Ontong Java Plateau Research Articles

Earth's longest lava flows erupted from its largest igneous province: The submarine Ontong Java Plateau

We use high-precision analyses of fresh basalt glasses from the submarine, Cretaceous Ontong Java Plateau (OJP) recovered by the Ocean Drilling Programs (ODP) to test for long submarine lava flows. Major elements and Cl show that glasses from ODP Holes 1185B and 1186A, which are 200 km apart, are compositionally identical and must have erupted simultaneously from the same well-mixed magma chamber. Identical CO2 contents show they erupted at the same water depth, but 1185B is directly downslope from 1186A and has a corrected basement depth that is >700 m deeper. Remarkably, <2 °C cooling took place over 200 km, requiring a cooling rate <0.01 °C/km.Further evidence of long flows is the lack of vesicles in OJP's glasses, in contrast to mid-ocean ridge basalt glasses that almost always contain vesicles and are often oversaturated in dissolved CO2. We propose that OJP's lavas degassed to saturation levels of dissolved CO2 +H2O and lost all bubbles because they remained liquid for much longer periods during long distance flow. Dissolved CO2+H2O are used to estimate paleoeruption depths which are compared to current corrected basement depths. Using a fixed value of plateau subsidence (500 m) we reconstruct flow distances of 0 to 900 km for eight lava groups from six drill sites. Eruption depths in Hole 807 C are 3040 m for Kwaimbaita-type lavas but 1110 m for Singgalo-type lavas that directly overlie them suggesting that the Singgalo lavas erupted 900 km away (near Site 1183).Paleoeruption depths for Cretaceous glasses from the Jurassic East Mariana and Nauru Basins adjacent to OJP are shallower than most glasses recovered from OJP even though their reconstructed basement depths are 1500–3800 m deeper. It is very likely that the basins’ lavas were erupted on OJP and flowed up to 1600 km: longer than any lava flow known on Earth. Flow distances are shorter (≤1000 km) if a plateau subsidence of 1500 m is used in the calculations. Extremely high Cl in Nauru Basin glasses also supports eruption from OJP. Long distance flow with minimal cooling was facilitated on OJP by favorable slopes, lack of barriers, insulation of rapidly forming glass, and possibly by flow within lava tubes. Lava effusion rates were probably >100 m/sec and flow rapid: >1 m/sec.

When a Plateau Suppresses a Plume: Disappearance of the Samoan Plume Under the Ontong Java Plateau

AbstractThe Samoan hotspot generated an age‐progressive volcanic track that can be traced back to 24 Ma at Alexa Bank, but the trace of the older portion (&gt;24 Ma) of the hotspot track is unclear. We show that six seamounts located in and around the Magellan Seamount chain—north of the Ontong‐Java Plateau (OJP)—have ages (87–106 Ma), geochemistry, and locations consistent with absolute plate motion model reconstructions of the Samoan hotspot track in the late Cretaceous, and three additional seamounts have geochemistry and locations consistent with a Samoan origin. However, a large segment of the Samoan hotspot (24–87 Ma) remains unidentified. Absolute plate motion models show that, from ∼60 to 30 Ma, the OJP passed over the Samoan plume. The exceptional thickness of the OJP lithosphere may have largely suppressed Samoan plume melting because the inferred volcanic trace of the Samoan hotspot wanes, and then disappears, on the OJP. Fortunately, 44 Ma volcanism at Malaita Island, located on the southern margin of the OJP, has a location, age, and geochemistry consistent with a Samoan plume origin, and provides a “missing link” bridging the younger and older segments of the Samoan hotspot. Our synthesis of geochemical, geochronological, and plate motion model evidence reveals that Samoa exhibits a clear hotspot age progression for over 100 Myr. Passage of ancient plateaus over young plumes—here called “plume‐plateau” interaction—may be relatively common: the OJP also passed over the putative Rarotonga hotspot, and the Society and Pitcairn hotspots were overtopped by the Manihiki Plateau.

Magmatic Evolution of the Fossil Melanesian Island Arc: Evidence From Lower Miocene Lavas of Malekula Island (Vanuatu)

AbstractThe subduction zones in the SW Pacific Ocean are some of the most dynamic plate boundaries on Earth with changes in subduction polarity and subduction initiation processes. The New Hebrides island arc formed some 10 million years ago after the Melanesian island arc was abandoned due to the cessation of subduction of the Pacific Plate after collision of oceanic plateaus with the island arc. Parts of the Melanesian island arc occur within the New Hebrides island arc and we show that Miocene volcanic rocks exposed on Malekula island in the New Hebrides island arc consist of island arc tholeiites to alkaline basalts with variable slab contribution. The lava erupted between 22.5 and 16.3 Ma, similar to the Wainimala Group lavas on Fiji representing the eastern portion of the Melanesian island arc. Partial melts from subducted sediments affected a Pacific MORB‐type mantle, but we do not find evidence for a slab component derived from the Ontong Java Plateau or for assimilation of continental crust. Thus, no Miocene subduction of the Ontong Java Plateau occurred beneath Malekula and the basement of the island probably does not consist of continental crust rifted from Australia. The Malekula lava succession resembles that of other portions of the Miocene Melanesian island arc between New Britain and Fiji, indicating continuous subduction of the Pacific plate along this arc.

Oceanic Plateau and Spreading Ridge Subduction Accompanying Arc Reversal in the Solomon Islands

AbstractWe study the collision of the Ontong Java Plateau, reversal of the Solomon Islands arc, and subduction of the Woodlark Basin spreading ridge in the southwest Pacific. Double‐sided subduction and intra‐arc deformation, not just polarity reversal, characterize the rapid Australia‐Pacific plate convergence. The rifted margins of the 0–6.2‐Ma Woodlark Basin separate its unflexed young lithosphere without a trench from the older flexed lithosphere with &gt;8‐km‐deep trenches subducting to either side. A gap evident in the seismicity and tomography between the NE‐subducted slabs of the Solomon Sea and Australia plates indicates that the Woodlark lithosphere likely melts and/or is quickly (&lt;1 m.y.) resorbed into the mantle. A section of the Pacific Plate remains attached within the gap and provides the slab pull to form the Malaita accretionary prism. Quaternary arc‐composition volcanoes that occur on both sides of the Woodlark Basin subduction front are not sourced from a mantle wedge overlying a Wadati‐Benioff zone, but come from and through breaks in the young incoming and subducting lithosphere and the overturning mantle beneath. Though the basin is too weak to sustain plate flexure, arc volcanoes on the subducting crust result in locally strong coupling to the forearc, manifest by tsunamigenic earthquakes. At 150–400‐km depth, the subducted slabs under the Solomon Islands are near vertical. They are near‐horizontal between the 410 and 660‐km mantle discontinuities beneath the Woodlark Basin and further south, whereas beneath the Solomon Sea Basin they dip southwest and penetrate the 660‐km discontinuity, having been detached by the north‐dipping Solomon Sea slab.

The role of subduction in the formation of Pangaean oceanic large igneous provinces

Abstract Large igneous provinces (LIPs) have been linked to both surface and deep mantle processes. During the formation, tenure and break-up of the supercontinent Pangaea, there is an increase in emplacement events for both continental and oceanic LIPs. There is currently no clear consensus on the origin of LIPs, but a hypothesis relates their formation to crustal emplacement of hot plume material originating in the deep mantle. The interaction of subducted slabs with the lowermost mantle thermal boundary and subsequent return flow is a key control on such plume generation. This mechanism has been explored for LIPs below the interior of a supercontinent (i.e. continental LIPs). However, a number of LIPs formed exterior to Pangaea (e.g. Ontong Java Plateau), with no consensus on their formation mechanism. Here, we consider the dynamics of supercontinent processes as predicted by numerical models of mantle convection and analyse whether circum-supercontinent subduction could generate both interior (continental) and exterior (oceanic) deep mantle plumes. Our numerical models show that subduction related to the supercontinent cycle can reproduce the location and timing of the Ontong Java Plateau, Caribbean LIP and potentially the Shatsky Rise by linking the origin of these LIPs to the return flow that generated deep mantle exterior plumes.

The Geological and Tectonic Evolution of Feni, Papua New Guinea

Feni is located at the southeastern end of the NW-trending Tabar–Lihir–Tanga–Feni (TLTF) volcanic island chain, in northeastern Papua New Guinea. This island chain is renowned for hosting alkaline volcanics, geothermal activity, copper–gold mineralization, and mining. There is no agreed consensus on the tectonic and petrogenetic evolution of Feni. Thus, the purpose of our paper is to present the geology of Feni within the context of the regional tectonic evolution of the TLTF chain and offer a succinct and generic geodynamic model that sets the stage for our next paper. The methodologies used in this study include a critical review of published and unpublished literature in conjunction with our geological observations on Feni. The Pliocene-to-Holocene TLTF chain is a younger arc situated within the greater Eocene-to-Oligocene Melanesian Arc bounded by New Ireland to the west, the Kilinailau Trench and Ontong Java Plateau in the east, and the New Britain Trench to the south. The geological units mapped on Feni include a large volume of basaltic lava flow and trachyandesite stocks intruding a limestone and siltstone basement. Younger units include the trachyte domes, pyroclastic flow, and ash fall deposits. The major structures on Feni are normal or extensional faults such as the Niffin Graben. Feni magmatism is attributed to the petrogenetic processes of polybaric or decompression melting and crystal fractionation of magmas previously influenced by sediment assimilation, mantle wedge metasomatism, slab tears, slab melts, and subduction. Deep lithospheric normal faults provide the fluid pathways for the Feni alkaline magmas.

Limited sulfur degassing and muted environmental impact of Ontong Java Plateau lavas

The mainly deep-submarine Ontong Java Plateau (OJP) is the result of the largest outpouring of lava in the geologic record. Volcanic events of this magnitude can have dramatic environmental impacts due to volatile emissions. We report new S measurements in naturally glassy, olivine-hosted melt inclusions and pillow basalt glasses from the OJP. We combined these data with previous S measurements in OJP glasses to quantify S degassing in a suite of OJP glasses. Comparison with an S degassing model suggests OJP lavas that erupted at depths ~&amp;gt;1500 m did not degas S; OJP lavas that erupted at depths ~&amp;lt;1500 m degassed up to ~40% initial S, but these lavas likely made up a small fraction of OJP lavas. This result suggests that despite its large volume compared to continental large igneous provinces (LIPs), OJP lavas emitted less S, potentially contributing to its muted environmental impact. The OJP may provide a framework for the temporal evolution of S degassing at oceanic LIPs, with early eruptions at great water depths releasing limited to no S, and later eruptions at shallow water depths releasing larger, but still limited amounts of S. This framework may also have implications for continental LIP magmas, which may release significant amounts of CO2 but limited amounts of S during intrusive activity, with magmatic S emissions only becoming important during extrusive phases.

A younger and protracted emplacement of the Ontong Java Plateau

The submarine volcanic emplacement of the Ontong Java Plateau (OJP) is the suggested cause of Ocean Anoxic Event 1a (OAE 1a). However, no precise timing and duration exists for the formation of OJP, and its connection to OAE1a relies mainly on proxies in the sedimentary record. We provide high-precision 40 Ar/ 39 Ar data from OJP drill and dredge sites that considerably improve OJP’s eruptive history. The ages determined from this work are as much as 10 million years younger than previous dates and indicate a protracted formation over at least 6 million years. OJP now appears too young to have caused OAE1a, but we suggest that it may have had a role in the later OAE1b. The protracted eruptive sequence has implications for the emplacement dynamics of OJP and other large igneous provinces.

New evidence for the Ontong Java Nui hypothesis

The formation of the Ontong Java Nui super oceanic plateau (OJN), which is based on the model that the submarine Ontong Java Plateau (OJP), Manihiki Plateau (MP), and Hikurangi Plateau (HP) were once its contiguous fragments, could have been the largest globally consequential volcanic event in Earth’s history. This OJN hypothesis has been debated given the paucity of evidence, for example, the differences in crustal thickness, the compositional gap between MP and OJP basalts and the apparent older age of both plateaus relative to HP remain unresolved. Here we investigate the geochemical and 40Ar-39Ar ages of dredged rocks recovered from the OJP’s eastern margin. Volcanic rocks having compositions that match the low-Ti MP basalts are reported for the first time on the OJP and new ~ 96–116 Ma and 67–68 Ma 40Ar-39Ar age data bridge the temporal gap between OJP and HP. These results provide new evidence for the Ontong Java Nui hypothesis and a framework for an integrated tectonomagmatic evolution of the OJP, MP, and HP. The isotopic data imply four mantle components in the source of OJN that are also expressed in present-day Pacific hotspots sources, indicating origin from (and longevity of) the Pacific Large Low Shear-wave Velocity Province.

The off-axis plume–ridge interaction model: Confirmation from the mineral chemistry of Cretaceous basalts of the Ontong Java Plateau

The Ontong Java Plateau (OJP) is the largest known igneous province on Earth. The proposal that its origins involved off-axis plume–ridge interactions remains highly controversial. Here we present new in-situ major (EPMA), trace element (LA-ICP-MS) and Sr isotopic (LA-MC-ICP-MS) characterization of clinopyroxene and plagioclase phases present in OJP tholeiitic basalts from Sites 1183, 1186, 1185, 1187. Site 1187 and Upper Site 1185 have yielded olivine tholeiites containing olivine, Ca-rich augite, Ca-deficient pigeonite, and plagioclase, inferred to be derived from higher degrees of partial melting of dominantly peridotitic mantle and reflecting relatively low crystallization temperatures. Sites 1183 and 1186 and Lower Site 1185 yielded tholeiitic basalts consisting mainly of plagioclase and Ca-rich augite without olivine, interpreted to originate from lower degrees of partial melting of pyroxenite- and peridotite-derived melts with relatively high clinopyroxene and plagioclase crystallization temperatures. Site 1187 and Upper Site 1185 plagioclase, clinopyroxene, and equilibrium melts have much lower REE contents but slightly higher in-situ Sr isotopic ratios compared to those phases at Sites 1183 and 1186 as well as Lower Site 1185. Sites 1186 and 1187 plagioclases and clinopyroxenes display normal zoned textures which are attributed to the process of fractional crystallization and extensive magma mixing beneath the heterogeneous mantle source. In-situ Sr isotopic disequilibrium between plagioclase phenocrysts and plagioclase clusters further indicates an enriched compositional heterogeneity. Due to the strong tensile forces expected at the spreading ridge, the OJP off-axis mantle plume is inferred to be drawn towards the ridge axis, leading to shifts in mineral compositions, degrees of partial melting, and crystallization temperatures inferred for the volcanics of Sites 1183, 1186, 1185, and 1187 as a function of distance from the spreading ridge. The enriched invariability of in-situ Sr isotopic compositions is likely due to the relatively long half-life of the radiogenic elements. These mineral chemistries are consistent with off-axis ridge–plume interaction.

Joint Geodynamic‐Geophysical Inversion Suggests Passive Subduction and Accretion of the Ontong Java Plateau

AbstractIn this study, we for the first time applied a joint geodynamic‐geophysical inversion approach to oceanic plateau subduction models, and compared the subduction style and corresponding topography and Bouguer gravity of two representative subduction scenarios with passive or active collision. We showed that the case of passive collision of the Ontong Java Plateau (OJP) crust better explains the topography, gravity, and seismic data than the active collision scenario. This implies that the OJP did not control the regional dynamics during the collisional process. We conclude that previous studies may have overestimated the role of the OJP in triggering subduction initiation, subduction polarity reversal, and even Pacific Plate rotation.

Nature of mantle discontinuities beneath the Ontong Java Plateau

We determined the depths of the mantle discontinuities with a receiver function method using broadband data recorded on the seafloor and islands of the Ontong Java Plateau (OJP) and its vicinity. The 410-km discontinuity is broadly elevated by 10–20 km beneath the OJP. The elevation is observed in the low-velocity region above a stagnant paleo-Pacific slab that had been subducted until 25 Ma. The elevated 410-km discontinuity and the slow anomalies may be caused by partial melting induced by hydration with water released from the paleo-Pacific slab. The 660-km discontinuity is close to the global average beneath the OJP, suggesting that the stagnant Pacific slab is bottoming in the mantle transition zone. The 410-km discontinuity is depressed by 10–20 km beneath the Caroline volcanic chain, where a low-velocity sheet has been observed by tomographic studies, implying that a sheet-like upwelling occurs at least from the top of the mantle transition zone. The 660-km discontinuity is also depressed by 10–30 km beneath the Caroline volcanic chain, which may be attributed to the majorite-bridgmanite phase change in a high-temperature environment and/or an underestimated velocity correction in the moveout correction of receiver functions. It is thus unclear whether the sheet-like mantle upwelling has its roots in the lower mantle.

High resolution benthic foraminiferal δ18O and δ13C records at ODP site 807 over the past 5 Ma, Ontong Java Plateau: Evolution of North Pacific ventilation, Pliocene to Holocene

The western equatorial Pacific is pivotal to precisely understand the global climate change and its evolution over geological time. However, continuous paleoceanographic records with high time resolution and accurate age model over the last 5 Myr are few in this important ocean region. Here, we present a high time resolution (2–3 kyr) benthic foraminiferal δ 18 O and δ 13 C record from Ocean Drilling Program Site 807 on Ontong Java Plateau in the western equatorial Pacific and establish an accurate age model for the past 5.025 Myr. Comparison of the benthic δ 13 C records from the west and east equatorial Pacific, and the North and South Pacific indicates that water aging effects have dominated since the Pliocene. From 4.0 Ma to 2.7 Ma, a rapid decrease in benthic δ 13 C gradients (Δδ 13 C W-E ) between the west (Hole 807A) and east (ODP Site 849 and IODP Site U1338) equatorial Pacific potentially resulted from strong ventilation in the North Pacific during the warm Pliocene. The subsequent gentle decrease in benthic δ 13 C gradients might indicate stratification in the North Pacific and reduction of biogenic flux with the intensification of the Northern Hemisphere Glaciation (NHG) at 2.7 Ma. Both the Δδ 18 O W-E and Δδ 13 C W-E are strongly paced by 405 ka long eccentricity cycles and 41 kyr obliquity cycle, revealing the complex interplay of both high and low latitude climatic processes on deep Pacific circulation changes. • Continuous 5 Myr long high time resolution benthic foraminiferal δ 18 O and δ 13 C records in the western equatorial Pacific. • West-east equatorial Pacific δ 13 C gradient indicates the evolution of the Pacific deep ocean circulation over the past 5 Myr. • 405-kyr eccentricity cycle modulates the Pacific deep ocean circulation changes.

Origin of microplates under oblique subduction system in New Guinea: Inferences from gravity and magnetic data

The New Guinea Island is formed under the oblique subduction of the Pacific Plate. The formation and evolution of the microplates around the New Guinea Island are complex and still poorly understood. Here we use the published gravity, magnetic datasets and the CRUST1.0 model, combined with the wavelet multi-scale decomposition and residual crustal gravity anomaly separation, to analyze the crustal structure and boundary characteristics of different microplates. The results show that the gravity and magnetic anomalies have good responses to microplate boundaries, such as deep-seated large-scale faults and subduction zones. Seven microplates (including the Caroline, the North Bismarck, the Manus, the South Bismarck, the Solomon Sea, the Woodlark and the Ontong Java Plateau microplates) have been identified based on their different geophysical properties. Combined with other geological records and plate reconstruction, we analyze the regional tectonic activity, dynamics and microplate evolution in this region. The New Guinea Island was formed and shaped by the oblique subduction of the South Pacific since the Late Cretaceous. Several key events are recorded at 45 Ma, 25 Ma and 5 Ma, which are highly related to the formation of the microplates in the convergent margin. The key events mainly involve the formation and termination of the Melanesian Arc, the collision between the Ontong Java Plateau and the Solomon Islands, and the arc-continent collision at the New Britain Island Arc. These events contributed to a series of island arcs and back-arc basins that further evolved into relatively independent microplates. By analyzing the formation patterns and boundaries of microplates, we classify these microplates into the accretion-derived, collision-derived and back-arc rifting-derived types. The evolution history of each type of microplate is reconstructed in details, which provides additional constraints on the Cenozoic tectonic reconstruction of the Southwest Pacific region.

Heterogeneous morphology of the Solomon Sea slab along the New Britain Trench and its dynamic implications from the analysis of seismicity and gravity anomalies

The New Britain‐North Solomon subduction system is located at the convergence boundary between the Indo‐Australian and Pacific plates. In the Cenozoic, the subduction system gradually evolved into a complex system containing the trench, arc, back‐arc basin and oceanic plateau with the subduction and collision of the Ontong Java Plateau, which becomes one of the best places to explore the subduction dynamics. We attempt to illustrate the morphology of the Solomon Sea slab's response to the collision of the Ontong Java Plateau along the New Britain Trench through the hypocentral distribution, focal mechanisms and density structure from the gravity anomalies. According to the hypocenters and focal mechanisms, the focal stress field of the subducted Solomon Sea Plate along the New Britain Trench is analysed and the spatial distribution pattern of the plate is determined. We found that the maximum subduction depth of the Solomon Sea Plate gradually decreases from ~600 to ~400 km and the morphology of the slab changes from the steep‐dipping subduction to slab roll‐back from the Green and Buka Islands to the Bougainville Islands. Indicated by the analysis of seismicity and gravity anomalies, the spatial differences of the subduction pattern in the Solomon Sea Plate along the New Britain Trench are closely correlated with the block of the upper mantle in the Ontong Java oceanic Plateau, which is characterized by a tendency of thickening from NW to SE along the North Solomon Trench.

Terrestrial and marine organic matter evidence from a Cretaceous deep-sea chert of Japan: Implications for enhanced hydrological cycle during the Aptian OAE 1a

The early Aptian Oceanic Anoxic Event (OAE 1a; ca. 120 Ma) was accompanied by a massive eruption of the Ontong Java Plateau, doubling atmospheric pCO₂, and increasing sea surface temperature by 4–8 °C. In this study, we attempted a palynological analysis of the Hauterivian to Cenomanian deep–sea chert from the Goshikinohama site, and successfully obtained a variety of microremains, mainly represented by amorphous organic matter, aggregations of organic and inorganic particles, and cuticle fragments. One Hauterivian and many Aptian samples unexpectedly yielded terrestrial plant material, such as resins and wood fragments with tracheids, which represent the first record of terrestrial plant microremains from deep-sea pelagic chert. The occurrence of wood fragments within the negative and positive δ13C excursions during the OAE 1a can be correlated with an interval of increased atmospheric CO₂ level. We can also suggest that the occurrence of resins, mainly within the mudstone-rich chert intervals of the early Aptian negative δ13C peak and the middle-upper Aptian interval, are possibly related with periods with sea-level drops. Similar massive resin deposition events have been linked with intensified hydrological cycling during other abrupt climatic disruptions, such as the Carnian Pluvial Event, the Triassic−Jurassic boundary, and the Paleocene−Eocene Thermal Maximum. Therefore, an increase of terrestrial plant burial in deep–sea chert is likely linked with a massive plant discharge related with enhanced hydrological cycles, such as intensified storms and/or some sea–level change during the OAE 1a.

Dataset: Seismic implications of the early subduction stage of the Ontong Java Plateau beneath the West Melanesian Trench

Dataset: Seismic implications of the early subduction stage of the Ontong Java Plateau beneath the West Melanesian Trench

Understanding the Role of Biogenic Magnetite in Geomagnetic Paleointensity Recording: Insights From Ontong Java Plateau Sediments

AbstractMarine sediments can preserve continuous paleomagnetic intensity records. Different magnetic minerals may acquire remanent magnetizations differently, so that compositional variations of magnetic mineral assemblages in sediments may hinder extraction of reliable relative paleointensity (RPI) records. To better understand this issue, we conducted a paleo‐ and rock magnetic study of a sediment core from the Ontong Java Plateau, western equatorial Pacific Ocean. RPI estimated by normalizing natural remanent magnetization (NRM) with anhysteretic remanent magnetization (ARM) decreases downcore with an inverse correlation with the ratio of ARM susceptibility to saturation isothermal remanent magnetization. This relationship indicates that the RPI signal weakens as the proportion of biogenic magnetite increases. The NRM–ARM demagnetization diagrams obtained have concave‐down curvature. These observations indicate that the RPI recording efficiency of the biogenic component is lower than that of the terrigenous component if we assume that the magnetizations of the high‐ and low‐coercivity windows are carried dominantly by biogenic and terrigenous components, respectively. This assumption is supported by first‐order reversal curve measurements, transmission electron microscope observations, low‐temperature measurements, and extraction of silicate‐hosted magnetic inclusions from the sediments. Previous studies have suggested that the RPI recording efficiency of biogenic magnetite is higher than that of the terrigenous component, which disagrees with our results. Different concentrations of silicate‐hosted magnetic inclusions in different sedimentary environments might explain this contradiction. We conclude that biogenic magnetite contributes to RPI records with lower efficiency than unprotected terrigenous magnetic minerals in the studied sediments. Changing biogenic magnetite proportions distort ARM‐normalized RPI estimations.

Understanding the Role of Biogenic Magnetite in Geomagnetic Paleointensity Recording: Insights from Ontong Java Plateau Sediments

Understanding the Role of Biogenic Magnetite in Geomagnetic Paleointensity Recording: Insights from Ontong Java Plateau Sediments

Morphological evolution of menardiform globorotalids at Western Pacific Warm Pool ODP Hole 806C (Ontong-Java Plateau) Evolution morphologique du groupe de Globorotalia menardii au Site ODP 806C (Ontong-Java Plateau, Pacifique tropical occidental)

The morphological evolution was investigated in the tropical Neogene planktonic foraminiferal lineage Globorotalia menardii, G. limbata and G. multicamerata during the past 8 million years at ODP Hole 806C (Ontong-Java Plateau, western equatorial Pacific). This research is an extension of several similar studies since 2007 from the Caribbean Sea, the tropical Atlantic and the Eastern Equatorial Pacific. The goal is to find empirical and quantitative confirmation for morphological speciation – splitting or phyletic gradualism or accelerated evolution – in planktonic foraminifera with the above lineage as model objects. The present study from ODP Hole 806C serves as a test to discriminate between these evolutionary scenarios.In the western equatorial Pacific warm and stable environments prevailed back to Pliocene times, and potential influences of Northern Hemisphere Glaciation are thought to bear less severely on shell size evolution than in the Atlantic Ocean. A slow and gradual pattern of shell size increase is therefore expected in the western tropical Pacific, in contrast to the intermittent rapid menardiform shell size increase during periods of intensified formation of warm water eddies in the southern to tropical Atlantic.For this study a total of 11,101 specimens from 37 stratigraphic levels extending over the past 8 million years were morphometrically investigated thanks to the AMOR robot for imaging and microfossil orientation. Of those, 6080 specimens comprise the G. menardii–limbata-multicamerata plexus. Special attention was given to trends of spiral height (δX) versus axial length (δY) in keel view, for which bivariate contour- and volume-density diagrams were constructed to visualize speciation and evolutionary trends.The investigation at Hole 806C showed, that G. menardii evolved in a more gradual manner than in the Atlantic. Contour plots of δX versus δY reveal modest bimodality between 3.18 Ma – 2.55 Ma with a dominant branch consisting of smaller G. menardii (δX<∼300 μm) persisting until the Late Quaternary, and a less dominant branch of larger G. menardii (δX>∼300 μm) until 2.63 Ma. There is evidence for cladogenesis – splitting with subsequent morphological divergence in the Late Pliocene G. menardii-limbata-multicamerata lineage, and which may be linked to changes in the thermocline. Due to the general scarcity of G. multicamerata at Site 806, the divergence was less clearly expressed than originally expected. Up-section, bimodality vanished but G. menardii populations shifted towards extra large shells between 2.19-1.95 Ma.The morphological evolution of Pacific menardiform globorotalids contrasts the one observed in the Atlantic. This inter-oceanic asymmetry may indicate possible long-distance dispersal of G. menardii, at least during intermittent phases. For plankton biostratigraphy this implies, that correlating events represent more often than previously thought large scale environmental perturbations with local morphological ecophenotypic adaptations and nuances.