Ma Lava Flows Research Articles

Palaeosecular variation in Northern Patagonia recorded by 0–5 Ma Caviahue–Copahue lava flows

SUMMARY Palaeosecular variation (PSV) determinations and studies of the geometry of the Earth’s main magnetic field provide important information about the field evolution, and to constrain numerical geodynamo models. Palaeomagnetic directional data from lava flows over the last few million years is of particular interest because the regional and global tectonic effects are minimal. However, the distribution of this type of palaeomagnetic data is uneven where the Southern Hemisphere is the destitute side. Therefore, the better knowledge of the geomagnetic field behaviour depends on the increased availability of high-quality data, especially in the Southern Hemisphere. A PSV and the time-averaged field (TAF) study was then performed in 0–5 Ma lava flows from the Caviahue–Copahue Volcanic Complex located in Northern Patagonia, Argentina (37°0′S, 71°10′W). The magnetic mineralogy of lava flows was investigated through thermomagnetic susceptibility curves, isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM) acquisition curves, hysteresis loops and first-order reversal curves (FORCs). Samples are essentially comprised of titanomagnetite with different Ti contents and magnetic domain structures typical of vortex state particles. A total of 50 volcanic sites were sampled, which provided 42 reliable palaeomagnetic site-mean directions after alternating field and thermal demagnetization. From these 42 sites, 36 are of normal and 6 are of reversed polarity. The mean direction from normal (reversed) sites is D = 356.2°, I = −50.1°, α95 = 4.0° and N = 36 (D = 176.5°, I = 59.5°, α95 = 14.1° and N = 6). Using only site-level data with the precision parameter k ≥ 100, we obtain 26 palaeomagnetic sites for PSV and TAF investigations in the study region. The filtered data set has a mean direction (D = 354.4°, I = −53.2° and α95 = 5.1°) close to the expected direction for a geocentric axial dipole (GAD) field (IGAD = −57.3°). The palaeopole (Plat = 84.4°, Plon = 229.1° and A95 = 5.7°) coincides with the Earth’s spin axis within the 95 per cent confidence interval. Virtual geomagnetic pole scatter ($S_{B} = {15.8^{18.9}_{11.8}}^{\circ }$) and the inclination anomaly ($\Delta I = 4.1_{-1.0}^{{9.2}^{\circ }}$) are both consistent at the 95 per cent confidence level with recent PSV and TAF models, respectively. Our results support the presence of small non-dipole field contributions (<3 per cent) superimposed on the GAD term, as reported by South American studies at mid southern latitudes.

Large-scale mass wasting on small volcanic islands revealed by the study of Flores Island (Azores)

Small intra-plate volcanic islands (total height above seafloor <2500 m) have been considered gravitationally stable. Topographic, stratigraphic, structural and new K/Ar data show that the small island of Flores (Azores) is strongly asymmetric and made up of nested volcanic successions. Along the northwestern coastline, ca. 1.2 Ma lava flows are in lateral contact with a younger volcanic unit (ca. 0.7 Ma), reflecting the existence of a steep lateral discontinuity. From the general dip of the lava flows, their age and the arcuate geometry of the contact, we infer a major landslide that removed the western flank of the older volcano. Further inland, E-dipping lava flows at the summit of the island are ca. 1.3 Ma, suggesting another landslide structure that displaced the whole western half of the former volcanic edifice. Available offshore data show a large hummocky field west of Flores, here interpreted as voluminous debris-avalanche deposits. Unlike the eastern and central Azores islands, Flores sits on a relatively stable tectonic setting. Therefore, we propose that small-size volcanic islands can be sufficiently gravitationally unstable to experience recurrent episodes of large-scale mass wasting triggered by mechanisms other than tectonic earthquakes and thus represent an under-evaluated potential source of hazard and, therefore, risk.

Directional change during a Miocene R‐N geomagnetic polarity reversal recorded by mafic lava flows, Sheep Creek Range, north central Nevada, USA

AbstractRecurring transitional field directions during three Miocene geomagnetic reversals provide evidence that lateral inhomogeneity of the lower mantle affects flow in the outer core. We compare new paleomagnetic results from a composite sequence of 15.2 Ma lava flows in north central Nevada (Sheep Creek Range; 40.7°N, 243.2°E), erupted during a polarity reversal, to published data from Steens Mountain (250 km to the northwest in Oregon) and the Newberry Mountains (650 km to the south in California) that document reversals occurring millions of years and many polarity switches earlier. Alternating field demagnetization, followed by thermal demagnetization in half the samples, clearly isolated the primary thermoremanent magnetization of Sheep Creek Range flows. We correlated results from our three sampled sections to produce a composite record that begins with a single virtual geomagnetic pole (VGP) at low latitude in the Atlantic, followed by two VGPs situated near latitude 30°N in NE Africa. After jumping to 83°N (one VGP), the pole moves to equatorial South America (one VGP), back to NE Africa (three VGPs), to high southern latitudes (two VGPs), back to equatorial South America (three VGPs), and finally to high northern latitudes (nine VGPs). The repeated visits of the transitional VGP to positions in South America and near NE Africa, as well as the similar behavior recorded at Steens Mountain and the Newberry Mountains, suggest that lower mantle or core‐mantle boundary features localize core flow structures, thereby imparting a discernible regional structure on the transitional geomagnetic field that persists for millions of years.

Matuyama–Brunhes reversal and Kamikatsura event on Maui: paleomagnetic directions, 40Ar/39Ar ages and implications

Eighty-nine basaltic lava flows from the northwest wall of Haleakala caldera preserve a concatenated paleomagnetic record of portions of the Matuyama–Brunhes (M–B) reversal and the preceding Kamikatsura event as well as secular variation of the full-polarity reversed and normal geomagnetic field. They provide the most detailed volcanic record to date of the M–B transition. The 24 flows in the transition zone show for the first time transitional virtual geomagnetic poles (VGPs) that move from reverse to normal along the Americas, concluding with an oscillation in the Pacific Ocean to a cluster of VGPs east of New Zealand and back finally to stable polarity in the north polar region. All but one of the 16 Kamikatsura VGPs cluster in central South America. The full-polarity flows, with 40Ar/39Ar ages spanning a total of 680 kyr, pass a reversal test and give an average VGP insignificantly different from the rotation axis, with standard deviation consistent with that for other 0–5 Ma lava flows of similar latitude. Precise 40Ar/39Ar dating consisting of 31 incremental heating experiments on 12 transitional flows yields weighted mean ages of 775.6±1.9 and 900.3±4.7 ka for the M–B and Kamikatsura transitional flows, respectively. This Matuyama–Brunhes age is ∼16 kyr younger than ages for M–B flows from the Canary Islands, Tahiti and Chile that were dated using exactly the same techniques and standards, suggesting that this polarity transition may have taken considerably longer to complete and been more complex than is generally believed for reversals.

Deformation across the forearc of the Cascadia subduction zone at Cape Blanco, Oregon

Over the interval 1992–1999 the U.S. Geological Survey measured the deformation of a geodetic array extending N80°E (approximate direction of plate convergence) from Cape Blanco on the Oregon coast to the volcanic arc near Newberry Crater (55 and 350 km, respectively, from the deformation front). Within about 150 km from the deformation front, the forearc is being compressed arcward (N80°E) by coupling to the subducting Juan de Fuca plate. Dislocation modeling of the observed N80°E compression suggests that the main thrust zone (the locked portion of the Juan de Fuca‐forearc interface) is about 40 km wide in the downdip direction. The transverse (N10°W) velocity component of the forearc measured with respect to the fixed interior of North America decreases with distance from the deformation front at a rate of about 0.03 mm yr−1 km−1. That gradient appears to be a consequence of rigid rotation of the forearc block relative to fixed interior North America (Euler vector of 43.4°±0.1°N, 120.0°±0.4°W, and −1.67±0.17 ° (m.y.)−1; quoted uncertainties are standard deviations). The rotation rate is similar to the paleomagnetically measured rotation rate (−1.0±0.2 °(m.y.)−1) of the 15 Ma lava flows along the Columbia River 250 km farther north. The back arc does not appear to participate in this rotation but rather is migrating at a rate of about 3.6 mm yr−1 northward with respect to fixed North America. That migration could be partly an artifact of an imperfect tie of our reference coordinate system to the interior of North America.

Paleomagnetic directions and K/Ar dating of 0 to 1 Ma lava flows from La Guadeloupe Island (French West Indies): Implications for time‐averaged field models

Twenty‐six lava flows spanning the last million years were sampled in La Guadeloupe, French West Indies. Because of the lack of continuous volcano‐stratigraphic sections in La Guadeloupe, dating is necessary in order to describe the temporal evolution of the geomagnetic field in this time interval. New K/Ar ages ranging from 50 ka to 1 Ma have been obtained on andesites using the Cassignol‐Gillot technique at the Université Paris Sud‐Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris Orsay laboratory. Additional flows (with K/Ar ages obtained using the same dating technique) were also sampled for paleomagnetic investigations. More than 200 samples were analyzed using both alternating field AF and thermal stepwise demagnetization techniques. Duplicate samplings of two flows at three different sites demonstrate that within‐flow dispersion is negligible for the andesitic lava flows sampled in this study. Direct comparison with an earlier paleomagnetic study performed on the island indicates that, for the three investigated flows, modern demagnetization techniques yield much better defined paleomagnetic directions. The Matuyama‐Brunhes transition was recorded in a three‐flow section and is dated at 781±18 ka, in good agreement with other recent radiometric age determinations. The mean paleomagnetic pole calculated from the 23 normal polarity flows is indistinguishable from geographic north, which implies that no significant persistent axial quadrupole term can be identified at this site for the last million years. This result contradicts earlier results and has important implications for models of the time‐averaged field (TAF). An Occam algorithm was used to construct a TAF model from the global volcanic database from the last 5 Ma. Substitution of the mean direction calculated from the earlier study for the Lesser Antilles by our new mean value reduces the quadrupole term by more than 30%. This effect, which was produced by changing data from a single site, demonstrates that older paleomagnetic sites may need to be reinvestigated. Furthermore, it also highlights the limitations of TAF models that can be inferred from paleomagnetic databases in their present state.