palaeozoic cycle

40Ar/39Ar geochronology of Holocene basalts; examples from Stromboli, Italy

Absolute chronologies of active volcanoes and consequently timescales for eruptive behaviour and magma production form a quantitative basis for understanding the risk of volcanoes. Surprisingly, the youngest records in the geological timescale often prove to be the most elusive when it comes to isotopic dating. Absolute Holocene volcanic records almost exclusively rely on 14C ages measured on fossil wood or other forms of biogenic carbon. However, on volcanic flanks, fossil carbon is often not preserved, and of uncertain origin when present in paleosols. Also, low 14C-volcanic CO2 may have mixed with atmospheric and soil 14C-CO2, potentially causing biased ages. Even when reliable data are available, it is important to have independent corroboration of inferred chronologies as can be obtained in principle using the 40K/40Ar decay system. Here we present results of a 40Ar/39Ar dating study of basaltic groundmass in the products from the Pleistocene – Holocene boundary until the beginning of the historic era for the north-northeastern flank of Stromboli, Aeolian Islands, Italy, identifying a short phase of intensified flank effusive activity 7500±500 yrs ago, and a maximum age of 4000±900 yr for the last flank collapse event that might have caused the formation of the Sciara del Fuoco depression. We expect that under optimum conditions 40Ar/39Ar dating of basaltic groundmass samples can be used more widely for dating Holocene volcanic events

Short-lived and discontinuous intraplate volcanism in the South Pacific: Hot spots or extensional volcanism?

South Pacific intraplate volcanoes have been active since the Early Cretaceous. Their HIMU-EMI-EMII mantle sources can be traced back into the West Pacific Seamount Province (WPSP) using plate tectonic reconstructions, implying that these distinctive components are enduring features within the Earth's mantle for, at least, the last 120 Myr. These correlations are eminent on the scale of the WPSP and the South Pacific Thermal and Isotopic Anomaly (SOPITA), but the evolution of single hot spots emerges notably more complicated. Hot spots in the WPSP and SOPITA mantle regions typically display intermittent volcanic activity, longevities shorter than 40 Myr, superposition of hot spot volcanism, and motion relative to other hot spots. In this review, we use ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar seamount ages and Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic signatures to map out Cretaceous volcanism in the WPSP and to characterize its evolution with respect to the currently active hot spots in the SOPITA region. Our plate tectonic reconstructions indicate cessation of volcanism during the Cretaceous for the Typhoon and Japanese hot spots; whereas the currently active Samoan, Society, Pitcairn and Marquesas hot spots lack long-lived counterparts in the WPSP. These hot spots may have become active during the last 20 Myr only. The other WPSP seamount trails can be only “indirectly” reconciled with hot spots in the SOPITA region. Complex age distributions in the Magellan, Anewetak, Ralik and Ratak seamount trails would necessitate the superposition of multiple volcanic trails generated by the Macdonald, Rurutu and Rarotonga hot spots during the Cretaceous; whereas HIMU-type seamounts in the Southern Wake seamount trail would require 350–500 km of hot spot motion over the last 100 Myr following its origination along the Mangaia-Rurutu “hotline” in the Cook-Austral Islands. These observations, however, violate all assumptions of the classical Wilson-Morgan hot spot hypothesis, indicating that long-lived, deep and fixed mantle plumes cannot explain the intraplate volcanism of the South Pacific region. We argue that the observed short-lived and discontinuous intraplate volcanism has been produced by another type of hot spot-related volcanism, as opposed to the strong and continuous Hawaiian-type hot spots. Our results also indicate that other geological processes (plate tension, hotlines, faulting, wetspots, self-propagating volcanoes) may act in conjunction with hot spot volcanism in the South Pacific. In all these scenarios, intraplate volcanism has to be controlled by “broad-scale” events giving rise to multiple closely-spaced mantle plumelets, each with a distinct isotopic signature, but only briefly active and stable over geological time. It seems most likely that these plumelets originate and dissipate at very shallow mantle depths, where they may shoot off as thin plumes from the top of a “superplume” that is present in the South Pacific mantle. The absence of clear age progressions in most seamount trails and periodic flare-ups of massive intraplate volcanism in the South Pacific (such as the one in the Cretaceous and one starting 30 Myr ago) show that regional extension (caused by changes in the global plate circuit and/or the rise-and-fall of an oscillating superplume) may be driving the waxing and waning of intraplate volcanism in the South Pacific.Keywords: ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology, hot spots, Pacific plate, intraplate volcanism, seamounts, Sr-Nd-Pb geochemistry, mantle plumes and plumelets, extensionKeywords: ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology, hot spots, Pacific plate, intraplate volcanism, seamounts, Sr-Nd-Pb geochemistry, mantle plumes and plumelets, extensio