Open AccessTuffaceous Mud is a Volumetrically Important Volcaniclastic Facies of Submarine Arc Volcanism and Record of Climate Change
Author(s) -
Gill J. B.,
Bongiolo E. M.,
Miyazaki T.,
Hamelin C.,
Jutzeler M.,
DeBari S.,
Jonas AS.,
Vaglarov B. S.,
Nascimento L. S.,
Yakavonis M.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
geochemistry, geophysics, geosystems
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.928
H-Index - 136
ISSN - 1525-2027
DOI - 10.1002/2017gc007300
Subject(s) - geology , subaerial , pyroclastic rock , volcano , geochemistry , volcanism , continental arc , rhyolite , seamount , volcanic plateau , terrigenous sediment , igneous rock , paleontology , lava , volcanic rock , sedimentary rock , tectonics
The inorganic portion of tuffaceous mud and mudstone in an oceanic island arc can be mostly volcanic in origin. Consequently, a large volume of submarine volcaniclastic material is as extremely fine‐grained as products of subaerial eruptions (<100 µm). Using results of IODP Expedition 350 in the Izu rear arc, we show that such material can accumulate at high rates (12–20 cm/k.y.) within 13 km of the nearest seamount summit and scores of km behind the volcanic front. The geochemistry of bulk, acid‐leached mud, and its discrete vitriclasts, shows that >75% of the mud is volcanic, and that most of it was derived from proximal rear arc volcanic sources. It faithfully preserves integrated igneous geochemical information about arc evolution in much the same way that terrigenous shales track the evolution of continental crust. In addition, their high sedimentation rate enables high resolution study of climate cycles, including the effects of Pleistocene glaciation on the behavior of the Kuroshio Current in the Shikoku Basin south of Japan.