Mafic Late Miocene–Quaternary volcanic rocks in the Kamchatka back arc region: implications for subduction geometry and slab history at the Pacific–Aleutian junction

New 40Ar/39Ar and published 14C ages constrain voluminous mafic volcanism of the Kamchatka back-arc to Miocene (3–6 Ma) and Late Pleistocene to Holocene (<1 Ma) times. Trace elements and isotopic compositions show that older rocks derived from a depleted mantle through subduction fluid-flux melti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology
Main Authors: Volynets, Anna, Churikova, Tatiana, Wörner, Gerhard, Gordeychik, Boris, Layer, Paul
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: Springer-Verlag 2009
Subjects:
550
Online Access:http://resolver.sub.uni-goettingen.de/purl?goescholar/4176
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00410-009-0447-9
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Summary:New 40Ar/39Ar and published 14C ages constrain voluminous mafic volcanism of the Kamchatka back-arc to Miocene (3–6 Ma) and Late Pleistocene to Holocene (<1 Ma) times. Trace elements and isotopic compositions show that older rocks derived from a depleted mantle through subduction fluid-flux melting (>20%). Younger rocks form in a back arc by lower melting degrees involving enriched mantle components. The arc front and Central Kamchatka Depression are also underlain by plateau lavas and shield volcanoes of Late Pleistocene age. The focus of these voluminous eruptions thus migrated in time and may be the result of a high fluid flux in a setting where the Emperor seamount subducts and the slab steepens during rollback during terrain accretions. The northern termination of Holocene volcanism locates the edge of the subducting Pacific plate below Kamchatka, a “slab-edge-effect” is not observed in the back arc region. peerReviewed