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Glassy bubble-wall fragments, morphologically similar to littoral limu o Pele, have been found in volcanic sands erupted on Lō'ihi Seamount and along the submarine east rift zone of Kīlauea Volcano. The limu o Pele fragments are undegassed with respect to H2O and S and formed by mild steam explosions. Angular glass sand fragments apparently form at similar, and greater, depths by cooling-contraction granulation. The limu o Pele fragments from Lō'ihi Seamount are dominantly tholeiitic basalt containing 6.25–7.25% MgO. None of the limu o Pele samples from Lō'ihi Seamount contains less than 5.57% MgO, suggesting that higher viscosity magmas do not form lava bubbles. The dissolved CO2 and H2O contents of 7 of the limu o Pele fragments indicate eruption at 1200±300 m depth (120±30 bar). These pressures exceed that generally thought to limit steam explosions. We conclude that hydrovolcanic eruptions are possible, with appropriate pre-mixing conditions, at pressures as great as 120 bar.

Measurements of 238U-230Th-226Ra and 235U-231Pa disequilibria in a suite of tholeiitic-to-basanitic lavas provide estimates of porosity, solid mantle upwelling rate and melt transport times beneath Hawaii. The observation that (230Th/238U) > 1 indicates that garnet is required as a residual phase in the magma sources for all of the lavas. Both chromatographic porous flow and dynamic melting of a garnet peridotite source can adequately explain the combined U-Th-Ra and U-Pa data for these Hawaiian basalts. For chromatographic porous flow, the calculated maximum porosity in the melting zone ranges from 0.3–3% for tholeiites and 0.1–1% for alkali basalts and basanites, and solid mantle upwelling rates range from 40 to 100 cm yr−1 for tholeiites and from 1 to 3 cm yr−1 for basanites. For dynamic melting, the escape or threshold porosity is 0.5–2% for tholeiites and 0.1–0.8% for alkali basalts and basanites, and solid mantle upwelling rates range from 10 to 30 cm yr−1 for tholeiites and from 0.1 to 1 cm yr−1 for basanites. Assuming a constant melt productivity, calculated total melt fractions range from 15% for the tholeiitic basalts to 3% for alkali basalts and basanites.

Lava flows erupted during the January/February 1998 seismic swarm at Axial Volcano on the Juan de Fuca Ridge have been identified by differencing of pre- and post-event multibeam bathymetric surveys and by seafloor observations. A sheet flow more than 3 km in length and 500–800 m wide erupted from the uppermost south rift is the site of a robust hydrothermal system. 1998 lavas occur over about 9 km of the upper south rift zone, or about 20% of the along-axis length of the seismicity event (∼50 km). The estimated volume of lava erupted is 18-76 ×106 m³ for the extrusion and 100-×106 m³ for the intrusion. The total volume is consistent with the volume from modeling of seafloor strain measurements recorded during the event.

The tube-fed pāhoehoe lava flows covering much of the northeast flank of Kīlauea Volcano are named the 'Ailā'au flows. Their eruption age, based on published and six new radiocarbon dates, is approximately AD 1445. The flows have distinctive paleomagnetic directions with steep inclinations (40°–50°) and easterly declinations (0°–10°E). The lava was transported ∼40 km from the vent to the coast in long, large-diameter lava tubes; the longest tube (Kazumura Cave) reaches from near the summit to within several kilometers of the coast near Kaloli Point. The estimated volume of the 'Ailā'au flow field is 5.2±0.8 km3, and the eruption that formed it probably lasted for approximately 50 years. Summit overflows from Kīlauea may have been nearly continuous between approximately AD 1290 and 1470, during which time a series of shields formed at and around the summit. The 'Ailā'au shield was either the youngest or the next to youngest in this series of shields. Site-mean paleomagnetic directions for lava flows underlying the 'Ailā'au flows form only six groups. These older pāhoehoe flows range in age from 2750 to 2200 years. Lava flows from most of these summit eruptions also reached the coast, but none appears as extensive as the 'Ailā'au flow field. The chemistry of the melts erupted during each of these summit overflow events is remarkably similar, averaging approximately 6.3 wt.% MgO near the coast and 6.8 wt.% MgO near the summit. The present-day caldera probably formed more recently than the eruption that formed the 'Ailā'au flows (estimated termination ca. AD 1470). The earliest explosive eruptions that formed the Keanakāko'i Ash, which is stratigraphically above the 'Ailā'au flows, cannot be older than this age.

Many tholeiitic and transitional pillow-rim and fragmental glasses from Loihi seamount, Hawaii, have high Cl contents and Cl/K_2O ratios (and ratios of Cl to other incompatible components, such as P_2O_5, H_2O, etc.) relative to other Hawaiian subaerial volcanoes (e.g., Mauna Loa, Mauna Kea, and Kilauea). We suggest that this results from widespread contamination of Loihi magmas by a Cl-rich, seawater-derived component. Assimilation of high-Cl phases such as saline brine or Cl-rich minerals (halite or iron–hydroxychlorides) with high Cl/H_2O ratios can explain the range and magnitude of Cl contents in Loihi glasses, as well as the variations in the ratios of Cl to other incompatible elements. Brines and Cl-rich minerals are thought to form from seawater within the hydrothermal systems associated with submarine volcanoes, and Loihi magmas could plausibly have assimilated such materials from the hydrothermal envelope adjacent to the magma chamber. Our model can also explain semiquantitatively the observed contamination of Loihi glasses with atmospheric-derived noble gases, provided the assimilant has concentrations of Ne and Ar comparable to or slightly less than seawater. This is more likely for brines than for Cl-rich minerals, leading us to favor brines as the major assimilant. Cl/Br ratios for a limited number of Loihi samples are also seawater-like, and show no indication of the higher values expected to be associated with the assimilation of Cl-rich hydrothermal minerals. Although Cl enrichment is a common feature of lavas from Loihi, submarine glasses from other Hawaiian volcanoes show little (Kilauea) or no (Mauna Loa, Mauna Kea) evidence of this process, suggesting that assimilation of seawater-derived components is more likely to occur in the early stages of growth of oceanic volcanoes. Summit collapse events such as the one observed at Loihi in October 1996 provide a ready mechanism for depositing brine-bearing rocks from the volcanic edifice into the top of a submarine summit magma chamber.

The crustal history of volcanic rocks can be inferred from the mineralogy and compositions of their phenocrysts which record episodes of magma mixing as well as the pressures and temperatures when magmas cooled. Submarine lavas erupted on the Hilo Ridge, a rift zone directly east of Mauna Kea volcano, contain olivine, plagioclase, augite ±orthopyroxene phenocrysts. The compositions of these phenocryst phases provide constraints on the magmatic processes beneath Hawaiian rift zones. In these samples, olivine phenocrysts are normally zoned with homogeneous cores ranging from ∼ Fo81 to Fo91. In contrast, plagioclase, augite and orthopyroxene phenocrysts display more than one episode of reverse zoning. Within each sample, plagioclase, augite and orthopyroxene phenocrysts have similar zoning profiles. However, there are significant differences between samples. In three samples these phases exhibit large compositional contrasts, e.g., Mg# [100 × Mg/(Mg+Fe+2)] of augite varies from 71 in cores to 82 in rims. Some submarine lavas from the Puna Ridge (Kilauea volcano) contain phenocrysts with similar reverse zonation.

Mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORBs) erupted in Escanaba Trough, INTRODUCTION the southernmost segment of the Gorda Ridge, have greater isotopic Crustal contamination of basaltic magmas is generally and geochemical variability than those from the remainder of the recognized for continental volcanoes (e.g. Taylor, 1980; ridge. Samples from the sediment-free northern sites in the trough Leeman & Hawkesworth, 1986; Glazner et al., 1991). The are depleted normal-MORB similar to those from the northern composition, thickness, and low melting temperatures of Gorda Ridge. However, samples from the sediment-covered portion continental crustal rocks facilitate assimilation that can of the trough are significantly enriched in incompatible elements, be easily identified. However, the extent to which basaltic and Sr, Nd and Pb isotopic ratios are shifted toward the composition magmas are contaminated by oceanic crust is a topic of of local sediments. Pb isotopic ratios, in particular, lie on a mixing intense debate (e.g. Bohrson & Reid, 1995; Clague et al., line with local sediments. Assimilation–fractional crystallization 1995; Eiler et al., 1996; Bohrson et al., 1996, and references (AFC) calculations suggest that 25–40% fractional crystallization therein; Thirlwall et al., 1997). The debate has focused coupled with assimilation of 1–2% of local sediments can produce on distinguishing the chemical characteristics magmas the enrichment observed for some Escanaba basalts. Variations in acquire during ascent, crustal storage, and emplacement the amount of enrichment of elements with similar incompatibility from those that have been used to identify heterogeneous for comparably differentiated basalts, and uncorrelated isotopic mantle sources. For most ocean island volcanoes, the ratios suggest variable amounts of assimilation of compositionally crustal components available to serve as contaminants heterogeneous assimilants by parental magmas. Assimilation of are poorly characterized, but include the underlying sediment by MORB magmas probably resulted when laccolithic altered oceanic crust, pelagic to hemipelagic sediment, intrusions ponded at the sediment–basement interface beneath the and the hydrothermally altered volcanic edifice. thick sediment cover in the southern part of Escanaba Trough. Mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORBs) are relatively uniGeochemical and isotopic evidence for contamination can be detected form geochemically with depleted incompatible element in these lavas because of the strong compositional contrast between and radiogenic isotope compositions compared with lavas the parental magma and assimilant. The depleted MORB magma from ocean island or continental volcanoes. However, and highly enriched sediment assimilant are end-member comexcess chlorine content and Cl/K ratios in fresh MORB positions that provide a sensitive indicator for the smallest amount glasses support the idea that MORB magmas may also of contamination of oceanic magma by crustal processes. be affected by assimilation of hydrothermally altered oceanic crust (e.g. Michael & Schilling, 1988; Michael & Cornell, 1996). Chlorine, like other incompatible elements, shows the greatest enrichment in strongly frac

We performed an ion-microprobe study of eleven high-MgO (6.7–14.8 wt%) tholeiite glasses from the Hawaiian volcanoes Kilauea, Mauna Loa and Haleakala. We determined the rare earth (RE), high field strength, and other selected trace element abundances of these glasses, and used the data to establish their relationship to typical Hawaiian shield tholeiite and to infer characteristics of their source. The glasses have trace element abundance characteristics generally similar to those of typical shield tholeiites, e.g. L(light)REE/H(heavy)REEC1

Hydraulic permeabilities of polymeric membranes and gels are of interest both for calculating fluid flow rates and hindered diffusion coefficients. We have calculated hydraulic permeabilities for monomodal and bimodal, periodic and random fibrous media. Hydrodynamic interactions between fibers are calculated by applying a numerical version of slender body theory to a collection of fibers in a cubic cell many Brinkman screening lengths in dimension. Results for random media are obtained by averaging over many ensembles of fibers. To account for the surrounding medium, the line distribution of point forces along the fiber axes are replicated throughout space by using the Ewald summation technique. Results for periodic media agree with previous theoretical results up to a fiber volume fraction of 50% for parallel flow and 40% for transverse flow. Hydraulic permeabilities calculated for three-dimensional, disordered media with monomodal and bimodal distributions of fiber radius are compared with existing theories and with experimentally determined hydraulic permeabilities for a range of fiber volume fractions. Specific calculations are performed for agarose and collagen/proteoglycan gel systems, which are well described as bimodal fibrous media and are relevant to bioseparations and physiological systems, respectively.

A new 30 kHz multibeam echo-sounder survey of part of the Oregon margin imaged Hydrate Ridge at a higher resolution than previous surveys conducted in the same area. The bathymetric data show that a northern ridge rises to 588 m and a southern ridge to 773 m. Moderate-to-high backscatter areas, interpreted to indicate patchy, discontinuous chemosynthetic communities, authigenic carbonate, or hydrate accumulations cover about 26 km 2 of the summit area of the northern ridge. Similar moderate-to-high backscatter areas comprise about 4.9 km 2 of the southern ridge. However, the southern ridge does have about 0.095 km 2 of high-backscatter that is believed to be associated with nearly continuous carbonate and hydrate outcrop on the western edge of the summit. A site on the southern ridge where intercalated carbonate and hydrate deposits were previously recovered is within the region with only patchy outcrop.

Results are presented for the effect of solute–fiber hydrodynamic interactions on the hindered diffusion of a spherical macromolecule in random media comprised of cylindrical fibers. Hydrodynamic interactions are calculated by representing the sphere as a collection of point singularities and accounting for the fibers by using a numerical version of slender‐body theory. Electrostatic and other nonhydrodynamic interactions are neglected. The calculations show that the hydrodynamic mobility of the solute decreases in an exponential‐like fashion as the fiber volume fraction is increased. Also, at a given volume fraction, a medium of thinner fibers hinders solute transport more than a medium of thicker fibers. The results compare well with experimental data, both for protein diffusion in solutions of the polysaccharide Dextran and for protein diffusion in cross‐linked agarose gels.

Volcaniclastic units cored at depths of about 87, 164, 178, 226, and 246 m below sea level and carbonate units located between depths of 27 and 53 m below sea level in the Hilo drill core were found to be deposited at or near sea level. Four of these units are hydroclastic deposits, formed when subaerially erupted Mauna Loa lava flows entered the ocean and fragmented to produce quenched, glassy fragments during hydrovolcanic explosions. Ash units 24 and 26, at 178 m depth, accumulated at sea level in a freshwater bog. They contain pyroxenes crystallized from tholeiitic magma that we infer erupted explosively at the summit of Kilauea volcano. Two carbon-rich layers from these ashes have a weighted average radiocarbon age of 38.6 ± 0.9 ka; the ashes probably correlate with the oldest and thickest part of the Pahala ash. Ash unit 44, at the transition from Mauna Kea to Mauna Loa lava flows, was probably nearly 3.2 m thick and is inferred to be equivalent to the lower thick part of the composite Homelani ash mapped in Hilo and on the flanks of Mauna Kea. The age of this part of Homelani ash is between 128 ± 33 and 200 ± 10 ka; it may have erupted subglacially during the Pohakuloa glacial maxima on Mauna Kea. Beach sand units 12 and 22 were derived from nearby Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea lava flows. The middle of beach sand unit 38 was derived mainly from lava erupted near the distal end of the subaerial east rift zone of Kilauea volcano; these sands were transported about 33 km northwest to Hilo Bay by prevailing longshore currents. Combined age, depth, and sea level markers in the core allow us to determine that lava flow recurrence intervals averaged one flow every 4 kyr during the past 86 kyr and one flow every 16 kyr between 86 and 200 ka at the drill site and that major explosive eruptions that deposit thick ash in Hilo have occurred only twice in the last 400 kyr. These recurrence intervals support the moderate lava flow hazard zonation (zone 3) for coastal Hilo previously determined from surficial mapping.

A 25.8-m-thick sedimentary section containing coral fragments occurs directly below a surface lava flow (the ∼1340 year old Panaewa lava flow) at the Hilo drill hole. Ten coral samples from this section dated by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon and five by thermal infrared multispectral scanner (TIMS) 230Th/U methods show good agreement. The calcareous unit is 9790 years old at the bottom and 1690 years old at the top and was deposited in a shallow lagoon behind an actively growing reef. This sedimentary unit is underlain by a 34-m-thick lava flow which in turn overlies a thin volcaniclastic silt with coral fragments that yield a single 14C date of 10,340 years. The age-depth relations of the dated samples can be compared with proposed eustatic sea level curves after allowance for island subsidence is taken. Island subsidence averages 2.2 mm/yr for the last 47 years based on measurements from a tide gage near the drill hole or 2.5–2.6 mm/yr for the last 500,000 years based on the ages and depths of a series of drowned coral reefs offshore from west Hawaii. The age-depth measurements of coral fragments are more consistent with eustatic sea levels as determined by coral dating at Barbados and Albrolhos Islands than those based on oxygen isotopic data from deep sea cores. The Panaewa lava flow entered a lagoon underlain by coral debris and covered the drill site with 30.9 m of lava of which 11 m was above sea level. This surface has now subsided to 4.2 m above sea level, but it demonstrates how a modern lava flow entering Hilo Bay would not only change the coastline but could extensively modify the offshore shelf.

This is the first article to describe mineralization of midplate submarine rift zones and hydrothermal manganese oxide mineralization of midplate volcanic edifices. Hydrothermal Mn oxides were recovered from submarine extensions of two Hawaiian rift zones, along Haleakala and Puna Ridges. These Mn oxides form two types of deposits, metallic stratiform layers in volcaniclastic rocks and cement for clastic rocks; both deposit types are composed of todorokite and bimessite. Thin Fe‐Mn crusts that coat some rocks formed by a combination of hydrogenetic and hydrothermal processes and are composed of δ‐MnO2. The stratiform layers have high Mn contents (mean 40%) and a large fractionation between Mn and Fe (Fe/Mn = 0.04). Unlike most other hydrothermal Mn oxide deposits, those from Hawaiian rift zones are enriched in the trace metals Zn, Co, Ba, Mo, Sr, V, and especially Ni (mean 0.16%). Metals are derived from three sources: mafic and ultramafic rocks leached by circulating hydrothermal fluids, clastic material...

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Institute (MBARI) has conducted high-resolution multibeam bathymetry, sidescan, and subbottom sonar surveys in the Gulf of California using an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) as part of a three-month, two-ship oceanographic expedition. The seafloor mapping AUV D. Allan B. was operated from R/V Zephyr, achieving 22 successful 17-hour missions during March and April 2012. The 1-m lateral resolution seafloor maps and subbottom profiles were used to guide subsequent ROV Doc Ricketts dives made from MBARI's R/V Western Flyer, which combined visual surveys, sampling, and in situ experimentation by several different science groups. The vehicle is a modularized Dorado Class 54 cm (21 inch) diameter, 5.18 meter (17 feet) length, 733 kg (1616 pounds) air weight. The interior of the AUV floods with water when launched; electronics are contained in either one-atmosphere hermetic housings or in pressure-compensated enclosures. The AUV is ballasted to be about 3.63 kg (8 pounds) positive in seawater. Flotation is accomplished with 6000 meter rated syntactic foam. The D. Allan B. has three mapping sonar systems onboard: a Reson 200 kHz multibeam echosounder, an Edgetech FS-AU Sonar Package which comprises a 100 kHz chirp sidescan, a 410 kHz chirp sidescan, and a 2–16 kHz chirp subbottom profiler. With the onboard Lithium Polymer battery packs, the Mapping AUV has an endurance of approximately 17 hours at a speed of 1.5 meters per second, providing a range of 55 to 85 kilometers. The mapping AUV is equipped with a Kearfott inertial navigation system (INS) with Doppler velocity log, a Paroscientific pressure sensor, and an ultrashort baseline (USBL) and acoustic modem for communications. It also has an Iridium Satellite Short Burst Data modem, a drop weight, radio direction finder, Homer Pro and visible strobe location aids. Propulsion is accomplished with a duct-protected articulated propeller which provides 52 Newtons (12lbf) of thrust at 300 rpm as well as elevator and rudder functions. Turning diameter is less than 20 meters; climb/dive rate is approximately 30 meters per minute. Launches and recoveries were made from the RV Zephyr, a 24m (79 foot) former pilot boat that operates with four crew and four science personnel. The Zephyr is outfitted with a Brook Ocean Technologies J-Frame crane for AUV launch and recovery. Once the AUV is in the water, the mission is sent from a computer on the Zephyr to the AUV over a wireless Freewave Ethernet link. At the start of the mission, the AUV spirals down to the start-of-line while being position-updated with GPS data from the Zephyr aided by the USBL system. A Bottom Pressure Recorder used to provide in situ tide data for bathymetry correction was deployed prior to all AUV missions, and recovered afterwards, using a Benthos Recoverable Transponder mounted to an MBARI-designed frame. The seafloor mapping data were processed using MB-System, an open source software package developed at MBARI and the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. The first half of the mapping AUV surveys focused largely on four transform faults in the central and northern gulf. The combination of high-resolution bathymetry and subbottom profiles enabled the identification of active fault traces and zones of subsurface gas and hydrate. The second half of the Zephyr expedition focused on the Alarcon Rise, a volcanic spreading center. The new surveys provide the first 1-m scale bathymetry coverage of the neovolcanic zone along an entire ocean spreading center segment. The mapping data also identified the locations of several fields of hydrothermal vent chimneys, two of which were confirmed to be currently active by ROV dives.

[1] A depth transect of deep-sea bamboo corals along the California margin provides evidence that coral strontium to calcium ratios (Sr/Cacoral) record seawater Sr/Ca ratios (Sr/Casw). A calibration was constructed utilizing Sr/Cacoral ratios and previously published Pacific Sr/Casw data (R2 = 0.53, n = 12, p < 0.01): Sr/Cacoral (mmol/mol) = 4.62*Sr/Casw (mmol/mol) − 36.64. Sr/Casw is ultimately governed by the remineralization of Sr-containing shells of surface water-derived marine organisms (e.g., Acantharia) at intermediate water depths. California margin Sr/Cacoral records from 792 and 1295 m document fluctuations in Sr/Casw that appear decadal-scale. These results suggest that Sr/Casw may not be as stable as previously assumed and may be influenced by surface productivity on short timescales.

The south flank of Kilauea Volcano is unstable and has the structure of a huge landslide; it is one of at least 17 enormous catastrophic landslides shed from the Hawaiian Islands. Mechanisms previously proposed for movement of the south flank invoke slip of the volcanic pile over seafloor sediments. Slip on a low friction decollement alone cannot explain why the thickest and widest sector of the flank moves more rapidly than the rest, or why this section contains a 300 km3 aseismic volume above the seismically defined decollement. It is proposed that this aseismic volume, adjacent to the caldera in the direction of flank slip, consists of olivine cumulates that creep outward, pushing the south flank seawards. Average primary Kilauea tholeiitic magma contains about 16.5 wt.% MgO compared with an average 10 wt.% MgO for erupted subaerial and submarine basalts. This difference requires fractionation of 17 wt.% (14 vol.%) olivine phenocrysts that accumulate near the base of the magma reservoir where they form cumulates. Submarine-erupted Kilauea lavas contain abundant deformed olivine xenocrysts derived from these cumulates. Deformed dunite formed during the tholeiitic shield stage is also erupted as xenoliths in subsequent alkalic lavas. The deformation structures in olivine xenocrysts suggest that the cumulus olivine was densely packed, probably with as little as 5–10 vol.% intercumulus liquid, before entrainment of the xenocrysts. The olivine cumulates were at magmatic temperatures (>1100°C) when the xenocrysts were entrained. Olivine at 1100°C has a rheology similar to ice, and the olivine cumulates should flow down and away from the summit of the volcano. Flow of the olivine cumulates places constant pressure on the unbuttressed seaward flank, leading to an extensional region that localizes deep intrusions behind the flank; these intrusions add to the seaward push. This mechanism ties the source of gravitational instability to the caldera complex and deep rift systems and, therefore, limits catastrophic sector failure of Hawaiian volcanoes to their active growth phase, when the core of olivine cumulates is still hot enough to flow.

[1] Palagonitized sideromelane from submarine volcaniclastic, seafloor volcanic, marine phreatomagmatic, lacustine phreatomagmatic, and subglacial volcanic settings was investigated using in situ microanalysis to test if palagonite composition and texture are related to depositional environment. Palagonitization extent varies linearly and inversely with original sample porosity, suggesting that porosity is a controlling factor of palagonitization. Water absorbance of reflected infrared light varies linearly with water content derived from electron microprobe totals. Palagonite water content has a linear, inverse relationship to palagonitization extent. REEs are immobile during palagonitization, so they can be used to construct isocon diagrams for estimating major-element concentration changes. Major-element and overall mass changes during palagonitization vary widely (particularly for FeO and TiO2) and indicate that palagonitization cannot be an isovolumetric process. These parameters depend strongly on original sideromelane composition, thus requiring composition to be taken into account when performing global oceanic cation flux calculations. Subalkaline sideromelane dissolves much more rapidly than alkaline sideromelane during palagonitization. Two styles of palagonitization, burial-diagenesis (relatively long-duration, low water/rock; passive fluid circulation) and hydrothermal (relatively short-duration, high water/rock; hydrothermal fluid circulation), are recognized. Observed palagonite REE concentration gradients indicate that sideromelane dissolution must continue in the zone behind the advancing palagonitization front. MgO was found to be highly mobile during palagonitization. Observed palagonite MgO gradients are not developed during sideromelane dissolution, but instead record initiation of syn- and/or post-palagonitization conversion of the gel-palagonite layer to a phyllosillicate layer, consistent with evolution of sideromelane alteration layers toward equilibrium with the solution.

Subduction of oceanic crust and the formation of volcanic arcs above the subduction zone are important components in Earth’s geological and geochemical cycles. Subduction consumes and recycles material from the oceanic plates, releasing fluids and gases that enhance magmatic activity, feed hydrothermal systems, generate ore deposits and nurture chemosynthetic biological communities. Among the first lavas to erupt at the surface from a nascent subduction zone are a type classified as boninites. These lavas contain information about the early stages of subduction, yet because most subduction systems on Earth are old and well-established, boninite lavas have previously only been observed in the ancient geological record. Here we observe and sample an active boninite eruption occurring at 1,200 m depth at the West Mata submarine volcano in the northeast Lau Basin, southwest Pacific Ocean. We find that large volumes of H2O, CO2 and sulphur are emitted, which we suggest are derived from the subducting slab. These volatiles drive explosive eruptions that fragment rocks and generate abundant incandescent magma-skinned bubbles and pillow lavas. The eruption has been ongoing for at least 2.5 years and we conclude that this boninite eruption is a multi-year, low-mass-transfer-rate eruption. Thus the Lau Basin may provide an important site for the long-term study of submarine volcanic eruptions related to the early stages of subduction. Boninite lavas are erupted during the early stages of subduction, however they have previously been found only in the ancient geological record. Discovery of an active boninite eruption shows that abundant volatile gases derived from the subducting slab drive this violent eruptive activity, even in the deep sea.

High-resolution (1.5 m) mapping from the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) D. Allan B. of West Mata Volcano in the northern Lau Basin is used to identify the processes that construct and modify the volcano. The surface consists largely of volcaniclastic debris that forms smooth slopes to the NW and SE, with smaller lava flows forming gently sloping plateaus concentrated along the ENE and WSW rift zones, and more elongate flows radiating from the summit. Two active volcanic vents, Prometheus and Hades, are located ∼50 and ∼150 m WSW of the 1159 m summit, respectively, and are slightly NW of the ridgeline so the most abundant clastic deposits are emplaced on the NW flank. This eruptive activity and the location of vents appears to have been persistent for more than a decade, based on comparison of ship-based bathymetric surveys in 1996 and 2008–2010, which show positive depth changes up to 96 m on the summit and north flank of the volcano. The widespread distribution of clastic deposits downslope from the rift zones, as well as from the current vents, suggests that pyroclastic activity occurs at least as deep as 2200 m. The similar morphology of additional nearby volcanoes suggests that they too have abundant pyroclastic deposits.

Deep-sea bamboo corals hold promise as long-term climatic archives, yet little information exists linking bamboo coral geochemistry to measured environmental parameters. This study focuses on a suite of 10 bamboo corals collected from the Pacific and Atlantic basins (250–2136 m water depth) to investigate coral longevity, growth rates, and isotopic signatures. Calcite samples for stable isotopes and radiocarbon were collected from the base the corals, where the entire history of growth is recorded. In three of the coral specimens, samples were also taken from an upper branch for comparison. Radiocarbon and growth band width analyses indicate that the skeletal calcite precipitates from ambient dissolved inorganic carbon and that the corals live for 150–300 years, with extension rates of 9–128 μm/yr. A linear relationship between coral calcite δ18O and δ13C indicates that the isotopic composition is influenced by vital effects (δ18O:δ13C slope of 0.17–0.47). As with scleractinian deep-sea corals, the intercept from a linear regression of δ18O versus δ13C is a function of temperature, such that a reliable paleotemperature proxy can be obtained, using the “lines method.” Although the coral calcite δ18O:δ13C slope is maintained throughout the coral base ontogeny, the branches and central cores of the bases exhibit δ18O:δ13C values that are shifted far from equilibrium. We find that a reliable intercept value can be derived from the δ18O:δ13C regression of multiple samples distributed throughout one specimen or from multiple samples within individual growth bands.

A continuous flow symmetric passive separation device was designed using an equivalent circuit to create variable flow rates to drain channels and collection outlets. The inlet reservoir was placed in the axis of symmetry and in line to downstream buffer inlets for hydrodynamic focusing. This inlet reservoir was sufficiently larger than the different inlet connections that were punched into it. By varying the diameter of the inlet connection into the reservoir, the distribution and therefore separation of particles could be influenced to significance. Not only was the ratio of sample inlet diameter to reservoir important, but so was the relative position along the y-axis of the reservoir. We found that a 2:1 ratio and placement at the top and middle of the reservoir yielded the best separation results. Further analysis of the velocity profile in the reservoir was explored using COMSOL Multyphysics®. The observed paths of particle trajectory corroborated with the models. Lastly this device aimed to provide an aspect of separation simple enough to be included in conjunction with other passive separation geometries to further enhance results and throughput.

Noble gas elemental and isotopic abundances have been analysed in twenty-two samples of basaltic glass dredged from the submarine flanks of two currently active Hawaiian volcanoes, Loihi Seamount and Kilauea. Neon isotopic ratios are enriched in 20Ne and 21Ne by as much as 16% with respect to atmospheric ratios. All the Hawaiian basalt glass samples show relatively high 3He4He ratios. The high 20Ne22Ne values in some of the Hawaiian samples, together with correlations between neon and helium systematics, suggest the presence of a solar component in the source regions of the Hawaiian mantle plume. The solar hypothesis for the Earth's primordial noble gas composition can account for helium and neon isotopic ratios observed in basaltic glasses from both plume and spreading systems, in fluids in continental hydrothermal systems, in CO2 well gases, and in ancient diamonds. These results provide new insights into the origin and evolution of the Earth's atmosphere.

There is considerable uncertainty concerning the history of lithospheric flexure of Oahu and the Maui-Nui Complex associated with the Hawaiian hot spot. Previous reconstructions based on models and sparse observational data place the zone of maximum uplift (forebulge) either under Oahu or between Oahu and Molokai. To address this issue we have compiled and analyzed all existing and new high‐resolution multibeam bathymetry, dive observations, and chronologic data from submerged terraces in the region. We have identified 89 separate submarine terraces and mapped their distribution across the volcanic flanks of Oahu and the Maui‐Nui Complex. These data are used to systematically measure the direction and amplitude of terrace tilting within the Maui‐Nui Complex and to provide new constraints on lithospheric flexure associated with volcanic loading at the hot spot. The terraces are divided into six separate geographic regions (Oahu, Molokai, Penguin Bank, Lanai, Maui, and East Maui) defined by significant discontinuities in either terrace morphology or depth. Following the sequential development of new substrate as the new volcanoes formed throughout the development of the MNC, 18 new and 51 published 87Sr/86Sr isotopic ages show that the terraces in these regions were also initiated at different times, and the tilting data show that they also responded to lithospheric flexure independently. The general pattern of terrace tilting records the plate’s response to lithospheric flexure with each region continually tilting toward the zone of maximum subsidence since their formation. Our individual tilt calculations are based on the most complete and highest‐ resolution bathymetric data available, and they show that plate response to volcanic loading is a gradual process. Finally, we demonstrate that the shallowest terraces we identified in the Oahu and Molokai regions tilt toward the north, away from the current zone of maximum subsidence, indicating that these regions have recently passed the zone of maximum uplift. We compare our results with two separate published numerical models and differentiate between these, resolving a long‐standing uncertainty in the position of the forebulge.

Volcanic samples collected with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute's ROV Tiburon from eight seamounts at the continental margin offshore central to southern California comprise a diverse suite of mainly alkalic basalt to trachyte but also include rare tholeiitic basalt and basanite. All samples experienced complex crystal fractionation probably near the crust/mantle boundary, based on the presence in some of mantle xenoliths. Incompatible trace elements, poorly correlated with isotopic compositions, suggest variable degrees of partial melting of compositionally heterogeneous mantle sources, ranging from MORB-like to relatively enriched OIB. High-precision 40Ar/39Ar ages indicate episodes of volcanic activity mainly from 16 to 7 Ma but document one eruption as recent as 2.8 Ma at San Juan Seamount. Synchronous episodes of volcanism occurred at geographically widely separated locations offshore and within the continental borderland. Collectively, the samples from these seamounts have age ranges and chemical compositions similar to those from Davidson Seamount, identified as being located atop an abandoned spreading center. These seamounts appear to have a common origin ultimately related to abandonment and partial subduction of spreading center segments when the plate boundary changed from subduction-dominated to a transform margin. They differ in composition, age, and origin from other more widespread near-ridge seamounts, which commonly have circular plans with nested calderas, and from age progressive volcanoes in linear arrays, such as the Fieberling-Guadalupe chain, that occur in the same region. Each volcanic episode represents decompression melting of discrete enriched material in the suboceanic mantle with melts rising along zones of weakness in the oceanic crust fabric. The process may be aided by transtensional tectonics related to continued faulting along the continental margin.

A lava pillar formed during the 1998 eruption at Axial Seamount exhibits compositional and textural evidence for contamination by seawater under magmatic conditions. Glass immediately adjacent to anastomosing microfractures within 1 cm of the inner pillar wall is oxidized and significantly enriched in Na and Cl and depleted in Fe and K with respect to that in glassy selvages from the unaffected outer pillar wall. The affected glass contains up to 1 wt % Cl and is enriched by ∼2 wt % Na2O relative to unaffected glass, consistent with a nearly 1:1 (molar) incorporation of NaCl. Glass bordering the Cl-enriched glass in the inner pillar wall is depleted in Na but enriched in K. The presence of tiny (

The notion of sample preconditioning, or pretreatment, as a micro-unit operation in a Lab on a Chip (LOC) system has yet to be realized in commercial practice. As is well known, Biomarker detection in complex, biological samples, such as blood, requires a series of pretreatment steps to enable detection of specific markers. On chip, such a process usually relies on "off-chip" sample pretreatment prior to "on-chip" analyte manipulations and detection. Presented in this paper is a PDMS, pretreatment chip based on the design of Oddy et al.1 with a view to enable a self-contained LOC platform. The chip was designed to directly manipulate the suspended species while adjusting fluid properties using buffer volumes less than 1 ml. Using previous literature related to capillary electrophoresis, a bench-scale pretreatment protocol was developed to tune specific fluidic parameters to an optimal range, namely pH, conductivity, and viscosity. A PDMS device was fabricated and used to combine a raw, bovine serum sample with specific buffer solutions. Off-chip electrodes were used to induce DC-electrokinetic micro-mixing of the target analyte in the mixing chamber, where a homogeneous analyte distribution was achieved in less than one second using an 800V DC pulse wave. Additionally, the desired solution viscosity and pH were achieved using less than 1 ml of buffer solution. Adjustment of sample conductivity, which is driven by sample fluid volume, remains an open area of research.

Seafloor spreading causes abundant magmatism along active ocean spreading centers, but the cause of magmatism along fossil spreading centers is enigmatic. Samples collected from Davidson Seamount, a typical volcanic ridge along an abandoned spreading center in the eastern Pacific, consist of an alkalic basalt to trachyte lava series; transitional basalts were sampled from another part of the abandoned axis, 20 km from the seamount. All samples experienced complex fractional crystallization prior to eruption, but they all share a common, compositionally heterogeneous mantle source. The parental magmas of the transitional basalts were produced from this source at higher degree of melting than those of the alkalic lava series. The composition of Davidson lavas overlaps with those of ridges along other fossil spreading centers and isolated near- and off-ridge seamounts in the eastern Pacific. Together they define a compositional continuum ranging from tholeiitic, normal mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB)-like to alkalic, ocean island basalt (OIB)-like, similar to lavas that form linear island chains and ridges. We propose that this entire compositional spectrum of intraplate lavas that do not form linear volcanic chains in the eastern Pacific results from variations in the degree of partial melting of a common, compositionally heterogeneous mantle source. This source consists of more easily melted, geochemically enriched components of varying sizes and amounts embedded in a depleted lherzolitic matrix. Large degree of partial melting produces normal MORB–like melts represented by some near-ridge seamount lavas, whereas small degree of melting produces OIB-like fossil spreading center lavas. The small degree of partial melting beneath recently abandoned spreading centers results from either buoyancy-driven decompression melting of the hot lithospheric and asthenospheric mantle material beneath active spreading centers or rapid motion, with respect to the underlying asthenosphere, of abandoned spreading axes that are thickening over a fertile mantle. Mid-Tertiary volcanic rocks in coastal California, which are compositionally akin to intraplate lavas, are interpreted to be small degree partial melts of the same compositionally heterogeneous sub-Pacific mantle that has upwelled through windows in a subducted slab.

The seven volcanoes comprising the island of Hawaii and its submarine base are, in order of growth, Mahukona, Kohala, Mauna Kea, Hualalai, Mauna Loa, Kilauea, and Loihi. The first four have completed their shield-building stage, and the timing of this event can be determined from the depth of the slope break associated with the end of shield building, calibrated using the ages and depths of a series of dated submerged coral reefs off northwest Hawaii. The composition of lavas collected adjacent to these reefs helps to define the eruptive history of the various volcanic centers. The island of Hawaii has grown at an average rate of about 0.02 km 2 /yr for the past 600 k.y. and presently is close to its maximum size. Mahukona completed shield building about 465 ka; Kohala, 245 ka; Mauna Kea, 130 ka; and Hualalai, 130 ka. On each volcano, the transition from eruption of tholeiitic to alkalic lava occurs near the end of shield building. The larger volcanic systems (which stood more than 4 km above their shoreline at the end of shield building) change in composition before the end of shield building, and the smaller volcanoes change near or after the end of shield building, or never make the change to eruption of alkalic lava. The rate of southeastern (south 40° east) progression of the end of shield building (and hence the postulated movement rate of the Pacific plate over the Hawaiian hotspot) in the interval from Haleakala to Hualalai is about 13 cm/yr. Based on this rate and an average spacing of volcanoes on each loci line of 40-60 km, the volcanoes require about 600 thousand years to grow from the ocean floor (generally from a point on the southeastern submarine flank of the next older volcano of the same loci line) to the time of the end of shield building. They arrive at the ocean surface about midway through this period.

Kahoolawe Island, Hawaii (18×11 km), is a basaltic shield volcano with caldera-filling lavas, seven identified postshield vents, and at least two occurrences of apparent rejuvenated-stage eruptive. We examined 42 samples that represent all stages of Kahoolawe volcano stratigraphy for their petrography, whole-rock major-and trace-element contents, mineral compositions, and K−Ar ages. The two oldest shield samples have an average age of 1.34±0.08 Ma, and four postshield samples (3 are alkalic) average 1.15±0.03 Ma; ages of 1.08 and 0.99 Ma for two additional tholeiitic samples probably are minimum ages. Whole-rock major- and trace-element and mineral compositions of Kahoolawe shield and caldera-fill laves are generally similar to the lavas forming Kilauea and Mauna Loa tholeiitic shields, but in detail, Kahoolawe shield lavas have distinctive compositions. An unusual aspect of many postshield Ka-hoolawe lavas is anomalously high REE and Y abundances (up to 200 ppm La and 175 ppm Y) and negative Ce anomalies. These enrichments reflect surficial processes, where weathering and soil development promoted REE-Y transport at the weathering front. Major element abundances (MgO, 10–6 wt.%) for shield and caldera-fill basalts are consistent with fractionation of ol+px+pl in frequently replenished magma reservoirs. In general, tholeiitic basalts erupted from late vents are higher in SiO2 than the shield lavas, and temporal differences in parental magma compositions are the likely explanation. Alkalic basalts that erupted from vents are comparable in composition to those at other Hawaiian volcanoes. Trace-element abundance ratios indicate that alkalic basalts represent either relatively lower degrees of melting of the shield source or a distinct source. Apparent rejuvenated-stage basalts (i.e., emplaced after substantial Kahoolawe erosion) are tholeiitic, unlike the rejuvenated-stages at other Hawaiian volcanoes (alkalic). Kahoolawe, like several other Hawaiian volcanoes, has intercalated tholeiitic and alkalic basalts in the postshield stage, but it is the only volcano that appears to have produced tholeiitic rejuvenated-stage lavas.

A highly precise mass spectrometric method of analysis was used to determine238U—234U—230Th—232Th in axial and off-axis basalt glasses from Juan de Fuca (JDF) and Gorda ridges. Initial230Th activity excesses in the axial samples range from 3 to 38%, but generally lie within a narrow range of 12 to 15%. Secondary alteration effects were evaluated usingδ234U and appear to be negligible; hence the230Th excesses are magmatic in origin. Direct dating of MORB was accomplished by measuring the decrease in excess230Th in off-axis samples.238U—230Th ages progressively increase with distance from axis. Uncertainties in age range from 10 to 25 ka for U—Th ages of 50 to 200 ka. The full spreading rate based on U—Th ages for Endeavour segment of JDF is 5.9 ± 1/2 cm/yr, with asymmetry in spreading between the Pacific (4.0 ± 0.6 cm/yr) and JDF (1.9 ± 0.6 cm/yr) plates. For northern Gorda ridge, the half spreading rate for the JDF plate is found to be 3.0 ± 0.4 cm/yr. These rates are in agreement with paleomagnetic spreading rates and topographic constraints. This suggests that assumptions used to determine ages, including constancy of initial 230Th/232Th ratio over time, are generally valid for the areas studied. Samples located near the axis of spreading are typically younger than predicted by these spreading rates, which most likely reflects recent volcanism within a 1–3 km wide zone of crustal accretion. Initial230Th/232Th ratios and230Th activity were also used to examine the recent Th/U evolution and extent of melting of mantle sources beneath these ridges. A negative anomaly in 230Th/232Th for Axial seamount lavas provides the first geochemical evidence of a mantle plume source for Axial seamount and the Cobb-Eickelberg seamount chain and indicates recent depletion of other JDF segment sources. Large230Th activity excesses for lavas from northern Gorda ridge and Endeavour segment indicate formation from a lower degree of partial melting than other segments. An inverse correlation between230Th excess and 230Th/232Th for each ridge indicates that these lower degree melts formed from slightly less depleted sources than higher degree melts. Uniformity in230Th excess for other segments suggests similarity in processes of melt formation and mixing beneath most of the JDF-Gorda ridge area. The average initial230Th/232Th activity ratio of 1.31 for the JDF-Gorda ridge area is in agreement with the predicted value of 1.32 from the Th—Sr isotope mantle array.

A 47- to 60-mm-thick Fe-Mn crust from Horizon Guyot (water depth 1800–1780 m), central Pacific, was used to evaluate the potential of crusts as recorders of Neogene paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic conditions. The chemical composition was determined by microprobe for 16 elements from a polished thin section. Three analyses were made per millimeter and averaged to give the composition of each millimeter. The age of the crust was determined by measuring the strontium isotope composition of the crust and comparing it with the Tertiary seawater curve. The crust represents 18.5 m.y. of growth of Fe and Mn oxyhydroxides. The crust is composed of alternating botryoidal and laminated layers. The botryoidal layers formed during the same time intervals that widespread Neogene deep-sea hiatuses were forming in bottom sediments. The botryoidal layers represent growth during times of intensified deepwater flow, whereas the laminated intervals represent more quiescent conditions. The correspondence between the botryoidal layers and the Neogene hiatuses is so strong that we were able to choose a variable growth rate model over a constant growth rate model for the crust. Chemical changes in the crust take two forms. The first is represented by broad changes in the composition defined chiefly by fourth-order polynomial fits to the chemical profiles of each element with depth in the crust. The second is high-frequency changes in composition. The broader changes occurred primarily at about 15, 11.5, 7.4, 6.4, 5.2, and 4.6 Ma, which may correlate with major changes in paleoceanographic circulation and development of ice caps at the poles. The periods of the high-frequency changes may reflect climatic changes that resulted from orbital forcing. These high-frequency changes may correspond to the high-order eccentricity periods of 3.47, 2.04, and 1.31 m.y.

High-precision noble gas data show that the Hawaiian and Icelandic mantle plume sources contain uniquely primitive neon that is composed of moderately nucleogenic neon-21 and a primordial component indistinguishable from the meteoritic occurrence of solar neon. This suggests that Earth's solar-type rare gas inventory was acquired during accretion from small planetesimals previously irradiated by solar wind from the early sun. However, nonradiogenic argon, krypton, and xenon isotopes derived from the mantle display nonsolar compositions and indicate an atmosphere-like fingerprint that is not due to recent subduction.

Davidson Seamount, a volcano located about 80 km off the central California coast, has a volume of ∼320 km3 and consists of a series of parallel ridges serrated with steep cones. Davidson was sampled and its morphology observed during 27 ROV Tiburon dives. During those dives, 286 samples of lava, volcaniclastite, and erratics from the continental margin were collected, with additional samples from one ROV-collected push core and four gravity cores. We report glass compositions for 99 samples and 40Ar-39Ar incremental heating age data for 20 of the samples. The glass analyses are of hawaiite (62%), mugearite (13%), alkalic basalt (9%), and tephrite (8%), with minor transitional basalt (2%), benmoreite (2%), and trachyandesite (2%). The lithologies are irregularly distributed in space and time. The volcano erupted onto crust inferred to be 20 Ma from seafloor magnetic anomalies. Ages of the lavas range from 9.8 to 14.8 Ma. The oldest rocks are from the central ridge, and the youngest are from the flanks and southern end of the edifice. The compositions of the 18 reliably dated volcanic cones vary with age such that the oldest lavas are the most fractionated. The melts lost 65% to nearly 95% of their initial S because of bubble loss during vesiculation, and the shallowest samples have S contents similar to lava erupted subaerially in Hawaii. Despite this similarity in S contents, there is scant other evidence to suggest that Davidson was ever an island. The numerous small cones of disparate chemistry and the long eruptive period suggest episodic growth of the volcano over at least 5 Myr and perhaps as long as 10 Myr if it began to grow when the spreading ridge was abandoned.

[1] Lavas from Mahukona, a small Hawaiian volcano on the Loa trend, exhibit major and trace element abundance variations exceeding those in lavas from large Hawaiian shields, such as Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea. Mahukona lavas define three geochemically distinct groups of tholeiitic shield basalt and a transitional group of postsshield basalt. At 10% MgO the tholeiitic groups range from 9 to 12% CaO; such differences in CaO can reflect partial melts derived from garnet pyroxenite (low CaO) and peridotite (high CaO), but the negative CaO-Yb (both at 10% MgO) trend formed by Mahukona lavas is inconsistent with this explanation. Within Mahukona lavas, radiogenic Nd-Hf-Pb isotopic ratios are highly correlated with each other; however, 87Sr/86Sr is decoupled from these radiogenic isotopic ratios. Rather, 87Sr/86Sr is correlated with trace element abundance ratios involving Sr, and importantly, Mahukona lavas define a negative Rb/Sr-87Sr/86Sr trend, implying that a Sr-rich source component characterized by high 87Sr/86Sr is important in the petrogenesis of Mahukona lavas. We infer that this Sr-rich source component is recycled ancient carbonate-rich sediments. Intershield heterogeneity among Hawaiian shields also shows a negative Rb/Sr-87Sr/86Sr trend. For example, Makapuu-stage Koolau lavas have higher 87Sr/86Sr but lower Rb/Sr than Mauna Kea lavas. Consequently, we infer that a recycled ancient carbonate-rich sedimentary source component is important in the Hawaiian plume. Although most lavas from Loa and Kea trend volcanoes define distinct fields in isotopic ratios of Sr, Nd, Hf, and Pb, the majority of Mahukona lavas have isotopic ratios at the boundary between the fields defined by Loa and Kea trend lavas. However, a subgroup of Mahukona shield lavas have Kea-like isotopic and trace element signatures, an observation that can be explained by vertical heterogeneity in a bilaterally asymmetrical plume.

Rare dunite and 2-pyroxene gabbro xenoliths occur in banded trachyte at Puu Waawaa on Hualalai Volcano, Hawaii. Mineral compositions suggest that these xenoliths formed as cumulates of tholeiitic basalt at shallow depth in a subcaldera magma reservoir. Subsequently, the minerals in the xenoliths underwent subsolidus reequilibration that particularly affected chromite compositions by decreasing their Mg numbers. In addition, olivine lost CaO and plagioclase lost MgO and Fe2O3 during subsolidus reequilibration. The xenoliths also reacted with the host trachyte to form secondary mica, amphibole, and orthopyroxene, and to further modify the compositions of some olivine, clinopyroxene, and spinel grains. The reaction products indicate that the host trachyte melt was hydrous. Clinopyroxene in one dunite sample and olivine in most dunite samples have undergone partial melting, apparently in response to addition of water to the xenolith. These xenoliths do not contain CO2 fluid inclusions, so common in xenoliths from other localities on Hualalai, which suggests that CO2 was introduced from alkalic basalt magma between the time CO2-inclusion-free xenoliths erupted at 106±6 ka and the time CO2-inclusion-rich xenoliths erupted within the last 15 ka.

ESTIMATES of the MgO content of primary Hawaiian tholeiitic melts range from 8wt% to as high as 25wt%. In general, these estimates are derived from analysis of the whole-rock composition of lavas, coupled with the compositions of the most magnesian olivine phenocrysts observed. But the best estimate of magma composition comes from volcanic glass, as it represents the liquid composition at the time of quenching; minimal changes occur during the quenching process. Here we report the discovery of tholeiitic basalt glasses, recovered offshore of Kilauea volcano, that contain up to 15.0 wt% MgO. To our knowledge, these are the most magnesian glasses, and have the highest eruption temperatures (~ 1,316°C), yet found. The existence of these picritic (high-MgO) liquids provides constraints on the temperature structure of the upper mantle, magma transport and the material and thermal budgets of the Hawaiian volcanoes. Furthermore, picritic melts are affected little by magma-reservoir processes, and it is therefore relatively straightforward to extrapolate back to the composition of the primary melt and its volatile contents.

The submarine Mahukona Volcano, west of the island of Hawaii, is located on the Loa loci line between Kahoolawe and Hualalai Volcanoes. The west rift zone ridge of the volcano extends across a drowned coral reef at about-1150 m and a major slope break at about-1340 m, both of which represent former shoreines. The summit of the volcano apparently reached to about 250 m above sea level (now at-1100 m depth) did was surmounted by a roughly circular caldera. A econd rift zone probably extended toward the east or sutheast, but is completely covered by younger lavas from the adjacent subaerial volcanoes. Samples were vecovered from nine dredges and four submersible lives. Using subsidence rates and the compositions of flows which drape the dated shoreline terraces, we infer that the voluminous phase of tholeiitic shield growth ended about 470 ka, but tholeiitic eruptions continued until at least 435 ka. Basalt, transitional between tholeiitic and alkalic basalt, erupted at the end of tholeiitic volcanism, but no postshield-alkalic stage volcanism occurred. The summit of the volcano apparently subcided below sea level between 435 and 365 ka. The tholeiitic lavas recovered are compositionally diverse.

We present new volatile, trace element, and radiogenic isotopic compositions for rejuvenated-stage lavas erupted on Niihau and its submarine northwest flank. Niihau rejuvenated-stage Kiekie Basalt lavas are mildly alkalic and are isotopically similar to, though shifted to higher 87Sr/86Sr and lower 206Pb/204Pb than, rejuvenated-stage lavas erupted on other islands and marginal seafloor settings. Kiekie lavas display trace element heterogeneity greater than that of other rejuvenated-stage lavas, with enrichments in Ba, Sr, and light-rare earth elements resulting in high and highly variable Ba/Th and Sr/Ce. The high Ba/Th lavas are among the least silica-undersaturated of the rejuvenated-stage suite, implying that the greatest enrichments are associated with the largest extents of melting. Kiekie lavas also have high and variable H2O/Ce and Cl/La, up to 620 and 39, respectively. We model the trace element concentrations of most rejuvenated-stage lavas by small degrees (∼1% to 9%) of melting of depleted peridotite recently metasomatized by a few percent of an enriched incipient melt (0.5% melting) of the Hawaiian plume. Kiekie lavas are best explained by 4% to 13% partial melting of a peridotite source metasomatized by up to 0.2% carbonatite, similar in composition to oceanic carbonatites from the Canary and Cape Verde Islands, with lower proportion of incipient melt than that for other rejuvenated-stage lavas. Primary H2O and Cl of the carbonatite component must be high, but variability in the volatile data may be caused by heterogeneity in the carbonatite composition and/or interaction with seawater. Our model is consistent with predictions based on carbonated eclogite and peridotite melting experiments in which (1) carbonated eclogite and peridotite within the Hawaiian plume are the first to melt during plume ascent; (2) carbonatite melt metasomatizes plume and surrounding depleted peridotite; (3) as the plume rises, silica-undersaturated silicate melts are also produced and contribute to the metasomatic signature. The metasomatic component is best preserved at the margins of the plume, where low extents of melting of the metasomatized depleted mantle surrounding the plume are sampled during flexural uplift. Formation of carbonatite melts may provide a mechanism to transfer plume He to the margins of the plume.

[1] High-density, precisely located, dive and rock-corer basalt samples from the 65-km-long North Gorda ridge segment reveal compositional diversity as great as for the entire Gorda Ridge. Lava compositions along the ridge axis show considerable major and minor element diversity (MgO 9.2–4.4%, K2O 0.04–0.36%) for lavas erupted in close proximity. Although they form a near-continuum in the higher MgO range, the samples can be separated into two groups; one is typical N-type mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) (K2O/TiO2 0.09). Incompatible elements also reflect this grouping with (Ce/Yb)N 20 for N-MORB and (Ce/Yb)N > 1 and Zr/Nb 1.0–3.0). Arctic E-MORB compositions lie along a common mixing trend with those from North Gorda. As the magma budget and/or partial melting decreases, a similar enriched component, especially in K, Ba, and LREE, widely present in the oceanic mantle is apparently incorporated to a greater degree. At North Gorda, morphology and chemical characteristics appear to evolve with time toward that of ultraslow spreading ridges.

Side-looking sonar (GLORIA) mapping has revealed a series of four arcuate bands of high sonic backscatter on the crest of the Haleakala Ridge, a major rift-zone ridge extending 135 km east of the island of Maui. Dredge recovery indicates that the shallowest of these bands is a drowned coral reef, and the deeper bands are also inferred to be coral reefs. The reefs occur above a prominent submarine bench 1500–2500 m deep on the ridge (H-terrace) that marks the shoreline at the end of vigorous shield building of Haleakala volcano when lava flows ceased crossing and reworking the shoreline. Since their growth these reefs have subsided as much as 2200 m and have tilted systematically about 20 m/km southward as a result of post-reef volcanic loading on the island of Hawaii, whose center of mass is about directly south of the Haleakala Ridge. The 234U/238U age of the dredged coral is 750 ± 13 ka , in reasonable agreement with an age of 850 ka for the underlying H terrace previously estimated from its relationship to other dated reefs to the southwest. Basalt glass fragments dredged from the Haleakala Ridge below the H terrace are tholeiitic and contain high sulfur indicative of eruption in water deeper than 200 m. Basalt glass fragments associated with the reefs above the H terrace are dominantly tholeiitic and contain intermediate sulfur contents, indicative of subaqueous eruption in shallow, near-shore conditions. One alkalic glass fragment was recovered above the H terrace. These relations indicate that the morphologic end of shield building as recorded by construction of the H terrace was not accompanyed by a change from tholeiitic to alkalic basalt; instead tholeiite eruptions continued for some time before the erupted lava became alkalic.

The North Arch volcanic field is located north of Oahu on the Hawaiian Arch, a 200-m high flexural arch formed by loading of the Hawaiian Islands. These flood basalt flows cover an area of about 25, 000 km 2 ; the nearly flat-lying sheet-like flows extend about 100 km both north and south from the axis of the flexural arch. Samples from 26 locations in the volcanic field range in composition from nephelinite to alkalic basalt. Ages estimated from stratigraphy, thickness of sediment on top of the flows, and thickness of palagonite alteration rinds on the recovered lavas, range from about 0.75–0.9 Ma for the youngest lavas to somewhat older than 2.7 Ma for the oldest lavas. Most of the flow field consists of extensive sheetflows of dense basanite and alkalic basalt. Small hills consisting of pillow basalt and hyaloclastite of mainly nephelinite and alkalic basalt occur within the flow field but were not the source vents for the extensive flows. Many of the vent lavas are highly vesicular, apparently because of degassing of CO 2 . The lavas are geochemically similar to the rejuvenated-stage lavas of the Koloa and Honolulu Volcanics and were generated by partial melting of sources similar to those of the Koloa Volcanics. Prior to eruption, these magmas may have accumulated at or near the base of the lithosphere in a structural trap created by upbowing of the lithosphere.

Four new remotely operated vehicle dives carried out by Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) reveal a heterogeneous distribution of lithologies and compositions along a transect across the submarine west flank of Mauna Loa, from the outer scarp of the frontal bench to the upper flank. The frontal bench is composed predominantly of volcaniclastic sediments, ranging from very fine-grained monomictic hyaloclastites to coarse-grained, compositionally mixed volcaniclastic breccias. The predominance of subaerially derived clasts suggests accumulations of landslide deposits, probably emplaced along a regional shear plane preserved in cataclastic breccias with local foliations and grain trails. Repeated packages of inversely graded strata are interpreted to reflect thrust imbrication of the resulting volcaniclastic apron during volcanic spreading of Mauna Loa's western flank, similar to that now documented along Kīlauea's south flank. Many of the rocks from the bench show evidence for alteration, ranging from low-grade burial diagenesis to higher-grade hydrothermal alteration, including phases never before observed in submarine Hawaiian rocks, including epidote, talc, sphene, and corrensite. Alteration is concentrated in deformed zones, denoting pathways for fluid flow into or out of the volcanic edifice. Formed at depth, the altered rocks were subsequently transported along low-angle thrust faults into the bench and exposed along high-angle fractures and faults. The upper submarine flanks are draped by subaerially erupted, submarine emplaced pillow lavas and interbedded hyaloclastites, generated by shoreline-crossing lava flows. Basalt glasses indicate Mauna Loa origin but imply earlier compositions than present-day lavas, consistent with Ar-Ar ages suggesting eruption 0.28 ± 0.10 Ma. Late stage detachment of a nearshore slump produced the 'Ālika 2 debris avalanche that broke through the frontal bench, perhaps portending the evolution of the active Hilina slump now present on Kīlauea volcano's south flank.

Biodetection instrumentation that is capable of functioning effectively outside the controlled laboratory environment is critical for the detection of health threats, and is a crucial technology for Health Security. Experience in bringing technologies from the basic research laboratory to integrated fieldable instruments suggests lessons for the engineering of these systems. This overview will cover several classes of such devices, with examples from systems developed for homeland security missions by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). Recent trends suggest that front-end sample processing is becoming a critical performance-determining factor for many classes of fieldable biodetection devices. This paper introduces some results of a recent study that was undertaken to assess the requirements and potential technologies for next-generation integrated sample processing.

[1] Drowned coral reefs on rapidly subsiding margins possess a unique archive of sea level and climate changes, generally unavailable from stable or uplifting margins. Using available field observations and sedimentary, radiometric age, and numerical modeling data, we propose a new model of submerged reef development around Hawaii during the last two glacial cycles (250 kyr). This model provides a quantitative predictive stratigraphy for the reefs that we argue, if drilled, will yield new information on sea level and climate changes, as well as coral reef response over the last 250 kyr. Comparing the observational and numerical modeling data, combined with sensitivity testing, we present our “best case” scenario for the evolution of the drowned lowstand reefs now at −400 (H2) and −150 m (H1). We find that growth rates of 2.5–2.85 m/kyr for the main shallow reef building facies, a subsidence rate of 2.5 m/kyr, and a variable basement substrate configuration best explain the observational data. Modeling of the internal stratigraphic succession of the reefs shows that the number and thickness of shallow reef units, as well as the frequency and duration of subaerial exposure and reef-drowning events, are sensitive to the frequency and amplitude of eustatic sea level variations but not the rate of subaerial erosion. H2 and H1 initiated growth during stable eustatic sea level conditions during highstands circa 222 ka (MIS7) and circa 126 ka (MIS5e), respectively. Both H2 and H1 have a long and complex growth history, growing episodically for ∼90 kyr. Precessional (∼20 kyr) and higher-frequency, suborbital eustatic sea level fluctuations dominate, with each reef experiencing repeated but brief (