Eocene to Pleistocene magmatic evolution of the Delarof Islands, Aleutian Arc

• Published in: Geochemistry, geophysics, geosystems : G3 geophysics, geosystems : G3, 2016-03, Vol.17 (3), p.1086-1108
• Main Authors: Schaen, Allen J., Jicha, Brian R., Kay, Suzanne M., Singer, Brad S., Tibbetts, Ashley
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 40Ar/39Ar geochronology; Aleutian Arc; Chronostratigraphy; Data; Delarof Islands; Eocene; Evolution; Frameworks; Geochemistry; History; Holocene; Igneous rocks; island arc evolution; Islands; Lava; Magma; Miocene; Oligocene; Plateaus; Pleistocene; Pliocene; Plutons; Quaternary; Sediment; Sediments; Trace elements; Trenches (pipelines); Volcanoes
• ISSN: 1525-2027; 1525-2027
• DOI: 10.1002/2015GC006067

The Delarof Islands in the Aleutian Arc near 179º W record ∼37 million years of discontinuous arc magmatism along a SW‐NE cross‐arc transect from near the trench to the active volcanic front. Geochemical and geochronologic data from the pre‐Pleistocene volcanic record in this region are limited and the 40Ar/39Ar, isotopic, and trace element data presented here are the first from units older than the Pleistocene‐Holocene volcanoes (Tanaga, Gareloi). Twenty‐two new 40Ar/39Ar ages establish a temporal framework for geochemical data and reveal that magmatism in the Delarof region was coincident with two arc‐wide magmatic flare ups in the late Eocene/early Oligocene and latest Miocene/Pliocene. Mafic lavas and plutons in the southern Delarofs give 40Ar/39Ar plateau ages ranging from 36.8 ± 0.2 to 26.9 ± 0.6 Ma on Amatignak Island and 37.0 ± 0.2 to 29.3 ± 1.0 Ma on Ulak Island. To the north 25 km, 40Ar/39Ar ages from the central Delarof Islands, Kavalga, Ogliuga, and Skagul are late Miocene (6.28 ± 0.04 Ma) to Pliocene (4.77 ± 0.18 Ma) with younger ages to the northeast. A significant transition in arc chemistry occurs in the Pleistocene where lavas from active volcanoes Gareloi and Tanaga exhibit higher sediment and hydrous fluid signatures (Th/La, Cs/Ta, La/Sm, LILE abundances) and lower 143Nd/144Nd than older Delarof Island units closer to the trench. Similar findings from Eocene‐Miocene lavas from Amchitka to Adak suggest that a previously minor sediment melt component became more pronounced in the Quaternary. Key Points: A major change in magma chemistry occurs after 5 Ma in the Delarofs Despite their southerly position, the oldest rocks in the Aleutians are not found in the Delarofs Sediment melt signatures have not been constant throughout ∼37 Myr of Aleutian Arc history