Geological architecture and history of the Antigua volcano and carbonate platform: Was there an Oligo–Miocene lull in Lesser Antilles arc magmatism?
Montheil, Leny; Philippon, Mélody; Cornée, Jean Jacques; BouDagher-Fadel, Marcelle; van Hinsbergen, Douwe J.J.; Camps, Pierre; Maffione, Marco; Audemard, Franck; Brons, Brechtje; van der Looij, Koen J.R.; Münch, Philippe
(2023) Bulletin of the Geological Society of America, volume 135, issue 5-6, pp. 1566 - 1586
(Article)
Abstract
Since the acceptance of plate tectonics, the presence of calc-alkaline magmatic rocks has been recognized as evidence of subduction. But under specific geodynamic circumstances, subduction may occur without generating magmas. Here, we investigate the Cenozoic northern Lesser Antilles arc where, from sparsely exposed magmatic records, Eocene–Oligocene and Pliocene magmatic flare-ups
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and a Miocene lull were postulated. Nevertheless, most of the arc is submarine, so it is challenging to discern lulls and flare-ups from sampling bias. We review the magmatic evidence exposed onshore in the Lesser Antilles and investigate in detail the island of Antigua, which exposes an Eocene to Miocene volcanic sequence and platform carbonate series that coincide with the postulated lull. By combining lithostratigraphic analysis, structural mapping, 40Ar/39Ar geochronology, and biostratigraphy, we refine the magmatic history of the island and date the arrest of extensive arc magmatism at 35 Ma, with minor activity until 27 Ma.
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Keywords: Aseismic ridge subduction, Cenozoic evolution, Central cuba, Guadeloupe archipelago, Island-arc, Kinematic reconstruction, Plate, Puerto-rico, Tectonic evolution, Upper oligocene, Taverne
ISSN: 0016-7606
Publisher: Geological Society of America
Note: Funding Information: We discarded our age of 18.57 ± 1.26 Ma for the andesite from the Basal Volcanic Suite (sample ANT 20.4) because it is inconsistent with the age of the rhyolitic dike that crosscuts it. We assume that this sample was fully reset during a late (post-magmatic) hydrothermal event as exemplified by the very high atmospheric contamination within. This is supported by the occurrence of various degrees of sub-greenschist hydrothermal alteration within the Basal Volcanic Suite (albitized plagioclases, chloritized orthopyroxenes, and groundmass; Gunn and Roobol, 1976), the Central Plain Funding Information: The authors warmly thank Arthur Iemmolo of the University of Montpellier for help with 40Ar/39Ar analyses and Fabienne Zami of the University of Antilles and Christophe Nevado of the University of Montpellier for assistance with the thin sections. Special thanks go to the National Park of Antigua and especially to Reg Murphy and Chris Waters for allowing access to special sites and accompanying the authors in the field. All the co-authors have a thought for Marcelle Boudagher-Fadel who recently passed away. Without her exceptional skills and her professionalism this work and many others within the ANR GAARAnti project could not have been realized. This work was supported by the GAARAnti project (ANR-17-31 CE-0009) and by the INSU TelluS-SYSTER grant call for 2017–2019. D.J.J. van Hinsbergen acknowledges Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) Vici grant 865.17.001 Funding Information: The authors warmly thank Arthur Iemmolo of the University of Montpellier for help with 40Ar/39Ar analyses and Fabienne Zami of the University of Antilles and Christophe Nevado of the University of Montpellier for assistance with the thin sections. Special thanks go to the National Park of Antigua and especially to Reg Murphy and Chris Waters for allowing access to special sites and accompanying the authors in the field. All the co-authors have a thought for Marcelle Boudagher-Fadel who recently passed away. Without her exceptional skills and her professionalism this work and many others within the ANR GAARAnti project could not have been realized. This work was supported by the GAARAnti project (ANR-17-31 CE-0009) and by the INSU TelluS-SYSTER grant call for 2017–2019. D.J.J. van Hinsbergen acknowledges Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) Vici grant 865.17.001. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 Geological Society of America
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