Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

40Ar/39Ar geochronology of subaerial lava flows of Barren Island volcano and the deep crust beneath the Andaman Island Arc, Burma Microplate

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Bulletin of Volcanology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Little was known about the nature and origin of the deep crust beneath the Andaman Island Arc in spite of the fact that it formed part of the highly active Indonesian volcanic arc system, one of the important continental crust forming regions in Southeast Asia. This arc, formed as a result of subduction of the Indian Plate beneath the Burma Microplate (a sliver of the Eurasian Plate), contains only one active subaerial magmatic center, Barren Island volcano, whose evolutional timeline had remained uncertain. In this work, we present results of the first successful attempt to date crustal xenoliths and their host lava flows from the island, by incremental heating 40Ar/39Ar method, in an attempt to understand the evolutionary histories of the volcano and its basement. Based on concordant plateau and isochron ages, we establish that the oldest subaerial lava flows of the volcano are 1.58 ± 0.04 (2σ) Ma, and some of the plagioclase xenocrysts have been derived from crustal rocks of 106 ± 3 (2σ) Ma. Mineralogy (anorthite + Cr-rich diopside + minor olivine) and isotopic compositions (87Sr/86Sr < 0.7040; εNd > 7.0) of xenoliths not only indicate their derivation from a lower (oceanic) crustal olivine gabbro but also suggest a genetic relationship between the arc crust and the ophiolitic basement of the Andaman accretionary prism. We speculate that the basements of the forearc and volcanic arc of the Andaman subduction zone belong to a single continuous unit that was once attached to the western margin of the Eurasian Plate.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Awasthi N, Ray JS, Laskar AH, Kumar A, Sudhakar M, Bhutani R, Sheth HC, Yadava MG (2010) Major ash eruptions of Barren Island volcano (Andaman Sea) during the past 72 kyr: clues from a sediment core record. Bull Volcanol 72:1131–1136

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Awasthi N, Ray JS, Singh AK, Band ST, Rai VK (2014) Provenance of the Late Quaternary sediments in the Andaman Sea: implications for monsoon variability and ocean circulation. Geochem Geophys Geosyst 15:3890–3906

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barber AJ, Crow MJ (2005) Pre-Tertiary stratigraphy. In: Barber AJ, Crow MJ, Milsom JS (eds) Sumatra: Geology, Resources and Tectonic Evolution. Geological Society, London, Memoirs 31: 24–53

  • Barber AJ, Crow MJ, De Smet MEM (2005) Tectonic evolution. In: Barber AJ, Crow MJ, Milsom JS (eds) Sumatra: Geology, Resources and Tectonic Evolution. Geological Society, London, Memoirs 31: 234–259

  • Bhutani R, Pande K, Ray JS, Smitha RS, Awasthi N, Kumar A (2014) 40Ar-39Ar geochronology of Narcondam island volcano, Andaman-Indonesian island arc, Andaman Sea: voluminous andesitic eruption at 0.56 Ma and preservation of >1.8 Ma old plagioclase xenocrysts. Geol Soc America Abs 46(6):653

    Google Scholar 

  • Bintanja R, van de Wal RSW (2008) North American ice-sheet dynamics and the onset of 100,000-year glacial cycles. Nature 454:869–872

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chandrasekharam D, Santo AP, Capaccioni B, Vaselli O, Alam MA, Manetti P, Tassi F (2009) Volcanological and petrological evolution of Barren Island (Andaman Sea, Indian Ocean). J Asian Earth Sci 35:469–487

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Curray JR (2005) Tectonics and history of the Andaman Sea region. J Asian Earth Sci 25:187–232

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flisch M (1982) Potassium-argon analysis. In: Odin GS (ed) Numerical dating in stratigraphy. Wiley, Chichester, pp 151–158

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghosh B, Morishita T, Sen Gupta B, Tamura A, Arai S, Bandyopadhyay D (2014) Moho transition zone in the Cretaceous Andaman ophiolite, India: a passage from the mantle to the crust. Lithos 198–199:117–128

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall R (2012) Late Jurassic-Cenozoic reconstructions of the Indonesian region and the Indian Ocean. Tectonophysics 570:1–41

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hurukawa N, Tun PP, Shibazaki B (2012) Detailed geometry of the subducting Indian Plate beneath the Burma Plate and subcrustal seismicity in the Burma Plate derived from joint hypocenter relocation. Earth Planets Space 64:333–343

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kent AJR, Jacobsen B, Peate DW, Waight TE, Baker JA (2004) Isotope dilution MC-ICP-MS rare earth element analysis of geochemical reference materials NIST SRM 610, NIST SRM 612, NIST SRM 614, BHVO-2G, BHVO-2, BCR-2G, JB-2, WS-E, W-2, AGV-1 and AGV- 2. Geostand Geoanal Res 28:417–429

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Korenaga J, Keleman PB (1997) Origin of gabbro sills in Moho transition zone of the Oman ophiolite: implications for magma transport in the oceanic lower crust. J Geophys Res 102:27729–27749

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar A (2011) Geochemical and isotopic studies of rocks from the Barren Island Volcano and Andaman subduction zone, India. PhD thesis, M.S. Univ. of Baroda, Vadodara, India, 218p

  • Le Bas MJ, Le Maitre RW, Streckeisen A, Zanettin B (1986) A chemical classification of volcanic rocks based on the total alkali silica diagram. J Petrol 27:745–750

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ludwig KR (2001) Isoplot/Ex, v. 2.49, The Geochronological Toolkit for Microsoft Excel: Berkeley Geochronology Center Special Publication No. 1a, Berkeley

  • Luhr JF, Haldar D (2006) Barren Island volcano (NE Indian Ocean): island-arc high-alumina basalts produced by troctolite contamination. J Volcanol Geotherm Res 149:177–212

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCaffrey R (2009) The Tectonic Framework of the Sumatran Subduction Zone. Ann Rev Earth Planet Sci 37:345–366

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mukhopadhyay M, Krishna MR (1991) Gravity field and deep structure of the Bengal fan and its surrounding continental margins, northeast Indian Ocean. Tectonophysics 186:365–386

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pedersen RB, Searle MP, Carter A, Bandopadhyay PC (2010) U–Pb zircon age of the Andaman ophiolite: implications for the beginning of subduction beneath the Andaman-Sumatra arc. J Geol Soc London 167:1105–1112

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rao NP, Kumar MR (1999) Evidences for cessation of Indian Plate subduction in the Burmese arc region. Geophys Res Lett 26:3149–3152

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ray JS, Pande K, Awasthi N (2013a) A minimum age for the active Barren Island volcano, Andaman Sea. Curr Sci 104:934–939

    Google Scholar 

  • Ray JS, Pande K, Bhutani R, Shukla AD, Rai VK, Kumar A, Awasthi N, Smitha RS, Panda DK (2013b) Age and geochemistry of the Newania dolomite carbonatites, India: implications for the source of primary carbonatite magma. Contrib Miner Petrol 166:1613–1632

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sarma DS, Jafri SH, Fletcher IR, McNaughton NJ (2010) Constraints on the tectonic setting of the Andaman ophiolites, Bay of Bengal, India, from SHRIMP U-Pb zircon geochronology of plagiogranite. J Geophys Res 118:691–697

    Google Scholar 

  • Sheth HC, Ray JS, Bhutani R, Kumar A, Smitha RS (2009) Volcanology and eruptive styles of Barren Island: an active mafic stratovolcano in the Andaman Sea, NE Indian Ocean. Bull Volcanol 71:1021–1039

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sheth HC, Ray JS, Bhutani R, Kumar A, Awasthi N (2010) The latest (2008–09) eruption of Barren Island volcano, and some thoughts on its hazards, logistics and geotourism aspects. Curr Sci 98:1–7

    Google Scholar 

  • Steiger RH, Jäger E (1977) Subcommission on geochronology: convention on the use of decay constants in geo- and cosmochronology. Earth Planet Sci Lett 36:359–362

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Streck MJ, Ramos F, Gillam A, Haldar D, Duncan RA (2011) The Intra-oceanic Barren Island and Narcondam Arc Volcanoes, Andaman Sea: Implications for Subduction Inputs and Crustal Overprint of a Depleted Mantle Source. In: Ray J, Sen G, Ghosh B (eds) Topics in Igneous Petrology, Springer Science, pp 241–273

  • Tanaka T, Togashi S, Kamioka H, Amakawa H, Kagami H, Hamamoto T, Yuhara M, Orihashi Y, Yoneda S, Shimizu H, Kunimaru T, Takahashi K, Yanagi T, Nakano T, Fujimaki H, Shinjo R, Asahara Y, Tanimizu M, Dragusanu C (2000) JNdi-1: a neodymium isotopic reference in consistency with La Jolla neodymium. Chem Geol 168:279–281

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tatsumi Y, Stern RJ (2006) Manufacturing continental crust in the subduction factory. Oceanography 19:104–112

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weis D, Frey FA (1996) Role of the Kerguelen plume in generating the eastern Indian ocean seafloor. J Geophys Res 101:13831–13849

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad. KP acknowledges DST grant No. IR/S4/ESF-04/2003 for development of the National facility for Ar-Ar geothermochronology. Assistance of the Indian Coast Guard during our trips to Barren Island is highly appreciated. We thank H.C. Sheth, A. Kumar, N. Awasthi, S. Balakrishnan, M.G. Yadava, and D.K. Panda for their help during field expeditions and/or analytical work. We thank Helen Smyth and Jörg Geldmacher for constructive reviews and P.J. Wallace for editorial handling.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physical Research Laboratory, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, 380009, India

    Jyotiranjan S. Ray

  2. Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai, 400076, India

    Kanchan Pande

  3. Department of Earth Sciences, Pondicherry University, Kalapet, Puducherry, 605014, India

    Rajneesh Bhutani

Authors
  1. Jyotiranjan S. Ray
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Kanchan Pande
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Rajneesh Bhutani
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jyotiranjan S. Ray.

Additional information

Editorial responsibility: P. Wallace

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

ESM 1

(DOCX 51 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Ray, J.S., Pande, K. & Bhutani, R. 40Ar/39Ar geochronology of subaerial lava flows of Barren Island volcano and the deep crust beneath the Andaman Island Arc, Burma Microplate. Bull Volcanol 77, 57 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-015-0944-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-015-0944-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation