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Geochemical variations in the Cocos Plate subducting beneath Central America: implications for the composition of arc volcanism and the extent of the Galápagos Hotspot influence on the Cocos oceanic crust

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Abstract

New geochemical data from the Cocos Plate constrain the composition of the input into the Central American subduction zone and demonstrate the extent of influence of the Galápagos Hotspot on the Cocos Plate. Samples include sediments and basalts from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 1256 outboard of Nicaragua, gabbroic sills from ODP Sites 1039 and 1040, tholeiitic glasses from the Fisher Ridge off northwest Costa Rica, and basalts from the Galápagos Hotspot Track outboard of Central Costa Rica. Site 1256 basalts range from normal to enriched MORB in incompatible elements and have Pb and Nd isotopic compositions within the East Pacific Rise MORB field. The sediments have similar 206Pb/204Pb and only slightly more radiogenic 207Pb/204Pb and 208Pb/204Pb isotope ratios than the basalts. Altered samples from the subducting Galápagos Hotspot Track have similar Nd and Pb isotopic compositions to fresh Galápagos samples but have significantly higher Sr isotopic composition, indicating that the subduction input will have a distinct geochemical signature from Galápagos-type mantle material that may be present in the wedge beneath Costa Rica. Gabbroic sills from Sites 1039 and 1040 in East Pacific Rise (EPR) crust show evidence for influence of the Galápagos Hotspot ∼100 km beyond the morphological hotspot track.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the masters, crews, and shipboard scientists of ODP Legs 206 and 170; and Sonne 81, 107, and 144; Holly Nichols for assistance with isotope analyses; and K. Kelley, S. Revilion, and an anonymous reviewer for providing constructive and helpful reviews of this and a previous version of the manuscript. The RV Sonne cruises were supported by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Financial support came from the German Science Foundation (DFG) through collaborative research center SFB574 “Volatiles and Fluids in Subduction Zones” (this is contribution number 94) and the IODP Priority (SPP) program (HO1833/16-1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. SFB 574, University of Kiel, Wischhofstr. 1-3, 24148, Kiel, Germany

    Seth Sadofsky, Kaj Hoernle, Folkmar Hauff & Dieter Garbe-Schönberg

  2. IFM-GEOMAR, Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences, Wischhofstr. 1-3, 24148, Kiel, Germany

    Kaj Hoernle, Svend Duggen, Folkmar Hauff & Reinhard Werner

  3. Institut für Geowissenschaften, Ludwig-Meyn-Strasse 10, 24118, Kiel, Germany

    Dieter Garbe-Schönberg

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  1. Seth Sadofsky
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Correspondence to Kaj Hoernle.

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Sadofsky, S., Hoernle, K., Duggen, S. et al. Geochemical variations in the Cocos Plate subducting beneath Central America: implications for the composition of arc volcanism and the extent of the Galápagos Hotspot influence on the Cocos oceanic crust. Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 98, 901–913 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-007-0289-5

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