Volcanic activity and its link to glaciation cycles: Single-grain age and geochemistry of Early to Middle Miocene volcanic glass from ANDRILL AND-2A core, Antarctica

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2012.11.008Get rights and content

Abstract

In the frame of the ANtarctic DRILLing Program, volcanic glass fragments were collected from the AND-2A core between ~ 354 and 765 m below sea floor (mbsf) as accumulations (5–70 vol.%) within sediments. Here, we present the physical characteristics, age and geochemistry of the glass, which enable us to reconstruct Early to Middle Miocene volcanic activity in southern McMurdo Sound and, for the first time, document the response of volcanism to climate change in Antarctica.

Glass-rich sediments include muddy-to-fine sandstone and stratified diamictite. Glass varies in color, size, vesicularity, crystal content, angularity, and degree of alteration. The mostly fresh glass exhibits delicate cuspate forms indicating deposition as primary ash fall. 40Ar–39Ar age determinations on individual glass grains are in good agreement with the depositional age model of the sediments (ca. 15.6 to 18.6 Ma), supporting for most of them a primary origin, however, some samples do contain older fragments that indicate glass recycling during times of enhanced glacial erosion.

Most glasses are mafic (MgO = 3 to 9 wt.%) and vary from hypersthene to nepheline normative with a restricted range in SiO2 (45.2 ± 0.8 wt.%, 1σ) and trace element concentrations typical of the rift-related alkaline rocks in the Erebus Volcanic Province. The glass extends known composition of early phase Mount Morning activity (ca. 11–19 Ma), the only known Early to Middle Miocene source, to a more mafic end, revealing a previously unknown explosive, strongly alkaline, basaltic phase and the most primitive forms of both strongly alkaline (basanite to phonolite) and moderately alkaline (alkali basalt to trachyte) magma associations.

The glass-rich sediments occur in glacimarine sequences that record 56 cycles of glacial advance and retreat. Volcanic response to glacial cyclicity is observed both physically and geochemically in AND-2A glass. Higher glass volumes in sediments correlate with ice minimum conditions between 300 and 800 mbsf. Ratios of Ba to Hf, Nb, La and Zr in mafic glasses (≥ 5 wt.% MgO) show a systematic increase in mean values during intervals of ice retreat and decreasing values with ice expansion, suggesting tapping of magmas with variable incompatible to compatible trace element ratios. This may be related to changes in the stress state of the crust in response to rapid ice volume fluctuations over the volcano, which may influence magma chemistry by varying the duration and depth of magma storage.

Highlights

► Volcanic glass geochemistry reveals a response of volcanism to climate change. ► The study documents activity previously unknown for the Mt. Morning volcano. ► Glass compositions demonstrate two magmatic lineages for Mt. Morning activity.

Introduction

The climate of Antarctica throughout the geologic past has been extremely different from today's icehouse conditions, experiencing a dynamic environment with several fluctuations in climate, glacial advance and retreat, and sea-level change (Harwood et al., 2009, McKay et al., 2009, Naish et al., 2009, Warny et al., 2009). Understanding how fast, large, and frequent these fluctuations occurred in the past utilizing paleoclimate reconstructions will provide invaluable information in the understanding of the future of global climate change, as a much wider range of possible climatic behaviors existed in the past than in modern environments (Naish et al., 2001, Naish et al., 2009, Shevenell and Kennett, 2007). The investigation of glacimarine sediments and the volcanic materials within them, chiefly tephra layers in sediment cores in key Antarctic basins, are essential in constraining the timing of volcanic, tectonic, and climatic events (Smellie et al., 2008, Smellie et al., 2011).

The ANtarctic DRILLing (ANDRILL) project is a multi-national project, developed along the western margin of the West Antarctic rift system bordering the Transantarctic Mountains. The purpose of this project is to collect and examine drill cores from proximal sedimentary basins along the coast of Antarctica in order to build up stratigraphic data that record key events of the glacial and climate history, as well as volcanic and tectonic events in the region (Naish et al., 2007, Harwood et al., 2009). The sediment input into the marine depositional system close to the Antarctic continent is directly affected by changes in the terrestrial environment, making it an excellent location to use the stratigraphic record as a paleoclimate proxy (McKay et al., 2009, Warny et al., 2009). Two cores have been drilled: the McMurdo Ice Shelf (MIS) project AND-1B core in 2006 and the Southern McMurdo Sound (SMS) project AND-2A core in 2007 (Fig. 1), both of which contain a significant volcanic component (Pompilio et al., 2007, Panter et al., 2008) from the late Cenozoic Erebus Volcanic Province (EVP), which surrounds and is within the Victoria Land Basin (Fig. 1; Kyle, 1990).

The AND-2A core in particular targeted sediments containing an expanded Early to Middle Miocene section, a key interval of time in the development of the modern Antarctic climatic conditions, which experienced exceptionally dynamic and often “cyclic” climatic changes (Passchier et al., 2011). The sediments of the AND-2A core thus offer a unique opportunity to examine and reconstruct glacial conditions as well as their relationship to volcanic activity. Indeed, glacial unloading of lithosphere during a warming climate may be a factor controlling the volume, explosiveness, and timing of volcanic activity. The relationship between rapid de-glaciation and increased volcanism has been suggested in Iceland (Slater et al., 1998, Maclennan et al., 2002, Sigvaldason, 2002, Stinton et al., 2005), Germany and France (Nowell et al., 2006) as well as Canada (Edwards et al., 2002). It is possible then, that the frequent glacial loading and unloading caused by the dynamic environment in Antarctica during the Miocene could affect the input of volcanic material into the AND-2A core.

In this study we provide single-grain 40Ar–39Ar ages and LA-ICP-MS trace element data on mafic glass fragments from the AND-2A core between ~ 364 and 765 m below seafloor (mbsf) to assess the volcanic response to glacial dynamism in the southern McMurdo Sound area during the Early to Middle Miocene.

Section snippets

Geological background

The AND-2A core recovered sediments deposited into the southern Victoria Land Basin, which developed as part of the West Antarctic rift system (Fig. 1). The accommodation space needed to allow for deposition of sediments in the basin was created by fault and flexure-related subsidence associated with rifting (Wilson, 1999, Fielding et al., 2008b). The Victoria Land Basin contains ca.14 km thick sequence of Mesozoic-Cenozoic strata with dominant sediment supply being from the Transantarctic

Methods

Twenty-two samples (15-cm long, 1/4 round core samples, 25–30 mm radius) were requested from the Antarctic Marine Research Facility at Florida State University based on several criteria. First, sediment samples containing a significant amount of volcanic glass (> 15% by volume) were selected. The amount of glass was determined by visual estimates of smear slides and core log identification of scoria concentrations during the logging of the core (Panter et al., 2008). Second, glass-rich sediments

Physical characteristics

The volcanic glass recovered between ~ 354 and 765 mbsf occurs within muddy sandstone, fine sandstone, and stratified diamictite, occurring most frequently in lithofacies 5 to 7 (Fielding et al., 2008a, Fielding et al., 2011). The glass varies in color (brown, colorless, green), size (up to 4 mm), vesicularity (0–50 vol.%, including both spherical and stretched vesicles), crystal content (0–20 vol.%, primarily as plagioclase and smaller amounts of clinopyroxene, olivine, magnetite, and apatite),

Mode of deposition and volcanic source

Because the majority of the glass fragments is found dispersed within sediments and not as primary layers, it is necessary to consider all possible mechanisms for how the glass was introduced into the basin. The source of the glass from volcanoes in the EVP is confirmed by their matching geochemistry. The major and trace element compositions of AND-2A glass and scoria is remarkably similar to mafic-intermediate (41–48 wt.% SiO2) EVP whole rock compositions (Fig. 3, Fig. 4, Fig. 5, Fig. 6). The

Conclusions

In this paper we present 40Ar–39Ar ages, major element and LA-ICP-MS trace element data on fresh, single glass fragments within glacimarine sediments from the AND-2A core between ~ 364 and 765 mbsf. These data led to inferences regarding the volcanic source, mechanisms of transport and chemical evolution of the AND-2A glass. Because the sediments of the AND-2A core offer a unique opportunity to examine the reconstructed glacial conditions and their relationship to volcanic activity, we were able

Acknowledgments

This work is, in part, the result of a Master's thesis (R. Nyland) supported by the National Science Foundation under Cooperative agreement No. 0342484, through sub-award 25-0550-0001-151 to K. Panter from the ANDRILL U.S. Science Support Program. The ANDRILL Program is a multinational collaboration between the Antarctic Programs of Germany, Italy, New Zealand and the United States. Antarctica New Zealand is the project operator, and has developed the drilling system in collaboration with Alex

References (103)

  • F. Jourdan et al.

    Age calibration of the Fish Canyon sanidine 40Ar/39Ar dating standard using primary K–Ar standards

    Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta

    (2007)
  • D.R. Marchant et al.

    Miocene and Pliocene paleoclimate of the Dry Valleys region, Southern Victoria land: a geomorphological approach

    Marine Micropaleontology

    (1996)
  • K.S. Panter et al.

    Geology of the Side Crater of the Erebus Volcano, Antarctica

    Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research

    (2008)
  • R. Powell et al.

    Modern glaciomarine environments

  • R.D. Powell et al.

    Glacimarine sedimentary processes, facies and morphology of the south-southwest Alaska shelf and fjords

    Marine Geology

    (1989)
  • S. Sandroni et al.

    The record of Miocene climatic events in AND-2A drill core (Antarctica): Insights from provenance analyses of basement clasts

    Global and Planetary Change

    (2011)
  • U. Schacht et al.

    Volcanogenic sediment-seawater interactions and the geochemistry of pore waters

    Chemical Geology

    (2008)
  • A. Shevenell et al.

    Cenozoic Antarctic cryosphere evolution: Tales from deep sea sedimentary records

    Deep Sea Research II

    (2007)
  • L. Slater et al.

    Deglaciation effects on mantle melting under Iceland: results from the northern volcanic zone

    Earth and Planetary Science Letters

    (1998)
  • J. Smellie et al.

    Six million years of glacial history recorded in volcanic lithofacies of the James Ross Island Volcanic Group, Antarctic Peninsula

    Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

    (2008)
  • J.L. Smellie et al.

    A thin predominantly cold-based Late Miocene East Antarctic ice sheet inferred from glaciovolcanic sequences in northern Victoria Land, Antarctica

    Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

    (2011)
  • R. Steiger et al.

    Subcommission on geochronology: convention on the use of decay constants in geo- and cosmochronology

    Earth and Planetary Science Letters

    (1977)
  • T. Wilson

    Cenozoic structural segmentation of the Transantarctic Mountains rift flank in southern Victoria Land

    Global and Planetary Change

    (1999)
  • G.J. Ablay et al.

    Basanite–phonolite lineages of the Teide-Pico Viejo volcanic complex, Tenerife, Canary Islands

    Journal of Petrology

    (1998)
  • G. Acton et al.

    Preliminary integrated chronostratigraphy of the AND-2A core, ANDRILL Southern McMurdo Sound Project, Antarctica

    Terra Antarctica

    (2008)
  • J. Adam et al.

    Trace element partitioning between mica- and amphibole-bearing garnet lherzolite and hydrous basanitic melt: 1. Experimental results and the investigation of controls on partitioning behavior

    Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology

    (2006)
  • E.B. Andrew et al.

    Distribution, structure, and formation of Holocene lava sheilds in Iceland

    Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research

    (2007)
  • P. Armienti et al.

    Sand provenance from major and trace element analyses of bulk rock and sand grains from CRP2/2A, Victoria Land basin, Antarctica

    Terra Antartica

    (2001)
  • P. Barrett

    Cenozoic climate and sea level history from glacimarine strata off the Victoria Land coast, Cape Roberts Project, Antarctica

  • J. Carrivick et al.

    Geomorphological evidence towards a de-glacial control on volcanism

    Earth Surface Processes and Landforms

    (2009)
  • W.S. Cleveland

    Robust locally weighted regression and smoothing scatterplots

    Journal of the American Statistical Association

    (1979)
  • C. Cook et al.

    Petrology and geochemistry of intraplate basalts in the south Auckland volcanic field, New Zealand: evidence for two coeval magma suites from distinct sources

    Journal of Petrology

    (2005)
  • P. Del Carlo et al.

    The upper lithostratigraphic unit of ANDRILL AND-2A core (Southern McMurdo Sound, Antarctica): local Pleistocene volcanic sources, paleoenvironmental implications and subsidence in the southern Victoria Land Basin

    Global and Planetary Change

    (2009)
  • W. Dickenson

    Interpreting detrital modes of graywacke and arkose

    Journal of Sedimentary Petrology

    (1970)
  • A. Di Roberto et al.

    Early Miocene volcanic activity and paleoenvironment conditions of the AND-2A core (southern McMurdo Sound, Antarctica)

    Geosphere

    (2012)
  • G. Di Vincenzo et al.

    40Ar–39Ar dating of volcanogenic products from the AND-2A core (ANDRILL Southern McMurdo Sound Project, Antarctica): correlations with the Erebus Volcanic Province and implications for the age model of the core

    Bulletin of Volcanology

    (2010)
  • B. Edwards et al.

    Subglacial, phonolitic volcanism at Hoodo Mountain volcano, northern Canadian Cordillera

    Bulletin of Volcanology

    (2002)
  • D.H. Elliot

    Jurassic magmatism and tectonism associated with Gondwanaland break-up: an Antarctic perspective

  • R.P. Esser et al.

    40Ar/39Ar dating of the eruptive history of Mount Erebus, Antarctica: volcano evolution

    Bull Volcanol

    (2004)
  • C. Fielding et al.

    Sedimentology and stratigraphy of the AND-2A Core, ANDRILL Southern McMurdo Sound Project, Antarctica

    Terra Antartica

    (2008)
  • J. Fierstein et al.

    Another look at the calculation of tephra fallout volumes

    Bulletin of Volcanology

    (1992)
  • C.A. Finn et al.

    A Cenozoic diffuse alkaline magmatic province (DAMP) in the SW Pacific without rift or plume origin

    Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems

    (2005)
  • F.A. Frey et al.

    Integrated models of basalt petrogenesis: a study of quartz tholeiites to olivine melilites from south eastern Australia utilizing geochemical and experimental petrological data

    Journal of Petrology

    (1978)
  • J.A. Gamble et al.

    The origins of glass and amphibole in spinel-wehrlite xenoliths from Foster Crater, McMurdo Volcanic Group, Antarctica

    Journal of Petrology

    (1987)
  • J.A. Gamble et al.

    Metasomatised xenoliths from Foster Crater, Antarctica: implications for lithospheric structure and processes beneath the Transantarctic Mountain front

    Journal of Petrology — Special Lithosphere Issue

    (1988)
  • A. Gudmundsson

    Mechanical aspects of postglacial volcanism and tectonics of the Reykjanes Peninsula, southwest Iceland

    Journal of Geophysical Research

    (1986)
  • B. Gunn et al.
  • C.J. Harpel et al.

    40Ar/39Ar dating of the eruptive history of Mount Erebus, Antarctica: summit flows, tephra, and caldera collapse

    Bulletin of Volcanology

    (2004)
  • D. Harwood et al.

    Antarctic drilling recovers stratigraphic records from the continental margin

    Eos

    (2009)
  • G. Heiken et al.

    Volcanic Ash

    (1985)
  • Cited by (23)

    • Miocene Antarctic ice dynamics in the Ross Embayment (Western Ross Sea, Antarctica): Insights from provenance analyses of sedimentary clasts in the AND-2A drill core

      2016, Global and Planetary Change
      Citation Excerpt :

      The sedimentary clasts generally form a subordinate and non-persistent component in the AND-2A clast assemblages. Indeed, the dominant clasts in the gravel-size fraction of the AND-2A succession were sourced from volcanic, intrusive and metamorphic rock units, which previous provenance studies have identified in: the volcanic apparatus of the McMurdo Volcanic Complex (mainly the Mt. Discovery – Mt. Morning area, Di Vincenzo et al., 2010; Del Carlo et al., 2009; Di Roberto et al., 2012; Nyland et al., 2013), and the crystalline basement of the TAM in the wider region between the Ferrar and Nimrod glaciers (Sandroni and Talarico, 2011; Talarico and Sandroni, 2011; Talarico et al., 2012; Hauptvogel and Passchier, 2012; Zattin et al., 2014) (Fig. 1). As already reported by Cornamusini (2010) and Panter et al. (2008–2009), clasts consisting of diamictite, conglomerate, mudstone (clayey/silty marl) or volcanic breccia probably represent intrabasinal/intraformational reworking processes.

    View all citing articles on Scopus
    View full text