International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 369 drilled four sites on the southwestern Australian continental margin, in the deep water Mentelle Basin (MB) and on the neighboring Naturaliste Plateau (NP). The drillsites are located on continental crust that continued rifting after seafloor spreading began further north on the Perth Abyssal Plain (PAP) between magnetochrons M11r and M11n (133-132 Ma), ending when spreading began west of the NP between chrons M5n and M3n (126-124 Ma). Drilling recovered the first in-situ samples of basalt flows overlying the breakup unconformity on the NP, establishing a magnetostratigraphically constrained eruption age of >131-133 Ma and confirming a minimal late Valanginian age for the breakup unconformity (coeval with the onset of PAP seafloor spreading). Petrogenetic modeling indicates the basalts were generated by 25% melting at 1.5 GPa and a potential temperature of 1380-1410 °C, consistent with proximity of the Kerguelen plume during breakup. Benthic foraminiferal fossils indicate that the NP remained at upper bathyal or shallower depths during the last 6 Myr of rifting and for 3-5 Myr after breakup between India and Australia. The limited subsidence is attributed to heat from the nearby Kerguelen plume and PAP spreading ridge. The margin subsided to middle bathyal depths by Albian time and to lower bathyal (NP) or greater (MB) depths by late Paleogene time. Periods of rapid sedimentation accompanied a westward jump of the PAP spreading ridge (108 Ma), rifting on the southern margin (100-84 Ma), and opening of the southern seaway between Australia and Antarctica (60-47 Ma).

Petrophysical properties of volcanic rocks are controlled by lithology and subsequent modification by alteration processes. Investigating the linkages, using a range of different techniques, are important to establish how petrophysical properties can inform about the alteration state of volcanic rocks. Here, we compile petrophysical data and correlate these with geochemical and mineralogical analyses acquired from a volcanic sequence on the Naturaliste Plateau, offshore southwest Australia (International Ocean Discovery Program Site U1513). The sequence consists of alternating basalt lava flows and volcaniclastic deposits, intruded by multiple dolerite dikes. Variable alteration intensities from fresh-slight to strong are quantified using Chemical Index of Alteration. Intervals of slightly altered dikes exhibit low porosity and high values of bulk density, P-wave velocity, and thermal conductivity. The increase of alteration intensity corresponds to decreases in bulk density to ∼2 g/cm 3 , P-wave velocity to ∼2,000 m/s, thermal conductivity to ∼1.2 W/(m•K) and an increase in porosity up to 50%. Natural Gamma Ray and magnetic susceptibility vary downhole with rock composition and at lithologic boundaries. The distinct variations exhibit a good correlation with primary lithologic characteristics and secondary mineralogical and textural changes attributed to alteration processes. We provide synthesis models of petrophysical variation with alteration intensity. Although differences in primary lithology and alteration type introduce limitations and uncertainties, there is a reasonable applicability of our results to rapidly characterize the alteration intensity and volcanic stratigraphy in volcanic sequences and to calibrate wireline log-based determinations. This will help others to develop strategies for exploration, drilling, and geophysical research of volcanic rocks. Plain Language SummaryWe present the physical properties of rocks comprising a volcanic sequence recovered from the eastern Naturaliste Plateau, offshore southwest Australia. The sequence consists of basalt lava flows and volcaniclastic deposits, which are intruded by multiple dikes. Petrophysical properties of the volcanic rocks are variable with lithology and alteration state. To investigate the linkages, we applied a range of different techniques to correlate petrophysical data with geochemical and mineralogical analyses. The alteration intensity was quantified based on chemical composition into four ranges; fresh-slight, weak, moderate, and strong. Relatively fresh basalt intervals exhibit low porosity and high values of bulk density, P-wave velocity, and thermal conductivity. Increases of alteration intensity correspond to decreases in bulk density to ∼2 g/cm 3 , P-wave velocity to ∼2,000 m/s, thermal conductivity to ∼1.2 W/(m•K), and an increase in porosity up to 50%. Natural Gamma Ray and magnetic susceptibility vary with rock composition and at lithologic boundaries. The petrophysical variations were associated with primary lithologic charact...

Detailed reconstruction of Indian summer monsoons is necessary to better understand the late Quaternary climate history of the Bay of Bengal and Indian peninsula. We established a chronostratigraphy for a sediment core from Hole 19B in the western Bay of Bengal, extending to approximately 80 kyr BP and examined major and trace element compositions and clay mineral components of the sediments. Higher δ18O values, lower TiO2 contents, and weaker weathering in the sediment source area during marine isotope stages (MIS) 2 and 4 compared to MIS 1, 3, and 5 are explained by increased Indian summer monsoonal precipitation and river discharge around the western Bay of Bengal. Clay mineral and chemical components indicate a felsic sediment source, suggesting the Precambrian gneissic complex of the eastern Indian peninsula as the dominant sediment source at this site since 80 kyr. Trace element ratios (Cr/Th, Th/Sc, Th/Co, La/Cr, and Eu/Eu*) indicate increased sediment contributions from mafic rocks during MIS 2 and 4. We interpret these results as reflecting the changing influences of the eastern and western branches of the Indian summer monsoon and a greater decrease in rainfall in the eastern and northeastern parts of the Indian peninsula than in the western part during MIS 2 and 4.

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Large igneous province volcanic activity during the mid-Cretaceous approximately 94.5 million years ago triggered a global-scale episode of reduced marine oxygen levels known as Oceanic Anoxic Event 2. It has been hypothesized that this geologically rapid degassing of volcanic carbon dioxide altered seawater carbonate chemistry, affecting marine ecosystems, geochemical cycles, and sedimentation.Here, we report on two sites drilled by the International Ocean Discovery Program offshore of southwest Australia that exhibit clear evidence for suppressed pelagic carbonate sedimentation in the form of a stratigraphic interval barren of carbonate, recording ocean acidification during the event. We then use the osmium isotopic composition of bulk sediments to directly link this protracted ~600kiloyear shoaling of the marine calcite compensation depth to the onset of volcanic activity. This decrease in marine pH was prolonged by biogeochemical feedbacks in highly productive regions that elevated heterotrophic respiration of carbon dioxide to the water column. A compilation of mid-Cretaceous marine stratigraphic records reveals a contemporaneous decrease of sedimentary carbonate content at continental slope sites globally. Thus, we contend that changes in marine carbonate chemistry are a primary ecological stress and important consequence of rapid emission of carbon dioxide during many large igneous province eruptions in the geologic past.