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1. New Discovery of Oligocene Strata in the Topernawi Formation, Turkana County, Kenya

   https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2022.799097  

   Sousa, Francis J.; Cox, Stephen E.; Hemming, Sidney R.; Rasbury, E. Troy; Steponaitis, Elena; Hatton, Kevin; Saslaw, Mae; Henkes, Gregory; Princehouse, Patricia; Vitek, Natasha S.; et al (February 2022, Frontiers in Earth Science)

   New field observations and 40 Ar/ 39 Ar geochronology reveal that the Topernawi Formation of the Ekitale Basin, northern Turkana Depression, Turkana County, Kenya was deposited entirely during the Oligocene between 29.7 ± 0.5 Ma and 29.24 ± 0.08 Ma. These bracketing ages are determined via new 40 Ar/ 39 Ar geochronology on a basaltic lava flow at the base of the section and a felsic ignimbrite near the top. A newly discovered basal unit and interbedded lava flow result in a new total sedimentary thickness of 92 m. The Topernawi Formation is the oldest dated syn-rift sedimentary section in the northern Turkana Depression. 

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2. A ⁴⁰ Ar/ ³⁹ Ar and U–Pb timescale for the Cretaceous Western Interior Basin, North America

   https://doi.org/10.1144/SP544-2023-76  

   Singer, Brad S; Jicha, Brian R; Sawyer, David A; Walaszczyk, Ireneusz; Landman, Neil; Sageman, Bradley B; McKinney, Kevin C (October 2023, Geological Society, London, Special Publications)

   Hart, MB (Ed.)

   Abstract Improvements in analytical procedures in parallel with intercalibration of⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and U–Pb methods and laboratories, spurred since 2003 by the EarthTime geochronology community initiative, have led to ±2σuncertainties of the order of 50–100 ka, or better, for Cretaceous ash beds. Assembled here are 57⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages and 17²³⁸U–²⁰⁶Pb ages of volcanic ash beds in strata of the Western Interior Basin of North America determined during the last 15 years since these improvements have been made. These age determinations span from 108 Ma in the middle Albian to 66 Ma in the latest Maastrichtian. Five of the⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages from Campanian and Maastrichtian strata are newly reported here, whereas the remainder are from the literature. Building on the pioneering work of John Obradovich and Bill Cobban, where possible these age determinations are tied to ammonite and inoceramid biostratigraphy. For most ash beds, the temporal uncertainties, unlike earlier timescales for the Western Interior Basin, are much shorter than the duration of fossil biozones. Proposed ages for stage boundaries based on this review of the radioisotopic ages include: Maastrichtian–Danian, 66.02 ± 0.08 Ma; Campanian–Maastrichtian, 72.20 ± 0.20 Ma; Santonian–Campanian, 84.19 ± 0.38 Ma; Coniacian–Santonian, 86.49 ± 0.44 Ma; Turonian–Coniacian, 89.75 ± 0.38 Ma; Cenomanian–Turonian, 93.95 ± 0.05 Ma; Albian–Cenomanian, 100.00 ± 0.40 Ma. Six bentonites that occur within theVascoceras diartianum, Neocardiocerus juddi, Prionocylus macombi, Scaphites preventricosus, Scaphites depressusandDesmoscaphites bassleriammonite zones, dated using both⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and U–Pb methods, yield ages in agreement to within 150 ka and form the backbone of the Western Interior Basin timescale. In parallel, improvements in the taxonomy of ammonites, inoceramids and foraminifera, and recent field work, are better establishing the biostratigraphic framework for these age determinations. Each of these efforts contributes to the progressive refinement of the chronostratigraphic framework of the Western Interior Basin, and enhances its utility for global correlation. 

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3. Low-volume magmatism linked to flank deformation on Isla Santa Cruz, Galápagos Archipelago, using cosmogenic 3He exposure and 40Ar/39Ar dating of fault scarps and lavas

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-022-01575-3  

   Schwartz, D M; Harpp, K; Kurz, M D; Wilson, E; Van_Kirk, R (September 2022, Bulletin of Volcanology)

   Abstract Isla Santa Cruz is a volcanic island located in the central Galápagos Archipelago. The island’s northern and southern flanks are deformed by E–W-trending normal faults not observed on the younger Galápagos shields, and Santa Cruz lacks the large summit calderas that characterize those structures. To construct a chronology of volcanism and deformation on Santa Cruz, we employ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology of lavas and³He exposure dating of fault scarps from across the island. The combination of Ar–Ar dating with in situ-produced cosmogenic exposure age data provides a powerful tool to evaluate fault chronologies. The⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages indicate that the island has been volcanically active since at least 1.62 ± 0.030 Ma (2SD). Volcanism deposited lavas over the entire island until ~ 200 ka, when it became focused along an E–W-trending summit vent system; all dated lavas < 200 ka were emplaced on the southern flank. Structural observations suggest that the island has experienced two major faulting episodes. Crosscutting relationships of lavas indicate that north flank faults formed after 1.16 ± 0.070 Ma, but likely before 416 ± 36 ka, whereas the faults on the southern flank of the island initiated between 201 ± 37 and 32.6 ± 4.6 ka, based on³He exposure dating of fault surfaces. The data are consistent with a model wherein the northeastern faults are associated with regional extension owing to the young volcano’s location closer to the Galápagos Spreading Center at the time. The second phase of volcanism is contemporaneous with the formation of the southern faults. The expression of this younger, low-volume volcanic phase was likely related to the elongate island morphology established during earlier deformation. The complex feedback between tectonic and volcanic processes responsible for southward spreading along the southern flank likely generated persistent E-W-oriented magmatic intrusions. The formation of the Galápagos Transform Fault and sea-level fluctuations may be the primary causes of eruptive and deformational episodes on Santa Cruz. 

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4. Mantle Wavespeed and Discontinuity Structure Below East Africa: Implications for Cenozoic Hotspot Tectonism and the Development of the Turkana Depression

   https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GC010775  

   Boyce, A.; Kounoudis, R.; Bastow, I. D.; Cottaar, S.; Ebinger, C. J.; Ogden, C. S. (August 2023, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems)

   Key Points New seismic data from the Turkana Depression enhances images of East African mantle wavespeed and discontinuity structure Thinnest transition zone in East Africa is below the NW Turkana Depression and is underlain by a mid to lower mantle plume tail Refractory lithosphere in SE Ethiopia governed northern extent of Mesozoic Anza rifting and southeastern limit of flood basaltic magmatism 

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5. Geodynamic Evolution of the East African Superplume: Insights From Volcanism in the Western Turkana Basin

   https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JB026755  

   Cai, Yue; Mana, Sara; Cox, Stephen E.; Beck, Catherine C.; Feibel, Craig; Hanley, Jean; Liu, Tanzhuo; Bolge, Louise; Hemming, Sidney; Goldstein, Steven L. (September 2023, Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth)

   There is a consensus that volcanism along the East African Rift System (EARS) is related to plume activities. However, because of our limited knowledge of the local lithospheric mantle, the dynamics of the plume are poorly constrained by magma chemistry. The Turkana Basin is one of the best places to study plume‐related volcanism because the lithospheric mantle there is unusually thin. New Ar‐Ar geochronology and geochemical data on lavas from western Turkana show that Eocene volcanics have relatively low Pb (<19.1) and high εNd (>3.78). Their relatively high Ba/Rb (35–78) ratios suggest contributions from the shallow lithospheric mantle. Oligo‐Miocene Turkana volcanics have HIMU‐ and EMI‐ type enriched mantle signatures with overall lower Ba/Rb ratios, which is consistent with partial melting of plume material. Pliocene and younger Turkana volcanics have low Ba/Rb and Sr‐Nd‐Pb isotope ratios that resemble those of Ethiopian volcanics with elevated He ratios. This temporal variation can be reconciled with a layered plume model where an outer layer of ancient recycled oceanic crust and sediment overlies more primitive lower mantle material. Beneath Ethiopia, the outer layer of the plume is either missing or punctured by the delamination of the thicker overlying lithospheric mantle at ca. 30 Ma, an event that would have facilitated the rapid upwelling of the inner portion of the plume and triggered the Ethiopian flood volcanism. The outer layer of the plume may be thicker in the southern EARS, which could explain the occurrence of young HIMU‐ and EMI‐type volcanics with primordial noble gas signatures. 

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