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Title: Petrogenesis and Geodynamic Evolution in the Northern Westfjords, Iceland, Elucidated by Iceland's Oldest Silicic Rocks
Abstract

Iceland's oldest silicic rocks provide unique insight into the island's early crustal evolution. We present new zircon U‐Pb ages bolstered with zircon trace element and isotopic compositions, and whole rock Nd, Hf, and Pb isotope compositions, from three silicic magmatic centers—Hrafnsfjörður, Árnes, and Kaldalón—to understand the petrogenesis of large silicic volcanic centers in the northern Westfjords, Iceland. Our data confirm Hrafnsfjörður as the oldest known central volcano in Iceland (∼14 Ma) and establish an older age for Árnes (∼13 Ma) than previously estimated. We also report the first U‐Pb zircon dates from Kaldalón (∼13.5 Ma). Zircon oxygen isotope compositions range from δ18O∼+2 to +4‰ and indicate involvement of a low‐18O component in their source magmas. Hrafnsfjörður zircon Hf (mean sampleεHf∼ +15.3–16.0) and whole rock Hf and Nd (εHf = +14.5 to +15;εNd = +7.9 to +8.1) isotopic compositions are more radiogenic than those from Árnes (zircon sampleεHf∼ +11.8–13; whole rockεHf = +12.8 to +15.1;εNd = +7.3 to +7.7), but Hrafnsfjörður whole rock Pb isotope compositions (208/204Pb = 37.95–37.96;206/204Pb = 18.33–18.35) are less radiogenic than those from Árnes (208/204Pb = 38.34–38.48;206/204Pb = 18.64–18.78). Kaldalón has zircon Hf isotope compositions ofεHf∼+14.8 and 15.5 (sample means). These age and isotopic differences suggest that interaction of rift and plume, and thus the geodynamic evolution of the Westfjords, is complex. Isotopic compositions of Hrafnsfjörður and Árnes support involvement of an enriched mantle (EM)‐like mantle component associated with a pulsing plume that resulted in variable spreading rates and magma fluxes and highlight the heterogeneity of the Icelandic mantle.

 
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Award ID(s):
2004618
NSF-PAR ID:
10418662
Author(s) / Creator(s):
 ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  
Publisher / Repository:
DOI PREFIX: 10.1029
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth
Volume:
128
Issue:
6
ISSN:
2169-9313
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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