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Central aims of IODP Expedition 352 were to delineate and characterize the magmatic stratigraphy in the Bonin forearc to define key magmatic processes associated with subduction initiation and their potential links to ophiolites. Expedition 352 penetrated 1.2 km of magmatic basement at four sites and recovered three principal lithologies: tholeiitic forearc basalt (FAB), high-Mg andesite, and boninite, with subordinate andesite. Boninites are subdivided into basaltic, low-Si, and high-Si varieties. The purpose of this study is to determine conditions of crystal growth and differentiation for Expedition 352 lavas and compare and contrast these conditions with those recorded in lavas from mid-ocean ridges, forearcs, and ophiolites. Cr# (cationic Cr/Cr+Al) vs. TiO2 relations in spinel and clinopyroxene demonstrate a trend of source depletion with time for the Expedition 352 forearc basalt to boninite sequence that is similar to sequences in the Oman and other suprasubduction zone ophiolites. Clinopyroxene thermobarometry results indicate that FAB crystallized at temperatures (1142–1190 °C) within the range of MORB (1133–1240 °C). When taking into consideration liquid lines of descent of boninite, orthopyroxene barometry and olivine thermometry of Expedition 352 boninites demonstrate that they crystallized at temperatures marginally lower than those of FAB, between ~1119 and ~1202 °C and at relatively lower pressure (~0.2–0.4 vs. 0.5–4.6 kbar for FAB). Elevated temperatures of boninite orthopyroxene (~1214 °C for low-Si boninite and 1231–1264 °C for high-Si boninite) may suggest latent heat produced by the rapid crystallization of orthopyroxene. The lower pressure of crystallization of the boninite may be explained by their lower density and hence higher ascent rate, and shorter distance of travel from place of magma formation to site of crystallization, which allowed the more buoyant and faster ascending boninites to rise to shallower levels before crystallizing, thus preserving their high temperatures.

Boninites are rare, high-Si, high-Mg, low-Ti lavas that have considerable tectonic significance, especially for recognizing and interpreting episodes of subduction initiation in the geologic record. Formal identification and classification of boninites may be carried out using MgO-SiO2 and MgO-TiO2 diagrams to find compositions that satisfy modified International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) criteria of Si8 > 52 and Ti8 < 0.5, where Si8 and Ti8 refer to concentrations of the oxides at 8 wt% MgO. However, screening of highly metasomatized rocks and accurate classification require precautions, including normalization to a 100% volatile-free basis. The MgO-SiO2 diagram can also be used for subdivision into low-Si boninites (Si8 < 57) and high-Si boninites (Si8 > 57). Satisfying one but not both of the boninite criteria are rocks with Si8 > 52 but Ti8 ≥ 0.5 (siliceous high-magnesium basalts) and rocks with Si8 ≤ 52 but Ti8 < 0.5 (low-Ti basalts). We tested the classification methodologies using ∼100 low-Ti lava suites dating from the present-day back to the Eoarchean. We conclude that, of those classifying as “boninite series,” Izu-Bonin-Mariana arc–type subduction initiation terranes provide the dominant setting only back as far as ca. 2 Ga, which marks the maximum age of extensive clinopyroxene-undersaturated melting and eruption of high-Si boninites. From 2 to 3 Ga, most boninites formed in intraplate settings by melting of refertilized, depleted cratonic roots. Prior to 3 Ga, hot, depleted mantle plumes provided the main boninite sources. Nonetheless, arc-basin boninites, though rare, do extend back to 3.8 Ga, and, together with the inherited subduction component in intracratonic boninites, they provide evidence for some form of subduction during the Archean.

The association of deep-sea trenches—steeply angled, planar zones where earthquakes occur deep into Earth’s interior—and chains, or arcs, of active, explosive volcanoes had been recognized for 90 years prior to the development of plate tectonic theory in the 1960s. Oceanic lithosphere is created at mid-ocean ridge spreading centers and recycled into the mantle at subduction zones, where down-going lithospheric plates dynamically sustain the deep-sea trenches. Study of subduction zone initiation is a challenge because evidence of the processes involved is typically destroyed or buried by later tectonic and crust-forming events. In 2014 and 2017, the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) specifically targeted these processes with three back-to-back expeditions to the archetypal Izu-Bonin-Mariana (IBM) intra-oceanic arcs and one expedition to the Tonga-Kermadec (TK) system. Both subduction systems were initiated ~52 million years ago, coincident with a proposed major change of Pacific plate motion. These expeditions explored the tectonism preceding and accompanying subduction initiation and the characteristics of the earliest crust-forming magmatism. Lack of compressive uplift in the overriding plate combined with voluminous basaltic seafloor magmatism in an extensional environment indicates a large component of spontaneous subduction initiation was involved for the IBM. Conversely, a complex range of far-field uplift and depression accompanied the birth of the TK system, indicative of a more distal forcing of subduction initiation. Future scientific ocean drilling is needed to target the three-dimensional aspects of these processes at new converging margins.

International audience

This article is a companion to Shervais et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GC009093 .

Application of retardation filters has revolutionized the use of multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICPMS) for the measurement of U-series disequilibria. Here, we present an evaluation of the application of retardation energy filters coupled with ion counting detectors for the measurement of U-series disequilibria by MC-ICPMS. We show that: 1) The RPQ minimizes backgrounds caused by ions experiencing irregular flight paths at high masses of uranium series nuclides. This reduced background is important for low count rate measurements and has enabled us to develop an improved method for the determination of 226Ra/228Ra ratios using a dual SEM/RPQ collector block. 2) Systematic biases exist for isotope ratios of 234U/238U and 230Th/232Th without the use of RPQs; thus, the RPQ is important for measurement of both of these isotope ratios. 3) That the RPQ makes possible 210Pb measurements in geologic samples using MC-ICPMS, but that this application is limited to samples that have low common Pb, such as carbonates and silica sinter. Additionally, we present mass spectrometric and gamma counting data for U-Th-Ra disequilibria in rock standard reference materials including AGV-2, AThO, BCR-1, BCR-2, BHVO-2, BIR-1a, DTS-1, PCC-1, RGM-2, TML, and W-2a. Comparing this new data with values from published literature enables us to provide consensus or recommended values for U, Th, and 226Ra concentrations and 230Th/232Th ratios for each of these standards. We note that this is the first compilation of recommended radium concentrations for rock standard reference materials.

The Izu–Bonin–Mariana (IBM) forearc contains a record of a widespread and short-lived subduction initiation event in the early Eocene. We present new high-precision ages to determine the rates and length scales of ocean crust production following subduction initiation along the IBM convergent margin. We also explore the implications of these ages for potential causes of subduction initiation and its far-field effects. Zircons extracted from gabbros collected by Shinkai 6500 diving within the ophiolitic sequence exposed in the outer Bonin and Mariana forearcs give crystallization ages (±2σ) of 51.94 ± 0.13 Ma and 51.81 ± 0.03 Ma, respectively, consistent with a near-synchronous seafloor spreading after initiation of subduction along the entire length of the IBM system. 40Ar/39Ar ages of forearc basalts (51.34 ± 0.78 Ma) and boninites (51.27 ± 0.09 Ma to 50.33 ± 0.55 Ma) cored upslope of the Bonin sample gabbro during IODP Expedition 352 further reveal that the outer forearc comprises oceanic lithosphere with MORB to boninite compositions created by seafloor spreading during a remarkably short time period of 0.6–2 Myr at a full-rate of c. 70 mm/yr. This time period is consistent with those of some well-dated ophiolites. Thus, near-trench seafloor spreading to form basalt then boninite lithosphere is an extensive, rapid, but short-lived process after subduction initiation.

Plate tectonics requires the formation of plate boundaries. Particularly important is the enigmatic initiation of subduction: the sliding of one plate below the other, and the primary driver of plate tectonics. A continuous, in situ record of subduction initiation was recovered by the International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 352, which drilled a segment of the fore-arc of the Izu-Bonin-Mariana subduction system, revealing a distinct magmatic progression with a rapid timescale (approximately 1 million years). Here, using numerical models, we demonstrate that these observations cannot be produced by previously proposed horizontal external forcing. Instead a geodynamic evolution that is dominated by internal, vertical forces produces both the temporal and spatial distribution of magmatic products, and progresses to self-sustained subduction. Such a primarily internally driven initiation event is necessarily whole-plate scale and the rock sequence generated (also found along the Tethyan margin) may be considered as a smoking gun for this type of event.

International audience; Subduction initiation is one of the least understood aspects of plate tectonics. In an effort to obtain the first in situ magmatic record of subduction initiation, the International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 352 drilled at four sites in the inner trench wall of the Bonin Trench to recover 1.22 km of oceanic upper crust accreted within a few m.y. of subduction initiation. The two sites nearer to the trench (U1440 and U1441) yielded axial and off-axis fore-arc basalts (FAB), while those c. 15 km further from the trench (U1439 and U1442) yielded axial low-silica boninites and high-Mg andesites overlain by off-axis high-silica boninites. This study uses Hf–Nd–Sr–Pb isotope analyses from c. 50 stratigraphically representative core samples to trace the evolution of the mantle source during the brief period of FAB-through-boninite magmatism immediately following subduction initiation. Results show that: 1) the FAB have high εHf relative to εNd and were derived from variably depleted mantle of ‘Indian’ provenance with no detectable subduction input; 2) the axial boninites follow mixing trends between a residual FAB mantle source and a subduction component derived from shallow (amphibolite facies) melting of oceanic crust of ‘Pacific’ provenance; and 3) the off-axis boninites define mixing trends between a hybrid mantle wedge (residual mantle + slab melt) and an additional subduction component with lower εNd and higher 207Pb/204Pb that requires a significant contribution from pelagic sediment. This incoming of pelagic sediments may signify a change from an accretionary to non-accretionary margin as subduction evolves. The results thus indicate a rapidly evolving system in terms of geodynamics, magma genesis and crustal accretion immediately following subduction initiation.

International audience; nternational Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 352 recovered a high-fidelity record of volcanism related to subduction initiation in the Bonin fore-arc. Two sites (U1440 and U1441) located in deep water nearer to the trench recovered basalts and related rocks; two sites (U1439 and U1442) located in shallower water further from the trench recovered boninites and related rocks. Drilling in both areas ended in dolerites inferred to be sheeted intrusive rocks. The basalts apparently erupted immediately after subduction initiation and have compositions similar to those of the most depleted basalts generated by rapid sea-floor spreading at mid-ocean ridges, with little or no slab input. Subsequent melting to generate boninites involved more depleted mantle and hotter and deeper subducted components as subduction progressed and volcanism migrated away from the trench. This volcanic sequence is akin to that recorded by many ophiolites, supporting a direct link between subduction initiation, fore-arc spreading, and ophiolite genesis.

Injection of volatile-rich mafic magma prior to an eruption may trigger episodes of volcanism and can act to transfer metals from depth. However, petrologic knowledge of the timescales from mafic injection to eruption have thus far been focussed on mineral-scale studies of chemical zoning patterns. The study of mafic enclaves dispersed within eruption products can provide insights into the interaction between deep and shallow reservoirs. We combine 238U-230Th-226Ra-210Pb isotope data with trace element concentrations across the interface of two contrasting mafic enclaves in contact with their host andesite from the 2010 eruption at Soufrière Hills Volcano (SHV), Montserrat to investigate the history of mass exchange between the mafic enclave and the andesite host. The application of these time-sensitive isotopes highlights complexities in the transfer of volatiles and metal elements between magmas and the enclaves' potential as eruption triggers. The enclaves exhibit (210Pb/226Ra)0 ratios >1 consistent with volatile input to the subsurface plumbing system a few decades prior to eruption. Samples of the andesitic host, however, which make up the bulk of the eruptive products, have (210Pb/226Ra)0 ≤ 1 suggesting no net volatile gain in the decades leading up to eruption, or that melt-volatile interaction is on a timescale unresolvable by 210Pbsingle bond226Ra systematics (i.e.

The Izu‐Bonin‐Mariana (IBM) fore arc preserves igneous rock assemblages that formed during subduction initiation circa 52 Ma. International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 352 cored four sites in the fore arc near the Ogasawara Plateau in order to document the magmatic response to subduction initiation and the physical, petrologic, and chemical stratigraphy of a nascent subduction zone. Two of these sites (U1440 and U1441) are underlain by fore‐arc basalt (FAB). FABs have mid‐ocean ridge basalt (MORB)‐like compositions, however, FAB are consistently lower in the high‐field strength elements (TiO2, P2O5, Zr) and Ni compared to MORB, with Na2O at the low end of the MORB field and FeO* at the high end. Almost all FABs are light rare earth element depleted, with low total REE, and have low ratios of highly incompatible to less incompatible elements (Ti/V, Zr/Y, Ce/Yb, and Zr/Sm) relative to MORB. Chemostratigraphic trends in Hole U1440B are consistent with the uppermost lavas forming off axis, whereas the lower lavas formed beneath a spreading center axis. Axial magma of U1440B becomes more fractionated upsection; overlying off‐axis magmas return to more primitive compositions. Melt models require a two‐stage process, with early garnet field melts extracted prior to later spinel field melts, with up to 23% melting to form the most depleted compositions. Mantle equilibration temperatures are higher than normal MORB (1,400 °C–1,480 °C) at relatively low pressures (1–2 GPa), which may reflect an influence of the Manus plume during subduction initiation. Our data support previous models of FAB origin by decompression melting but imply a source more depleted than normal MORB source mantle., Key Points Fore‐arc basalts (FABs) formed by decompression melting in response to subduction initiation and differ from mid‐ocean ridge basaltsFABs form by two‐stage melting, with early garnet field melts extracted prior to spinel field melting, resulting in LREE/HREE depletionHighly depleted FAB may reflect both an older depletion event and higher ambient temperatures related to the Manus plume

Arc basalts have a higher proportion of Fe in an oxidized state (Fe^(3+)) relative to Fe^(2+) compared to mid-oceanic ridge basalts (MORBs), likely because slab-derived fluids oxidize the mantle wedge where subduction zone magmas originate. Yet, the time scales over which oxygen fugacity of the mantle wedge changes during subduction initiation and margin evolution are unknown. Fe speciation ratios show that magmas produced during the early stages of subduction in the Mariana arc record oxygen fugacities ∼2× more oxidized than MORB. Mantle wedge oxygen fugacity rises by ∼1.3 orders of magnitude as slab fluids become more involved in melt generation processes, reaching conditions essentially equivalent to the modern arc in just 2–4 m.y. These results constrain existing models for the geochemical evolution of the mantle wedge and suggest that oxidation commences upon subduction initiation and matures rapidly in the portions of the mantle wedge that produce melts. This further implies that sulfide or other reduced phases are not present in the mantle wedge in high enough abundance to prevent oxidation of the magmas that form upon subduction initiation. The arc mantle source is oxidized for the majority of a subduction zone’s lifetime, influencing the mobility of multivalent elements during recycling, the degassing of oxidized volcanic volatiles, and the mechanisms for generating continental crust from the immediate onset of subduction.

We present new U-238-Th-230-Ra-226-Pb-210-Po-210, Sr-87/(86) Sr and Nd-143/(144) Nd isotopic data of whole-rock samples and plagioclase separates from volcanic deposits of the 2006 and 2010 eruptions at Merapi volcano, Java, Indonesia. These data are combined with available eruption monitoring, petrographic, mineralogical and Pb isotopic data to assess current theories on the cause of a recent transition from effusive dome-building (2006) to explosive (2010) activity at the volcano, as well as to further investigate the petrogenetic components involved in magma genesis and evolution. Despite the significant difference in eruption style, the 2006 and 2010 volcanic rocks show no significant difference in (U-238/(232) Th), (Th-230/Th-232) and ((226)-Ra/ Th-230) activity ratios, with all samples displaying U and Ra excesses. The Ra-226 and Pb-210 excesses observed in plagioclase separates from the 2006 and 2010 eruptions indicate that a proportion of the plagioclase grew within the decades preceding eruption. The 2006 and 2010 samples were depleted in Po-210 relative to Pb-210 ((Po-210/Pb-210)(i) < 1) at the time of eruption but were variably degassed (69%-100%), with the degree of Pb-210 degassing strongly related to sample texture and eruption phase. In good agreement with several activity monitoring parameters, Po-210 ingrowth calculations suggest that initial intrusion into the shallow magma plumbing system occurred several weeks to a few months prior to the initial 2010 eruption. The 2006 and 2010 samples show a wide range in (Pb-210/Ra-226) activity ratio within a single eruption at Merapi and are largely characterised by Pb-210 deficits ((Pb-210/Ra-226) < 1). Assuming a model of complete radon degassing, the 210 Pb deficits in the 2006 volcanic rocks indicate relatively longer degassing timescales of similar to 2-4 years than those given by the 2010 samples of similar to 0-3 years. The uranium-series and radiogenic isotopic data do not support greater crustal assimilation of carbonate material as the explanation for the more explosive behaviour of Merapi in 2010 (as has been previously suggested) and instead indicate that relatively rapid ascent of a more undegassed magma was the primary difference responsible for the transition in explosive behaviour. This interpretation is in good agreement with gas monitoring data, previous petrological studies (mineral, microlite and melt inclusion work) and maximum calculated timescale estimates using Fe-Mg compositional gradients in clinopyroxene, that also suggest more rapid movement of relatively undegassed magma in 2010 relative to 2006.

We present new 238U-230Th-226Ra-210Pb and supporting data for young lavas from southwest Pacific island arcs, Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland, and Terceira, Azores. The arc lavas have significant 238U and 226Ra excesses, whereas those from the ocean islands have moderate 230Th and 226Ra excesses, reflecting mantle melting in the presence of a water-rich fluid in the former and mantle melting by decompression in the latter. Differentiation to erupted compositions in both settings appears to have taken no longer than a few millennia. Variations in the (210Pb/226Ra)0 values in all settings largely result from degassing processes rather than mineral-melt partitioning. Like most other ocean island basalts, the Terceira basalt has a 210Pb deficit, which we attribute to ~8.5 years of steady 222Rn loss to a CO2-rich volatile phase while it traversed the crust. Lavas erupted from water-laden magma systems, including those investigated here, commonly have near equilibrium (210Pb/226Ra)0 values. Maintaining these equilibrium values requires minimal persistent loss or accumulation of 222Rn in a gas phase. We infer that degassing during decompression of water-saturated magmas either causes these magmas to crystallize and stall in reservoirs where they reside under conditions of near stasis, or to quickly rise towards the surface and erupt.

The forearc of the southern Mariana arc preserves igneous suites formed during the initiation of subduction between the Pacific and Philippine Sea plates about 50 Ma ago. We have studied rare suites of gabbroic to tonalitic plutonic rocks dredged from two locations in the Mariana forearc by cruise by University of Hawai'i cruise KK81-06-26. Comparison of the chemical and isotopic (Sr, Nd, Pb, and Hf) characteristics of these rocks with well-studied volcanics from the forearc reveals that the plutonics from dredge RD63 and RD64 are chemically related to boninites erupted at 48–43 Ma. This is the first report of boninite-like plutonics in the southern Mariana trench. These suites have trace element characteristics consistent with island arc settings (U/Th: 0.58–1.44, Nb/La: 0.18–0.79) and other features uniquely connected with boninites: TiO2 25. RD63 plutonics resemble nearby boninite volcanics and were likely derived from differentiated boninite magma with 58% SiO2, forming gabbro by crystal accumulation, diorite and quartz diorite by crystallization, and tonalite by crystallization and/or partial melting. The RD64 suite (gabbro through tonalite) may have had a more depleted magma source and formed by accumulation and crystallization only. Although the physical dimensions of the plutonic body are unknown, the relationship with boninites indicates that felsic intrusives can form during early stages of island arc development. Such rocks could form part of midcrustal low-velocity layers detected in arc crust by seismic studies. Tonalites similar to those studied here are also found in some ophiolites.

Mafic enclaves brought to the surface in volcanic eruptions offer insight into the deeper sections of a volcanic plumbing system, where the degree of interaction between deeper, mafic magma and the magma reservoir directly feeding a volcanic edifice is not well-constrained. At Soufriere Hills Volcano (SHV) on the island of Montserrat, Lesser Antilles, mafic enclaves have been a ubiquitous feature of the andesitic eruptions during the five phases of the 1995-2010 eruption. We use the short-lived isotopes 210Pb and 226Ra within the Uranium series decay chain, which are sensitive to volatile transfer and loss (due to the loss or gain of the intermediary daughter 222Rn), in both the enclaves and the host andesite to reveal significant time-related information. The sequentially erupted andesites are almost entirely in equilibrium or have deficits of 210Pb with the deficits becoming more pronounced over several eruptive phases. We model that the andesitic reservoirs involved were subject to continuous volatile loss both before and during the eruption. The majority of enclaves, however, have excesses of 210Pb, showing volatile enrichment that lasted over a decade. The highest (210Pb/226Ra)0 ratios are from enclaves in Phase II, indicating that the deeper mafic system was closed to fresh gas influx from Phase III onwards. Enclaves are modelled as being sporadically entrained in the andesite prior to eruption, suggesting that enclave formation is not a triggering mechanism for each eruptive phase.

The southernmost Mariana forearc stretched to accommodate opening of the Mariana Trough backarc basin in late Neogene time, erupting basalts at 3.7–2.7 Ma that are now exposed in the Southeast Mariana Forearc Rift (SEMFR). Today, SEMFR is a broad zone of extension that formed on hydrated, forearc lithosphere and overlies the shallow subducting slab (slab depth ≤ 30–50 km). It comprises NW–SE trending subparallel deeps, 3–16 km wide, that can be traced ≥ ∼30 km from the trench almost to the backarc spreading center, the Malaguana-Gadao Ridge (MGR). While forearcs are usually underlain by serpentinized harzburgites too cold to melt, SEMFR crust is mostly composed of Pliocene, low-K basaltic to basaltic andesite lavas that are compositionally similar to arc lavas and backarc basin (BAB) lavas, and thus defines a forearc region that recently witnessed abundant igneous activity in the form of seafloor spreading. SEMFR igneous rocks have low Na8, Ti8, and Fe8, consistent with extensive melting, at ∼23 ± 6.6 km depth and 1239 ± 40°C, by adiabatic decompression of depleted asthenospheric mantle metasomatized by slab-derived fluids. Stretching of pre-existing forearc lithosphere allowed BAB-like mantle to flow along the SEMFR and melt, forming new oceanic crust. Melts interacted with pre-existing forearc lithosphere during ascent. The SEMFR is no longer magmatically active and post-magmatic tectonic activity dominates the rift.

Article history: The Mariana fore-arc southeast of Guam consists of ophiolitic lithologies related to subduction initiation and early-arc development. Ages of zircons extracted from gabbroic rocks within this sequence are 51.5 ± 0.7 Ma, synchronous with similar rocks from the Bonin fore-arc 1700 km to the north. Basalts collected from the Izu fore-arc are similar to those of the Bonin and Mariana fore-arcs extending the distance of this ophiolitic geology to the entire 3000 km length of the IBM fore-arc. The Tonga fore-arc has similar lithologies and ages, suggesting that subduction began nearly simultaneously along much of the western margin of the Pacific plate. We postulate that closing of the Tethyan suture provided the trigger for subduction initiation in the Western Pacific. The volume of basalt erupted near western Pacific trenches associated with subduction initiation and early-arc development in the early Eocene could rival the volumes of large igneous provinces. The eruption of these basalts corresponds with the height of the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO), when global atmospheric temperatures were likely at or near their Cenozoic maximum. Therefore, CO2 vented during this volcanism as well as that associated with the North Atlantic Igneous Province, the Siletzia terrane, and slab rollback and detachment beneath central and east Asia were likely responsible for the EECO.

Short-lived uranium-series isotope data from rocks erupted under explosive and effusive regimes are presented and used to provide constraints on the timescales of magmatic degassing and volatile fluxing during the 1999 and 2000 AD eruption of Mt. Cameroon. In contrast to the relatively homogenous major and trace element data of the analysed rocks, volcanic rocks from Mt. Cameroon reveal a spread of 230 Th– 226 Ra isotope data. Volcanic rocks erupted along the southwest rift in 1999 have ( 226 Ra/ 230 Th) ratios of ~ 1.25, whereas rocks erupted more axially in 2000 have relatively low ( 226 Ra/ 230 Th) ratios of 1.09–1.2 and concomitant low Ba/Th ratios. These differences imply separate magma chamber systems and probably reflect differences in the concentrations of water within the primary magmas, which led to different amounts of amphibole fractionation at depth. Variations in the ( 210 Pb/ 226 Ra) 0 ratios are used to track degassing or volatile accumulation within the magma system. The near equilibrium ( 210 Pb/ 226 Ra) values for effusively erupted rocks from Mt. Cameroon suggest that this magma resided for more than several decades and less than a few thousand years before it erupted. The small excesses of 210 Pb over 226 Ra in some samples indicate that some of this magma was fluxed by a Rn-bearing gaseous phase for weeks to years before the eruption. In contrast, most explosively erupted rocks from Mt. Cameroon have deficits of 210 Pb relative to 226 Ra that require years to decades of degassing before eruption. We suggest that the magmas erupted as scoria at Mt. Cameroon degassed as they rose from lithospheric depths. Deep degassing was CO 2 -dominated, whereas shallower magma degassing involved more water and crystallisation of an anhydrous mineral assemblage.

No young, off-axis, mid-ocean ridge lavas have yet been directly linked to underlying off-axis melt bodies. In this study, we present new measurements of 238 U– 230 Th– 226 Ra– 210 Pb isotope compositions for a suite of lavas from the overlapping spreading center (OSC) at 9°03′N on the East Pacific Rise (EPR). These lavas span a large range of compositions, from basalt to dacite, and include both axial and off-axis samples recovered from a prominent, axis-parallel pillow ridge and a flat-topped seamount that overlie the westernmost extent of a 4-km-wide melt lens ( Kent et al., 2000 ). We report 210 Pb excesses in axial basalts and basaltic andesites, which we suggest results from gas-magma fractionation of 222 Rn from 226 Ra beneath dacite magmas. In addition, our U-series ages agree with visual observations, indicating that while most recent volcanic activity occurs at the spreading axis, active volcanism also occurs away from the axis. Specifically, the off-axis pillow ridge and seamount samples overlying the off-axis subsurface melt body have eruption ages of less than 8 ka, and likely as young as 1 ka, despite being located on crust that has a spreading age of ~75 ka. The young ages of these lavas, combined with existing geological, geochemical and geophysical constraints, provide evidence for a genetic link between the pillow ridge and seamount lavas and the seismically imaged, underlying off-axis melt lens. This link demonstrates that off-axis volcanism does not necessarily come from a sub-axial magma body and can be sourced directly from off-axis magma bodies.

Articulating a comprehensive plate-tectonic theory requires understanding how new subduction zones form (subduction initiation). Because subduction initiation is a tectonomagmatic singularity with few active examples, reconstructing subduction initiation is challenging. The lithosphere of many intra-oceanic forearcs preserves a high-fidelity magmatic and stratigraphic record of subduction initiation. We have heretofore been remarkably ignorant of this record, because the “naked forearcs” that expose subduction initiation crustal sections are distant from continents and lie in the deep trenches, and it is difficult and expensive to study and sample this record via dredging, diving, and drilling. Studies of the Izu-Bonin-Mariana convergent margin indicate that subduction initiation there was accompanied by seafloor spreading in what ultimately became the forearc of the new convergent margin. Izu-Bonin-Mariana subduction initiation encompassed ∼7 m.y. for the complete transition from initial seafloor spreading and eruption of voluminous mid-ocean-ridge basalts (forearc basalts) to normal arc volcanism, perhaps consistent with how long it might take for slowly subsiding lithosphere to sink ∼100 km deep and for mantle motions to evolve from upwelling beneath the infant arc to downwelling beneath the magmatic front. Many ophiolites have chemical features that indicate formation above a convergent plate margin, and most of those formed in forearcs, where they were well positioned to be tectonically emplaced on land when buoyant crust jammed the associated subduction zone. We propose a strategy to better understand forearcs and thus subduction initiation by studying ophiolites, which preserve the magmatic stratigraphy, as seen in the Izu-Bonin-Mariana forearc; we call these “subduction initiation rule” ophiolites. This understanding opens the door for on-land geologists to contribute fundamentally to understanding subduction initiation.

Several varieties of seafloor hydrothermal vents with widely varying fluid compositions and temperatures and vent communities occur in different tectonic settings. The discovery of the Lost City hydrothermal field in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge has stimulated interest in the role of serpentinization of peridotite in generating H 2 - and CH 4 -rich fluids and associated carbonate chimneys, as well as in the biological communities supported in highly reduced, alkaline environments. Abundant vesicomyid clam communities associated with a serpentinite-hosted hydrothermal vent system in the southern Mariana forearc were discovered during a DSV Shinkai 6500 dive in September 2010. We named this system the “Shinkai Seep Field (SSF).” The SSF appears to be a serpentinite-hosted ecosystem within a forearc (convergent margin) setting that is supported by fault-controlled fluid pathways connected to the decollement of the subducting slab. The discovery of the SSF supports the prediction that serpentinite-hosted vents may be widespread on the ocean floor. The discovery further indicates that these serpentinite-hosted low-temperature fluid vents can sustain high-biomass communities and has implications for the chemical budget of the oceans and the distribution of abyssal chemosynthetic life.

The Bonin Ridge and trench slope preserves the geological record of subduction initiation and subsequent evolution of the Izu–Bonin–Mariana (IBM) arc. Diving and dredging in this region has revealed a bottom to top stratigraphy of: 1) mantle peridotite, 2) gabbroic rocks, 3) a sheeted dyke complex, 4) basaltic pillow lavas, 5) boninites and magnesian andesites, 6) tholeiites and calcalkaline arc lavas. This forearc stratigraphy is remarkably similar to that found in other IBM forearc localities and many ophiolites. Zircon U–Pb ages obtained here for gabbros are 51.6–51.7 Ma. The overlying basalts have 40Ar/39Ar ages of 48–52 Ma. A forearc basalt from the Mariana forearc near Guam produced a similar 40Ar/39Ar age of 51.1 Ma. The collective geochronology of igneous rocks from throughout the IBM system now indicates that the first basaltic magmatism at subduction initiation was produced by decompression melting of the mantle and took place at 51–52 Ma. The change to flux melting and boninitic volcanism took 2–4 m.y., and the change to flux melting in counterflowing mantle and “Normal” arc magmatism took 7–8 m.y. This evolution from subduction initiation to arc normalcy occurred nearly simultaneously along the entire length of the IBM subduction system. Mesozoic rocks found in the deep Bonin forearc suggest that the overriding plate at subduction initiation consisted of Mesozoic terranes and subduction preceded the opening of most or all of the Philippine Sea basins. The contemporaneousness of IBM forearc magmatism with the major change in plate motion in Western Pacific at ca. 50 Ma suggests that the two events are intimately linked.

The silica-undersaturated Nyiragongo volcanics, located in the East African Rift, have globally unique chemical compositions and unusually low viscosities, only higher than carbonatite lavas, for terrestrial silicate magmas. We report 238U-230Th-226Ra-210Pb series disequilibria in 13 recent and prehistoric lava samples from Nyiragongo including those from the 2002 flank eruption and a 2003 lava lake sample. (230Th/238U) ranges from 0.90 to 0.97 in the recent lavas and from 0.94 to 1.09 in the prehistoric lavas. To explain the variable 230Th and 238U excesses in these lavas, we hypothesize that different processes with opposite effects in terms of fractionating Th/U in the mantle source are involved. These processes include: 1) low degree partial melting of a phlogopite-bearing mantle source (consistent with low K/Rb) with residual garnet (consistent with high chondrite-normalized Dy/Yb), to produce the observed 230Th excesses; and, 2) carbonate metasomatism for the 238U enrichment, consistent with high Zr/Hf in the Nyiragongo lavas. The Nyiragongo volcanics have higher (230Th/232Th) values than observed in most mantle-derived rocks, especially ocean-island basalts, suggesting that their mantle source was affected by carbonate metasomatism less than 300 ka ago. Several Nyiragongo samples display significant 226Ra excesses implying rapid magma transport (less than 8 ka) from the mantle source to the surface. Modeling the observed (226Ra/230Th) versus Zr/Hf correlation in the lavas indicates that the 2002, 2003 and a few prehistoric lavas incorporated 50–60% of a carbonate-metasomatized mantle source while the other prehistoric lavas show 10–22% contribution of this source. This result indicates that the Nyiragongo lavas were derived from a heterogeneous, non-uniformly carbonated mantle source. The 2002 lava shows (210Pb/226Ra) equilibrium, whereas the 2003 lava lake sample shows initial (210Pb/226Ra)

Measurements of 226Ra–210Pb disequilibria in eruptive products have the potential to track the accumulation or loss of volatiles in magmatic systems on timescales of decades because the intermediate nuclide, 222Rn, follows the gas phase. We present measurements of 210Pb–226Ra disequilibria for whole-rock samples representing a time sequence of tephra through the June 15, 1991 cataclysmic eruption of Mount Pinatubo volcano, Philippines. Mount Pinatubo volcano is a dacitic system that did not significantly vent gases at the surface prior to eruption, and we can, therefore, isolate the 210Pb–226Ra disequilibria due to gas accumulation without complications due to 222Rn loss during degassing. Pyroclastic samples have (210Pb)/(226Ra)0 ranging from 1.01 to 1.10; averaging 1.06. A sample of the post-climactic dome has (210Pb)/(226Ra)0 = 1.12. Previous uranium-series degassing studies have suggested that 210Pb excesses are created by rapid volatile transport (carrying the intermediate daughter 222Rn) and subsequent volatile accumulation and decay of 222Rn to 210Pb. However, bubbles in viscous dacite magma cannot rise at speeds needed to provide a flux of 222Rn large enough to cause measurable disequilibria in the 210Pb–226Ra system. In addition, there is little evidence for magmatic sources large enough to supply a rapid flux of 222Rn. Therefore, we present a model in which 210Pb–226Ra disequilibria is established during basaltic recharge of the Pinatubo reservoir. The relatively low viscosity of basaltic magma allows for differential gas motion and the production of 210Pb excess in localized basaltic melt. Transport of volatiles and 210Pb-rich basalt through a crystal matrix and the formation of bubble plumes in the dacitic reservoir produces a mixed magma with 210Pb excess. Through this mechanism, the timescale of gas transport and accumulation is constrained, not by the half-life of 222Rn (3.8 days), but rather by the half-life of 210Pb (22.6 years). Bubble plume motion preserves disequilibria and creates a zone of eruptable dacite with 210Pb excess alleviating the need for gas transport on very short time-scales. Using the rate of decay of 210Pb coupled with published trace element data, we present a quantitative investigation of this new conceptual model and propose that changes in 210Pb values with time may suggest changing conditions of magma supply at volcanoes.

Phonolite pumice found floating offshore of Tristan da Cunha following intense seismic activity southeast of the island July 29–30, 2004 was analyzed for 238U- and 232Th-series nuclides to determine initial 230Th, 226Ra, 210Pb, 210Po, 228Ra, and 228Th activities. The initial (210Po/210Pb) value of 0.15 for the phonolite shows that, like most subaerial lavas, this subaqueous tephra degassed most of its 210Po upon eruption. The (230Th/232Th) and (238U/232Th) values for the phonolite are similar to those of the trachyandesites erupted in 1961 from Tristan da Cunha. However, the relative activities of 210Pb, 226Ra, and 230Th in the phonolite contrast with those of the trachyandesites, in that 210Pb and 230Th are both strongly enriched with respect to 226Ra. In addition, the phonolite had a small deficit in 228Ra with respect to 232Th. The Ra deficits likely resulted from partitioning into feldspars and hornblende in a time frame that extended over several decades to a century. These disequilibria can be explained by crystal fractionation at a decreasing rate through time at an average of 3–5 × 10−3 year−1. The calculated crystallization rate is about an order of magnitude faster than has been calculated for most other phonolites and trachytes, and about half that calculated for crystallization of the Makaopuhi lava lake. These data imply that the 2004 magma was not the differentiated cap of a much larger body that remained at depth. Instead, it was likely the residue of a relatively small body of more mafic magma that was injected into the crust southeast Tristan and underwent extensive and rapid crystal fractionation before it erupted.

An 40 Ar/ 39 Ar age of 45·1 Ma determined for lavas from northern Saipan confirms that these high-silica rhyolites erupted during the ‘proto-arc’ stage of volcanism in the Izu-Bonin-Mariana system, which is characterized elsewhere by eruption of boninitic lavas. Incompatible trace element concentrations and Sr, Hf, Nd, and Pb isotope ratios for these rhyolites are transitional between those of c. 48 Ma boninitic lavas and post-38 Ma ‘first-arc’ andesites and dacites from Saipan and Rota that have typical subduction-related compositions. These transitional compositions are modeled by crystal fractionation of parental tholeiitic basalt combined with assimilation of young boninitic crust. A second stage of Rayleigh fractionation in the upper crust is required by SiO 2 concentrations that exceed 77 wt % and near-zero compatible element concentrations. First-arc magma compositions are consistent with fractionation of basalt and assimilation of crust similar in composition to the first-arc magmas themselves. The mantle sources of the proto-arc and first-arc lavas from Saipan and Rota are similar to those of Philippine back-arc basin basalts based on Nd and Hf isotopic compositions. The Pb isotope compositions of these lavas are between those of Pacific sea-floor basalts and Jurassic and younger cherty and clay-rich sediments. This contrasts with the boninitic proto-arc volcanic rocks from Guam and Deep Sea Drilling Project Sites 458 and 459 that have Pb isotope compositions similar to Pacific basin basalts and volcaniclastic sediments. The preferred explanation for the difference in the nature of proto-arc volcanism between Saipan and other fore-arc locations is that the crust ceased extending 3-4 Myr earlier beneath Saipan. This was caused by a change from mantle upwelling, fore-arc extension, and shallow melting to an environment dominated by more normal mantle wedge convection, stable crust, and deeper melting.

Disequilibrium between 210 Po, 210 Pb, and 226 Ra was measured on rocks and plagioclase mineral separates erupted during the first year of the ongoing eruption of Mount St. Helens. The purpose of this study was to monitor the volatile fluxing and crystal growth that occurred in the weeks, years, and decades leading up to eruption. Whole-rock samples were leached in dilute HCl to remove 210 Po precipitated in open spaces. Before leaching, samples had variable initial ( 210 Po) values, whereas after leaching, the groundmasses of nearly all juvenile samples were found to have had ( 210 Po) ≈ 0 when they erupted. Thus, most samples degassed 210 Po both before and after the magmas switched from open- to closed-system degassing. All juvenile samples have ( 210 Pb)/( 126 Ra) ratios within 2σ of equilibrium, suggesting that the magmas involved in the ongoing eruption did not have strong, persistent fluxes of 222 Rn in or out of magmas during the decades and years leading to eruption. These equilibrium values also require a period of at least a century after magma generation and the last significant differentiation of the Mount St. Helens dacites. Despite this, the elevated ( 210 Pb)/( 226 Ra) value measured in a plagioclase mineral separate from lava erupted in 2004 suggests that a significant proportion of this plagioclase grew within a few decades of eruption. The combined dataset suggests that for most 2004-5 lavas, the last stage of open-system degassing of the dacite magmas at Mount St. Helens is confined to the period between 1-2 years and 1-2 weeks before eruption, whereas plagioclase large enough to be included in the mineral separate grew around the time of the 1980s eruption or earlier.

A remarkable record of early arc volcanism in the Izu–Bonin–Mariana (IBM) arc is exposed in and around the Bonin Islands, an uplifted segment of the IBM forearc. New 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dating results imply that the boninitic volcanism on Chichijima Island occurred in a brief period during Eocene time, between 46–48 Ma. A slightly younger volcanic succession is identified along the Bonin Ridge, including 44.74±0.23 Ma high-Mg andesite from the Mikazukiyama Formation, the youngest volcanic sequence on Chichijima, 44.0±0.3 Ma tholeiitic to calcalkaline andesite from Hahajima Island, and 3 samples of andesite collected by the submersible SHINKAI 6500 from the Bonin Ridge Escarpment (BRE) that range in age from 41.84±0.14 to 43.88±0.21 Ma. Four SHINKAI 6500 dives (YK 04–05) on the BRE mapped an elongated constructional volcanic ridge atop the escarpment; we observed steeply westdipping volcaniclastic debris flows shed from the summit of this ridge into the Ogasawara Trough to the west. These dives recovered fresh andesitic clasts from debris flows along the northern segment of the ridge, and high-Mg andesite lava blocks and Nummulitic limestone of middle Eocene age from the escarpment northwest of Chichijima. Our results also confirm previous inferences that melting of depleted mantle at shallow levels beneath the length of the arc with the aid of hydrous fluids from newly subducted slab to produce boninitic volcanism occurred nearly simultaneously along the entire length of the IBM arc system during the earliest stage of arc evolution. BRE–Mikazukiyama Formation–Hahajima andesites represent a transitional stage from forearc spreading (represented by ODP site 786-Chichijima boninites) and the stable, mature arc that developed in the Oligocene. These OPX-bearing high-Mg or tholeiitic to calcalkaline andesites were erupted along the BRE, as the arc magmatic axis localized and retreated from the trench.

Arenal volcano, located in northern Costa Rica, has been continuously erupting since 1968. Magmas during the first half of the eruption by volume (Stage 1: 1968–1971) were related by largely closed-system crystal fractionation that had produced a compositionally zoned magma chamber prior to 1968. It erupted downward from the most differentiated magma in 1968 to the most mafic by early 1971. In contrast, the second half of the eruption has been dominated by recharge and compositions have become more evolved with time (Stage 2: 1971–current). We base these conclusions on new major and trace element plus Sr–Nd–Hf–Pb isotope analyses of 56 whole rocks from throughout the eruption. Differentiates are enriched in incompatible elements in both stages, but compatible element concentrations drop much more during Stage 1 than 2. Changes during Stage 1 were successfully modeled using least squares and MELTS models despite the mineral complexity of the rocks. About 19% fractional crystallization of phenocryst phases (plagioclase > orthopyroxene > clinopyroxene > magnetite) is required, consistent with crystallization at 4 kb and from 1145 to 1088 °C of a melt initially containing 2.5 wt.% H2O at quite oxidizing conditions (QFM + 2). An implication is that most phenocrysts formed during decompression and degassing. Changes during the second stage were successfully modeled using EC-E′RAχFC with the ratio of recharge to crystallization decreasing from 17 to 5 over ∼ 30 years. Crystallization rates (dFS / dt) increase from 0.05 to 0.4%/a from closed- to open-system behavior and are even faster than inferred from U-series disequilibria. The recharging magma results from a smaller degree of flux melting of a mostly similar source than for the resident magma prior to the eruption, with the two events separated by ∼ 450 years. The most recent compositions have no precedent at Arenal.

We present comprehensive U-series data (238U–234U–230Th–226Ra–210Pb–210Po and (230Th)/(232Th)) for an andesite from an oceanic arc. The juvenile Anatahan andesite has U–Th systematics colinear with other historical Mariana volcanic rocks, and is most similar to those of the other volcano in the Mariana arc with a significant proportion of silicic andesite: Uracas. Like Uracas, the parental basalt for the Anatahan andesite was generated by relatively low degrees of flux melting from a source previously enriched in a sediment component from the subducting slab. However, the Anatahan andesite is much more strongly enriched in 226Ra over 230Th than Uracas lavas, and has one of the highest (226Ra)/(232Th) ratios of siliceous andesites globally. The long-lived disequilibria between 238U–230Th–226Ra in the Anatahan andesite are inherited from basalt genesis, not created during differentiation or eruption. Thus, the time between genesis of the parental basalt and eruption of andesite at Anatahan is shorter than for Uracas. Moreover, the near-equilibrium (210Pb)/(226Ra) value indicates that the magma body did not persistently lose or gain 222Rn for more than 2 years before eruption. This permits differentiation of the parental basalt to form andesite within this 2-year time period, although a differentiation time period between 100 and a few thousand years also is possible. The relative activities between 210Po and 210Pb suggest erupted scoria degassed Po less than most lavas despite eruption plume heights of ∼10 km, which further suggests an unusually rapid ascent before eruption. These data also show that juvenile material was ejected from the first day of the eruption. Phreatomagmatic ejecta overlying the main Anatahan scoria is strongly enriched in 210Po over 210Pb, indicating that a significant proportion of the Po degassed from rising magmas sublimes in its shallow fumarolic conduit system.