40Ar/39Ar geochronology of submarine Mauna Loa volcano, Hawaii

Abstract

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.