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M. A. Lanphere

Publications and source records attributed to M. A. Lanphere.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
USGS1992

Pyroclastic deposits of the Mount Edgecumbe volcanic field, southeast Alaska: eruptions of a stratified magma chamber

The Mount Edgecumbe volcanic field in southeastern Alaska consists of 5-6 km3 (DRE) of postglacial pyroclasts that overlie Pleistocene lavas. All eleven pyroclast vents align with the long axis of the field, implying that the pyroclast magma conduits followed a crustal fissure. Most of these vents had previously erupted lavas that are compositionally similar to the pyroclasts, so a persistent magma system (chamber) had likely evolved by the onset of the pyroclastic eruptions. The pyroclastic sequence was deposited in about a millennium and is remarkable for a wide range of upward-increasing silica contents (51-72% SiO2), which is consistent with rise of coexisting magmas at different rates governed by their viscosity. Basaltic and andesitic lava flows have erupted throughout the lifetime of the field. Rhyolite erupted late; we infer that it formed early but was hindered from rising by its high viscosity. Most of the magmas-and all siliceous ones-erupted from vents on the central fissure. Basalt has not erupted from the center of the field during at least the latter part of its lifetime. Thus the field may illustrate basalt underplating: heat and mass flux are concentrated at the center of a stratified magma chamber in which a cap of siliceous melt blocks the rise of basalt. Major-element, strontium isotope, and mineral compositions of unaltered pyroclasts are broadly similar to those of older lavas of similar SiO2 content. Slightly fewer phenocrysts, inherited grains, and trace amphibole in pyroclastic magmas may be due simply to faster rise and less undercooling and degassing before eruption relative to the lavas. Dacite occurs only in the youngest deposits; the magma formed by mixing of andesitic and rhyolitic magmas erupted shortly before by the dacitic vents. ?? 1992.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗
USGS1992

Evolution of a Quaternary peralkaline volcano: Mayor Island, New Zealand

Mayor Island is a Holocene pantelleritic volcano showing a wide range of dispersive power and eruptive intensity despite a very limited range in magma composition of only 2% SiO2. The primary controls on this range appear to have been the magmatic gas content on eruption and a varying involvement of basaltic magma, rather than major-element chemistry of the rhyolites. The ca. 130 ka subaerial history of the volcano contains portions of three geochemical cycles with abrupt changes in trace-element chemistry following episodes of caldera collapse. The uniform major-element chemistry of the magma may relate to a fine balance between rates of eruption and supply and the higher density of the more evolved (Ferich) magmas which could be tapped only after caldera-forming events had removed significant volumes of less evolved but lighter magma. ?? 1992.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗
USGS1990

Age and progression of volcanism, Wrangell volcanic field, Alaska

The Wrangell volcanic field covers more than 10 000 km2 in southern Alaska and extends uninterrupted into northwest. Yukon Territory. Lavas in the field exhibit medium-K, calc-alkaline affinities, typical of continental volcanic arcs along convergent plate margins. Eleven major eruptive centers are recognized in the Alaskan part of the field. More than 90 K-Ar age determinations in the field show a northwesterly progression of eruptive activity from 26 Ma, near the Alaska-Yukon border, to about 0.2 Ma at the northwest end of the field. A few age determinations in the southeast extension of the field in Yukon Territory, Canada, range from 11 to 25 Ma. The ages indicate that the progression of volcanism in the Alaska part of the field increased from about 0.8 km/Ma, at 25 Ma, to more than 20 km/MA during the past 2 Ma. The progression of volcanic activity and its increased rate of migration with time is attributed to changes in the rate and angle of Pacific plate convergence and the progressive decoupling of the Yakutat terrane from North America. Subduction of Yakutat terrane-Pacific plate and Wrangell volcanic activity ceased about 200 000 years age when Pacific plate motion was taken up by strike-slip faulting and thrusting. ?? 1990 Springer-Verlag.

Bulletin of Volcanology↗
USGS1988

High-resolution 40Ar 39Ar chronology of Oligocene volcanic rocks, San Juan Mountains, Colorado

The central San Juan caldera complex consists of seven calderas from which eight major ash-flow tuffs were erupted during a period of intense volcanic activity that lasted for approximately 2 m.y. about 26–28 Ma. The analytical precision of conventional K-Ar dating in this time interval is not sufficient to unambiguously resolve this complex history. However, 40 Ar 39 Ar "> 40 Ar 39 Ar incremental-heating experiments provide data for a high-resolution chronology that is consistent with stratigraphie relations. Weighted-mean age-spectrum plateau ages of biotite and sanidine are the most precise with standard deviations ranging from 0.08 to 0.21 m.y. The pooled estimate of standard deviation for the plateau ages of 12 minerals is about 0.5 percent or about 125,000 to 135,000 years. Age measurements on coexisting minerals from one tuff and on two samples of each of two other tuffs indicate that a precision in the age of a tuff of better than 100,000 years can be achieved at 27 Ma. New data indicate that the San Luis caldera is the youngest caldera in the central complex, not the Creede caldera as previously thought.

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta↗
USGS1987

Geochemical evolution of Kohala Volcano, Hawaii

Kohala Volcano, the oldest of five shield volcanoes comprising the island of Hawaii, consists of a basalt shield dominated by tholeiitic basalt, Pololu Volcanics, overlain by alkalic lavas, Hawi Volcanics. In the upper Pololu Volcanics the lavas become more enriched in incompatible elements, and there is a transition from tholeiitic to alkalic basalt. In contrast, the Hawi volcanics consist of hawaiites, mugearites, and trachytes. 87Sr/86Sr ratios of 14 Pololu basalts and 5 Hawi lavas range from 0.70366 to 0.70392 and 0.70350 to 0.70355, respectively. This small but distinct difference in Sr isotopic composition of different lava types, especially the lower 87Sr/86Sr in the younger lavas with higher Rb/Sr, has been found at other Hawaiian volcanoes. Our data do not confirm previous data indicating Sr isotopic homogeneity among lavas from Kohala Volcano. Also some abundance trends, such as MgO-P2O5, are not consistent with a simple genetic relationship between Pololu and Hawi lavas. We conclude that all Kohala lavas were not produced by equilibrium partial melting of a compositionally homogeneous source. ?? 1987 Springer-Verlag.

Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology↗
USGS1985

K-Ar ages and Pb, Sr isotopic characteristics of Cenozoic volcanic rocks in Shandong Province, China

28 samples of Cenozoic volcanic rocks collected from Shandong Province have been dated by K-Ar method. They are mainly Neogene with an age range of 4-19 m. y. The basalts from Linqu and Yishui in west Shandong Province are Miocene and those from Penglai and Qixia in east Shandong Province are Miocene and Pliocene in age. The basalts from Wudi in north Shandong Province are Middle-Early Pleistocene in age. In each area the duration of volcanic eruption was estimated at about 2-3 m. y. Pb and Sr isotopic compositions and U, Th, Pb, Rb, Sr, and major elements in most of the samples were determined. The isotopic compositions are:206Pb/204Pb-16.92-18.48,207Pb/204Pb-15.30-15.59,208Pb/204Pb-37.83-38.54, and (87Sr/86Sr)i-0.70327-0.70632. There are some positive or negative linear correlations between206Pb/204Pb and207Pb/204Pb, Pb isotopes and Pb content, Pb isotopes and Sr isotopes, and Sr isotopes and other elements. The basaltic rocks from east and west Shandong Province have somewhat differences in isotopic composition and element content. The basalts probably are products of multi-stage evolution of the mantle. They have preserved the primary features of the source, although they were influenced, to some extent, by the contamination of crustal materials. ?? 1985 Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Chinese Journal of Geochemistry↗
USGS1983

Plutonic rocks of Jurassic age in the Alaska-Aleutian Range batholith: Ghemical variation and polarity

Plutonic rocks of Jurassic age exposed on the eastern, or Pacific, side of the Alaska–Aleutian Range batholith represent the roots of a magmatic arc generally considered to have been generated in response to northwest-directed subduction. These rocks form a compositionally continuous calc-alkaline suite that ranges from hornblende gabbro through quartz monzonite. Tonalite and quartz diorite are the dominant rock types. Trend-surface analysis was used to examine the geographic variation of major oxides and a few simple oxide ratios for 102 samples from widely separated localities. Statistical tests indicate that most of the trends, although weak, are real. The direction of slope of the trends is approximately normal to the Jurassic magmatic arc K 2 O and SiO 2 increase toward the east-southeast; the other oxides increase toward the west-northwest. The K 2 O trend accounts for about 19% of the variance in the data and is significant at > 99.9% level of confidence. If the chemical trends reflect the approximate geometry of a paleosubduction zone, the polarity of the Jurassic magmatic arc is to the northwest. That is, the paleosubduction zone was on the northwest side of the arc, and subduction was directed toward the southeast. The paleosubduction zone is on the opposite side of the arc from the position that has generally been assumed, indicating that the Jurassic plutonic rocks were not generated in response to classical Andean-type convergent plate margins. The magmatic arc may have formed in an intra-ocean environment, and subsequently has been rafted northward and accreted to this part of the northern Pacific rim during the late Mesozoic. Middle and Upper Jurassic clastic sediments underlying Cook Inlet to the southeast, and derived from the magmatic arc, are classified as backarc deposits, rather than as an arc-trench gap sequence.

Geological Society of America Bulletin↗
USGS1981

A five-collector system for the simultaneous measurement of argon isotope ratios in a static mass spectrometer

A system is described that utilizes five separate Faraday-cup collector assemblies, aligned along the focal plane of a mass spectrometer, to collect simultaneous argon ion beams at masses 36–40. Each collector has its own electrometer amplifier and analog-to-digital measuring channel, the outputs of which are processed by a minicomputer that also controls the mass spectrometer. The mass spectrometer utilizes a 90° sector magnetic analyzer with a radius of 23 cm, in which some degree of z -direction focussing is provided for all the ion beams by the fringe field of the magnet. Simultaneous measurement of the ion beams helps to eliminate mass-spectrometer memory as a significant source of measurement error during an analysis. Isotope ratios stabilize between 7 and 9 s after sample admission into the spectrometer, and thereafter changes in the measured ratios are linear, typically to within ±0.02%. Thus the multi-collector arrangement permits very short extrapolation times for computation of initial ratios, and also provides the advantages of simultaneous measurement of the ion currents in that errors due to variations in ion beam intensity are minimized. A complete analysis takes less than 10 min, so that sample throughput can be greatly enhanced. In this instrument, the factor limiting analytical precision now lies in short-term apparent variations in the interchannel calibration factors.

International Journal of Mass Spectrometry and Ion↗
USGS1978

Age measurements of potassium-bearing sulfide minerals by the 40Ar/39Ar technique

K-Ar ages have been determined for sulfide minerals for the first time. The occurrence of adequate amounts of potassium-bearing sulfides with ideal compositions K 3 Fe 10 S 14 (∼10 wt.% K) and KFe 2 S 3 (∼16 wt.% K) in samples from a mafic alkalic diatreme at Coyote Peak, California, prompted an attempt to date these materials. K 3 Fe 10 S 14 , a massive mineral with conchoidal fracture, gives an age of 29.4 ± 0.5m.y.( 40 Ar/ 39 Ar) , indistinguishable from the 28.3 ± 0.4m.y.( 40 Ar/ 39 Ar) and 30.2 ± 1.0m.y. 8 (conventional K-Ar) ages obtained for associated phlogopite (8.7 wt.% K). KFe 2 S 3 , a bladed, fibrous sulfide, gives a younger age, 26.5 ± 0.5m.y.( 40 Ar/ 39 Ar) , presumably owing to Ar loss.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗
USGS1978

Regional implications of Triassic or Jurassic age for basalt and sedimentary red beds in the South Carolina coastal plain

Whole rock potassium-argon ages for samples of subsurface basalt recovered near Charleston, South Carolina, are interpreted to indicate a Triassic or Jurassic age for the basalt and underlying sedimentary red beds. This age is consistent with existing evidence indicating that an early Mesozoic basin is present in the subsurface of a large part of the coastal plain of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Alabama.

South Carolina↗
USGS1977

Revised age for Midway volcano, Hawaiian volcanic chain

New conventional K-Ar, 40 Ar/ 39 Ar, and petrochemical data on alkalic basalt pebbles from the basalt conglomerate overlying tholeiitic flows in the Midway drill hole show that Midway evolved past the tholeiitic shield-building stage and erupted lavas of the alkalic suite 27.0 ± 0.6m.y. ago. The data also show that previously published conventional K-Ar ages on altered samples of tholeiite are too young by about 9 m.y. These results remove a significant anomaly in the age-distance relationships of the Hawaiian chain and obviate the need for large changes in either the rate of rotation of the Pacific plate about the Hawaiian pole or the motion of the plate relative to the Hawaiian hot spot since the time of formation of the Hawaiian-Emperor bend. All of the age data along the Hawaiian chain are now reasonably consistent with an average rate of volcanic propagation of 8.0 cm/yr and with 0.83°/m.y. of angular rotation about the Hawaiian pole.

Hawaii↗
USGS1976

Identification of excess 40Ar by the 40Ar 39Ar, age spectrum technique

40 Ar/ 39 Ar incremental heating experiments on igneous plagioclase, biotite, and pyroxene that contain known amounts of excess 40 Ar indicate that saddle-shaped age spectra are diagnostic of excess 40 Ar in igneous minerals as well as in igneous rocks. The minima in the age spectra approach but do not reach the crystallization age. Neither the age spectrum diagram nor the 40 Ar/ 36 Ar versus 39 Ar/ 36 Ar isochron diagram reliably reveal the crystallization age in such samples.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗