ALBERT

Notes: Abstract  Discrete Quaternary (〈400 ka) tephra fallout layers (mostly 〈1 cm thick) within the siliceous oozes of the central Mariana Trough at 18° N are characterized by medium-K to high-K subalkalic volcanic glasses (K2O=0.8–3.2 wt.%) with high large-ion lithophile elements (LILE)/high-field-strength elements (HFSE) ratios and Nb depletion (Ba/La≈35; Ba/Zr≈3.5; La/Nb≈4) typical for convergent margin volcanic rocks. Compositional zoning within layers ranges from basaltic to dacitic (SiO2=48–71 wt.%; MgO= 0.7–6.5 wt.%); all layers contain basaltic andesites. The tephra layers are interpreted as single explosive eruptive events tapping chemically zoned reservoirs, the sources being the Mariana arc volcanoes (MAV) due to their proximity (100–400 km) and similar element ratios (MAV: Ba/La=36±7; Ba/Zr=3.5±0.9). The glasses investigated, however, contrast with the contemporaneous basaltic to dacitic lavas of the MAV by being more enriched in TiO2 (≈1.2 wt.%; MAV≈0.8 wt.%), FeO* (≈10 wt.%, MAV≈8–9 wt.%), K2O (≈1.1 wt.%; MAV≈0.8 wt.%) and P2O5 (≈0.4 wt.%; MAV≈0.2 wt.%). (Semi-)Incompatible trace elements (including Rare Earth Elements (REE)) of the basaltic-andesitic and dacitic glasses match those of the dacitic MAV lavas, which became enriched by fractional crystallization. Moreover, the glasses follow a tholeiitic trend of fractionation in contrast to MAV transitional trends and have a characteristic P2O5 trend that reaches a maximum of 0.6 wt.% P2O5 at ≈57 wt.% SiO2, whereas MAV lavas increase linearly in P2O5 from 0.1 to 0.3 wt.% with increasing silica. Both explosive and effusive series are interpreted to have evolved in common magma reservoirs by convective fractionation. Similar parental magmas are suggested to have separated into coexisting Si-andesitic to dacitic and basaltic melts by in situ crystallization. The differentiated melt is interstitial in an apatite-saturated crystalline mush of plag+px±ox±ol at the cooler chamber margins in contrast to the less differentiated basaltic to basaltic–andesitic magmas, which are not yet saturated in apatite and occupy the chamber interior. Reinjection of interstitial melt into the chamber interior and mixing with larger melt fractions of the interior liquid (mixing ratios about ≈1 : 8–9) can explain the paradoxical behavior of apatite-controlled P and MREE variation in the basaltic andesite glasses and their MAV dacite-like fractionation patterns. The process may also account for the exclusively tholeiitic trend of fractionation of the glass shard series, but in situ crystallization alone cannot cause their absolute enrichment in (semi-)incompatible elements. The newly mixed melt is suggested to form the basaltic end member of the glass shard series. However, it must have become physically separated from the main MAV magma body (possibly by density-driven convective fractionation) in order to allow for further evolution of the contrasting geochemical paths as well as differentiation.

Notes: Abstract Discrete Quaternary (〈400 ka) tephra fallout layers (mostly 〈1 cm thick) within the siliceous oozes of the central Mariana Trough at 18°N are characterized by medium-K to high-K subalkalic volcanic glasses (K2O=0.8–3.2 wt.%) with high large-ion lithophile elements (LILE)/high-field-strength elements (HFSE) ratios and Nb depletion (Ba/La≈35; Ba/Zr≈3.5; La/Nb≈4) typical for convergent margin volcanic rocks. Compositional zoning within layers ranges from basaltic to dacitic (SiO2=48–71 wt.%; MgO=0.7–6.5 wt.%); all layers contain basaltic andesites. The tephra layers are interpreted as single explosive eruptive events tapping chemically zoned reservoirs, the sources being the Mariana arc volcanoes (MAV) due to their proximity (100–400 km) and similar element ratios (MAV: Ba/La=36±7; Ba/Zr=3.5±0.9). The glasses investigated, however, contrast with the contemporaneous basaltic to dacitic lavas of the MAV by being more enriched in TiO2 (≈1.2 wt.%; MAV≈0.8 wt.%), FeO* (≈10 wt.%, MAV≈8–9 wt.%), K2O (≈1.1 wt.%; MAV≈0.8 wt.%) and P2O5 (≈0.4 wt.%; MAV≈0.2 wt.%). (Semi-)Incompatible trace elements (including Rare Earth Elements (REE)) of the basaltic-andesitic and dacitic glasses match those of the dacitic MAV lavas, which became enriched by fractional crystallization. Moreover, the glasses follow a tholeiitic trend of fractionation in contrast to MAV transitional trends and have a characteristic P2O5 trend that reaches a maximum of 0.6 wt.% P2O5 at ≈57 wt.% SiO2, whereas MAV lavas increase linearly in P2O5 from 0.1 to 0.3 wt.% with increasing silica. Both explosive and effusive series are interpreted to have evolved in common magma reservoirs by convective fractionation. Similar parental magmas are suggested to have separated into coexisting Si-andesitic to dacitic and basaltic melts by in situ crystallization. The differentiated melt is interstitial in an apatite-saturated crystalline mush of plag+px±ox±ol at the cooler chamber margins in contrast to the less differentiated basaltic to basaltic-andesitic magmas, which are not yet saturated in apatite and occupy the chamber interior. Reinjection of interstitial melt into the chamber interior and mixing with larger melt fractions of the interior liquid (mixing ratios about ≈1: 8–9) can explain the paradoxical behavior of apatite-controlled P and MREE variation in the basaltic andesite glasses and their MAV dacite-like fractionation patterns. The process may also account for the exclusively tholeiitic trend of fractionation of the glass shard series, but in situ crystallization alone cannot cause their absolute enrichment in (semi-)incompatible elements. The newly mixed melt is suggested to form the basaltic end member of the glass shard series. However, it must have become physically separated from the main MAV magma body (possibly by density-driven convective fractionation) in order to allow for further evolution of the contrasting geochemical paths as well as differentiation.

Notes: Abstract We studied the volcanic contribution to the global sediment budget in the Pacific Ocean basin. It is the world's oldest (174 m.y.) and largest (≈49% of Earth's surface area) ocean basin and has had a high and continuous tephra influx from intraplate and convergent margin volcanoes through time. Computerized shipboard data from 65 legs of the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) and the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) were screened for the presence of volcaniclastic components. Tephra-bearing and tephra-free core sections (standard 1.5- and 0.30-m core catcher sections) were separated, regardless of the mass fraction of tephra present. The percentage of tephra-bearing core sections ("tephra frequency") per site and time span ("age unit") was calculated. The age units were the Quaternary, the subepochs of the Tertiary, and the stages of the Cretaceous. A total of 424 drill sites yielded 1433 usable stratigraphic units. Fifty percent are younger than 13 m.y., corresponding to only approximately 10% of the total interval studied (124.5 m.y.). The percentage of tephra-bearing age units is high throughout (83±6%) and correlates linearly with the total number of age units (R 2 =0.998; n=17). The average tephra frequency (30–50%) fluctuates, because the abundance of age units of different tephra frequency classes (0, 1–33, 34–67, 68–100% tephra frequency) varies with time. This indicates that the Cenozoic increase in tephra production results from increase in volcanicity and not spatial extension of volcanic source areas. The Cenozoic sediments that were recovered are dominated by distal tephra from explosive arc volcanism. Pulses of arc volcanism occurred in the Pliocene–Quaternary (since ≈5 m.y.) and mid-Miocene (≈12–15 m.y.). However, the record of explosive arc volcanism in Paleogene and Cretaceous sediments was either not drilled or has been destroyed by subduction. Except for the Cretaceous (≈70–110 m.y.) volcanic pulse, intraplate volcanism is poorly represented in the tephra record because the drill sites are outside the proximal range (〉500–1000 km) of the sources. Thus, the tephra record drilled contains significant gaps that bias the estimate of tephra volume towards the less voluminous distal deposits. Most of the volcaniclastic volume accumulated by mass wasting as volcaniclastic aprons surrounding ocean island volcanoes. Volcaniclastic production rates range from 10,000 to 41,800 km3/m.y. for large intraplate volcanoes and approximately 10–13 km3/km arc length per million years for oceanic island arcs. Extrapolation over the lifetime of major Pacific arcs and hotspot chains, combined with a volume estimate of the distal tephra component, indicates a minimum of 9.3×106 km3 of tephra, corresponding to 23 vol.% of the existing Pacific oceanic sediments. At least two thirds of the tephra volume was deposited in the proximal range and at least half of it is derived from intraplate sources. The large proportion of tephra, its composition, and its localized accumulation causes significant spatial and temporal variation in Pacific oceanic sediments that should have a perceptible impact on the elemental fluxes between ocean, crust, and mantle.