Abstract
Radiometric dating of three North Gorda Ridge lavas by the 210Po– 210Pb method confirms that an eruption occurred during a period of increased seismic activity along the ridge during late February/early March 1996. These lavas were collected following detection of enhanced T-phase seismicity and subsequent ocean bottom photographs documented the existence of a large pillow mound of fresh-appearing lavas. 210Po– 210Pb dating of these lavas indicates that an eruption coinciding with this seismicity did occur (within analytical error) and that followup efforts to sample the recent lava flows were successful. Compositions of the three confirmed young lavas and eleven other samples of this contiguous “new flow” sequence are distinct from older lavas from this area but are variable at a level outside analytical uncertainty. These intraflow variations can not easily be related to a single, common parent magma. Compositional variability within the new flow is compared to that of other recently documented individual flow sequences, and this comparison reveals a strong positive correlation of compositional variance with flow volumes spanning a range of >2 orders of magnitude. The geochemical heterogeneity in the North Gorda new flow probably reflects incomplete mixing of magmas generated from a heterogeneous mantle source or from slightly different melting conditions of a single source. The compositional variability, range in sample ages (up to 6 weeks) and range in active seismicity (4 weeks) imply that this relatively large flow was erupted over an interval of several weeks.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.