The composition of back‐arc basin lower crust and upper mantle in the Mariana Trough: A first report

Abstract

Abstract The Mariana Trough is an active back‐arc basin, with the rift propagating northward ahead of spreading. The northern part of the Trough is now rifting, with extension accommodated by combined stretching and igneous intrusion. Deep structural graben are found in a region of low heat flow, and we interpret these to manifest a low‐angle normal fault system that defines the extension axis between 19°45′ and 21°10′N. A single dredge haul from the deepest (∼5.5 km deep) of these graben recovered a heterogeneous suite of volcanic and plutonic crustal rocks and upper mantle peridotites, providing the first report of the deeper levels of back‐arc basin lithosphere. Several lines of evidence indicate that these rocks are similar to typical back‐arc basin lithosphere and are not fragments of rifted older arc lithosphere. Hornblende yielded an 40Ar/39Ar age of 1.8 ± 0.6 Ma, which is interpreted to approximate the time of crust formation. Harzburgite spinels have moderate Cr# (<40) and coexisting compositions of clinopyroxene (CPX) and plagioclase (PLAB) fall in the field of mid‐ocean ridge basalt (MORB) gabbros. Crustal rocks include felsic rocks (70‐80% SiO2) and plutonic rocks that are rich in amphibole. Chemical compositions of crustal rocks show little evidence for a ‘subduction component’, and radiogenic isotopic compositions correspond to that expected for back‐arc basin crust of the Mariana Trough. These data indicate that mechanical extension in this part of the Mariana Trough involves lithosphere that originally formed magmatically. These unique exposures of back‐arc basin lithosphere call for careful study using ROVs and manned submersibles, and consideration as an ocean drilling program (ODP) drilling site.