The accreted Talkeetna arc, south-central Alaska, is an archetypal example of an intraoceanic arc crustal section. Arc-related units include all levels of a lithospheric column, from residual mantle harzburgites to subaerial volcanic rocks, and provide a rare opportunity to study intrusive arc processes directly. We present the fi rst high-precision U-Pb zircon ages and an extensive new data set of 143 Nd/ 144 Nd and 87 Sr/ 86 Sr isotopic analyses from Talkeetna arc plutonic rocks. These data provide new insight into the timing and extent of Talkeetna arc magmatism, the tectonic development of the arc, and the role of preexisting crustal material in the generation of arc magmas. New analyses from the exposed arc crustal section in the Chugach Mountains indicate that the Talkeetna arc began to develop as a juvenile [ε Nd (t) = 6.0-7.8 and 87 Sr/ 86 Sr int = 0.703379-0.703951] intra-oceanic arc between 202.1 and 181.4 Ma. This initial arc plutonism was followed ca. 180 Ma by a northward shift in the arc magmatic axis and generation of a large plutonic suite in the Talkeetna Mountains. Plutons from the eastern Talkeetna Mountains yield U-Pb zircon ages of 177.5-168.9 Ma and are isotopically similar to the Chugach Mountains intrusions [ε Nd (t) = 5.6-7.2 and 87 Sr/ 86 Sr int = 0.703383-0.703624]. However, plutons from the western Talkeetna Mountains batholith have more evolved initial isotopic ratios [ε Nd (t) = 4.0-5.5 and 87 Sr/ 86 Sr int = 0.703656-0.706252] and contain inherited xenocrystic Carboniferous-Triassic zircons. These data are interpreted to represent assimilation of adjacent Wrangellia crust into arc magmas and require amalgamation of the Talkeetna arc with the Wrangellia terrane by ca. 153 Ma. As a whole, the combined U-Pb zircon and isotopic data from the Chugach and Talkeetna Mountains indicate that the main volume of Talkeetna arc magmas formed with little or no involvement of preexisting crustal material. These observations justify the use of the Talkeetna arc as a type section for intrusive intra-oceanic arc crust.
The discovery of chemically and isotopically enriched mid-ocean ridge basalts (E-MORB) has offered substantial insight into the origin, time scales, and length scales of mantle heterogeneity. However, the exact processes involved in producing this E-MORB enrichment are vigorously debated. Additionally, because the ages of E-MORB are not well constrained, the petrogenetic, temporal, and geological relationships between E-MORB and normal (N)-MORB are not known. To investigate these relationships and to explore how melting and melt transport processes contribute to or modify enriched mantle source compositions and generate E-MORB melts beneath mid-ocean ridges, we measured major and trace elements, and Sr, Nd, Hf, Pb, and U^Th^Ra isotopes for a suite of lavas that were collected off-axis, including several E-MORB, at 9^108N along the East Pacific Rise (EPR). These data show coherent mixing trends among long-lived radiogenic isotopes, U-series nuclides, and incompatible trace elements, implying that mixing of melts from different sources occurs at different depths. Our results are consistent with previous studies that show that melting occurs in a two-porosity melting regime, with high-porosity channels forming deeply in the presence of garnet and transporting enriched melts with large 230 Th excesses to the crust, whereas low-porosity channels transport melts more slowly, allowing them to equilibrate at shallow depths and develop large 226 Ra excesses at the expense of diminished 230 Th excesses. Forward modeling of the trace element data also is consistent with mixing of melts in a two-porosity melting regime. U-series age constraints suggest that E-MORB neither erupt at systematically different times from N-MORB, nor necessarily through different pathways. Previous studies of E-MORB at 9^108N have suggested that E-MORB compositions could be explained by off-axis eruption. However, when considered in light of previously published magnetic paleointensity and U-series age constraints, recent geological studies, and the most widely accepted contemporary understanding of volcanic construction at 9^108N EPR, the asymmetric, off-axis distribution of E-MORB at 9^108N EPR is consistent with, and more simply explained by, a model in which E-MORB erupted within the axial summit trough (AST) and flowed down the ridge flanks ($0^3 km). These E-MORB subsequently spread away from the AST, and, finally, were preserved on the seafloor through asymmetric construction of the extrusive layer. Taken together, the range of ages of E-MORB at 9^108N EPR and the geochemical and isotopic mixing trends suggest that enriched melts are continuously supplied to the ridge axis, but because of their
The Indus Delta is constructed of sediment eroded from the western Himalaya and since 20 ka has been subjected to strong variations in monsoon intensity. Provenance changes rapidly at 12-8 ka, although bulk and heavy mineral content remains relatively unchanged. Bulk sediment analyses shows more negative 1 Nd and higher 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values, peaking around 8 -9 ka. Apatite fission track ages and biotite Ar-Ar ages show younger grains ages at 8-9 ka compared to at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). At the same time d 13 C climbs from -23 to -20‰, suggestive of a shift from terrestrial to more marine organic carbon as Early Holocene sea level rose. U-Pb zircon ages suggest enhanced erosion of the Lesser Himalaya and a relative reduction in erosion from the Transhimalaya and Karakoram since the LGM. The shift in erosion to the south correlates with those regions now affected by the heaviest summer monsoon rains. The focused erosion along the southern edge of Tibet required by current tectonic models for the Greater Himalaya would be impossible to achieve without a strong summer monsoon. Our work supports the idea that although long-term monsoon strengthening is caused by uplift of the Tibetan Plateau, monsoon-driven erosion controls Himalayan tectonic evolution.Supplementary material: A table of the population breakdown for zircons in sands and the predicted Nd isotope composition of sediments based on the zircons compared to the measured whole rock value is available at
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