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[1] The genesis of basaltic to andesitic lavas, mafic dikes, and granitoid plutons composing the subaerial cover on the Barton and Weaver peninsulas, Antarctica, is related to arc formation and subduction processes. Precise dating of these polar rocks using conventional 40 Ar/ 39 Ar techniques is compromised by the high degree of alteration (with loss on ignition as high as 8%). In order to minimize the alteration effects we have followed a sample preparation process that includes repeated acid leaching, acetone washing, and hand picking, followed by an overnight bake at 250°C. After this procedure, groundmass samples can yield accurate age plateaus consisting of 70%-100% of the total 39 Ar k released using highresolution heating schedules. The different rock types studied on the Barton and Weaver peninsulas yielded almost coeval ages, suggesting a giant igneous event in the Weaver and Barton peninsulas at 44.5 Ma. A compilation of newly published ages indicate that this event took place throughout the whole South Shetland Islands, suggesting a dynamic incident occurred at this stage during the arc evolution history. We related this igneous event to a mantle delamination mechanism during Eocene times. The delamination process began at $52 Ma, and the resultant upwelling of asthenosphere baffled the subduction of Phoenix plate, causing an abrupt decrease in convergence rate. Then multiple magmatic sources were triggered, resulting in a culminating igneous activity during 50-40 Ma with a peak at $45 Ma along the archipelago. The delamination also caused the extension regime indicated by the dike swarm, plugs and sills all over the archipelago, and the uplift of Smith metamorphic complex and Livingston Island. Delamination process may have finished at some time during 40-30 Ma, leaving a weak igneous activity at that stage and thereafter. The convergence rate then recovered gradually, as indicated by the magnetic anomaly identifications. This model is supported by seismic observation of deep velocity anomalies beneath the Antarctic Peninsula.

We present Sr-Nd-Pb isotope data from the Paleocene-Eocene volcanic rocks in King George Island, South Shetland Islands, West Antarctica. We interpret these data in combination with previously published trace and isotope data for Meso-Cenozoic volcanic rocks in the South Shetland Islands to gain a better understanding of the geochemical evolution of the mantle source region. The studied rocks are from four volcanic islands and range in age from 143 to 44 Ma. They have high abundances of large ion lithophile elements and light rare earth elements relative to high field strength elements, consistent with products of subduction related magmatism. The systematic inter-island variations are recognized from a comprehensive examination of the trace elements and isotopic compositions. The degree of enrichment of Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic compositions decreases towards younger samples, while the ratios of fluid-mobile elements/ HFSE (Sr/Yb, Pb/Yb and U/Yb) gradually increase. The previous studies on these volcanic rocks concluded that the compositional variations of the South Shetland Islands volcanic suites were mainly controlled by two component mixing between altered MORB and Pacific sediments. However, we here propose that the compositional trends observed in the volcanic rocks of the South Shetland Islands can be created from the addition of a relatively constant subduction component to temporally varying heterogeneous mantle sources. The higher radiogenic Pb and Sr isotopes and lower 143 Nd/ 144 Nd ratios of the older volcanic rocks from Greenwich and Livingston islands compared to younger rocks can be explained by the significant influence of enriched previously metasomatized mantle material rather than fluids or sediment melts from the subducting slab. In contrast, the geochemical nature of the youngest King George Island volcanic rocks suggests a relatively large contribution of a slab-derived fluid component to the magma generation, but a minor role of the enriched component.