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    Age systematics of two young en echelon Samoan volcanic trails

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    Article (19.98Mb)
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    Software S1: All new 40Ar/39Ar age data reported in this study calculated using ArArCALC v2.5 and their resulting *.AGE files. (20.53Mb)
    Date
    2011-07-29
    Author
    Koppers, Anthony A. P.  Concept link
    Russell, Jamie A.  Concept link
    Roberts, Jed  Concept link
    Jackson, Matthew G.  Concept link
    Konter, Jasper G.  Concept link
    Wright, Dawn J.  Concept link
    Staudigel, Hubert  Concept link
    Hart, Stanley R.  Concept link
    Metadata
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    Citable URI
    https://hdl.handle.net/1912/4769
    As published
    https://doi.org/10.1029/2010GC003438
    DOI
    10.1029/2010GC003438
    Keyword
     Ar-40/Ar-39 geochronology; Seamounts; Pacific plate; Hot spots; Intraplate volcanism; Zoned mantle plume 
    Abstract
    The volcanic origin of the Samoan archipelago can be explained by one of three models, specifically, by a hot spot forming over a mantle plume, by lithospheric extension resulting from complex subduction tectonics in the region, or by a combination of these two processes, either acting sequentially or synchronously. In this paper, we present results of 36 high-resolution 40Ar/39Ar incremental heating age analyses for the initial (submarine) phase of Samoan volcanoes, ranging from 13.2 Ma for the westernmost Samoan seamounts to 0.27 Ma in the eastern Samoan volcanic province. Taken as a whole, our new age data point to a hot spot origin for the shield-building volcanism in the Samoan lineament, whereby seamounts younger than 5 Ma are consistent with a model of constant 7.1 cm/yr plate motion, analogous to GPS measurements for the Pacific Plate in this region. This makes our new 40Ar/39Ar ages of the submarine basalts all older compared to recent absolute plate motion (APM) models by Wessel et al. (2008), which are based on the inversion of twelve independent seamount trails in the Pacific relative to a fixed reference frame of hot spots and which predict faster plate motions of around 9.3 cm/yr in the vicinity of Samoa. The Samoan ages are also older than APM models by Steinberger et al. (2004) taking into account the motion of hot spots in the Pacific alone or globally. The age systematics become more complicated toward the younger end of the Samoan seamount trail, where its morphology bifurcates into two en echelon subtracks, termed the VAI and MALU trends, as they emanate from two eruptive centers at Vailulu'u and Malumalu seamount, respectively. Spaced ∼50 km apart, the VAI and MALU trends have distinct geochemical characters and independent but overlapping linear 40Ar/39Ar age progressions since 1.5 Ma. These phenomena are not unique to Samoa, as they have been observed at the Hawaiian hot spot, and can be attributed to a geochemical zoning in its underlying mantle source or plume. Moreover, the processes allowing for the emergence of two distinct eruptive centers in the Samoan archipelago, the stepped offset of these subtracks, and their slight obliqueness with respect to the overall seamount trail orientation may very well be controlled by local tectonics, stresses, and extension, also causing the rejuvenated volcanism on the main islands of Savai'i, Upolu, and Tutuila since 0.4 Ma.
    Description
    Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2011. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems 12 (2011): Q07025, doi:10.1029/2010GC003438.
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    • Geology and Geophysics (G&G)
    Suggested Citation
    Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems 12 (2011): Q07025
     

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