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Age and Geochemistry of Basement and Alkalic Rocks of Malaita and Santa Isabel, Solomon Islands, Southern Margin of Ontong Java Plateau |
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| Authors: | TEJADA M L G; MAHONEY J J; DUNCAN R A; HAWKINS M P |
| Institution: | 1SCHOOL OF OCEAN AND EARTH SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII HONOLULU, HI 96822, USA 2COLLEGE OF OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES, OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY CORVALLIS, OR 97331, USA 3BRITISH GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, KEYWORTH NOTTINGHAM NG12 5GG, UK |
| Abstract: | Geochemical and 40 Ar—39 Ar studies of the Malaita OlderSeries and Sigana Basalts, which form the basement of Malaitaand the northern portion of Santa Isabel, confirm the existenceof Ontong Java Plateau (OJP) crust on these islands. Sr, Nd,and Pb isotopic ratios of Malaita Older Series and Sigana lavasfall within limited ranges (87Sr/86Sr)T= 0.70369–0.70423,ENd(T)= + 3.7 to +6.0, and 206Pb/204Pb = 18.25–18.64]virtually indistinguishable from those found in the three OJPbasement drill sites as far as 1600 km away, indicating a uniformhotspot-like mantle source with a slight ‘Dupal’signature for the world's largest oceanic plateau. Three chemicaltypes of basalts are recognized, two of which are equivalentto two of the three types drilled on the plateau, and one withno counterpart, as yet, on the plateau; the chemical data indicateslightly different, but all high, degrees of melting and slightvariation in source composition. All but one of the 40Ar-39Arplateau ages determined for Malaita Older Series and SiganaBasalt lavas are identical to those found at the distant drillsites: 121.30.9 Ma and 92.01.6 Ma, suggesting that two short-lived,volumetrically important plateau-building episodes took place 30 m.y. apart. Aside from OJP lavas, three isotopically distinctsuites of alkalic rocks are present. The Sigana Alkalic Suitein Santa Isabel has an 40 Ar-39 Ar age of 91.70.4 Ma, the sameas that of the younger OJP tholeiites, yet it displays a distinct’HIMU‘ -type isotopic signature 206Pb/204Pb  20.20,(87Sr/86Sr) T 0.7032,  Nd(T) 4.4], possibly representing small-degreemelts of a minor, less refractory component in the OJP mantlesource region. The Younger Series in southern Malaita has an40Ar-39Ar age of 44 Ma and isotopic ratios Nd(T)=-0.5 to +1.0,(87Sr/86Sr)T =0.70404–0.70433, 206Pb/204Pb = 18.57–18.92]partly overlapping those of the ‘PHEM’ end-memberpostulated for Samoa, and those of present-day Rarotonga lavas;one or both of these hotspots may have caused alkalic volcanismon the plateau when it passed over them at 44 Ma. The NorthMalaita Alkalic Suite in northernmost Malaita is probably ofsimilar age, but has isotopic ratios (87Sr/86Sr) T 0.7037,Nd(T) +4.5, 206pb/204pb 18.8) resembling those of some OJP basementlavas; it may result from a small amount of melting of agedplateau lithosphere during the OJP's passage over these hotspots.Juxtaposed against OJP crust in Santa Isabel is an 62–46-Maophiolitic (sensu lato) assemblage. Isotopic and chemical datareveal Pacific-MORB-like, backarc-basin-like, and arc-like signaturesfor these rocks, and suggest that most formed in an arc—backarcsetting before the Late Tertiary collision of the OJP againstthe old North Solomon Trench. The situation in Santa Isabelappears to provide a modern-day analog for some Precambriangreenstone belts. KEY WORDS: oceanic plateaux; Ontong Java Plateau; Solomon Islands; Sr-Nd-Pb isotopes; age and petrogenesis
*Corresponding author. |
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