Lifespans of Cascade Arc volcanoes

Abstract:

Compiled argon ages reveal inception, eruptive episodes, ages, and durations of Cascade stratovolcanoes and their ancestral predecessors. Geologic mapping and geochronology show that most Cascade volcanoes grew episodically on multiple scales with periods of elevated behavior lasting hundreds of years to ca. 100 kyr. Notable examples include the paleomag-constrained, few-hundred-year-long building of the entire 15-20 km³ Shastina edifice at Mt. Shasta, the 100 kyr-long episode that produced half of Mt. Rainier’s output, and the 30 kyr-long episode responsible for all of South and Middle Sister. Despite significant differences in timing and rates of construction, total durations of active and ancestral volcanoes at discrete central-vent locations are similar. Glacier Peak, Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood, and Mt. Mazama all have inception ages of 400-600 ka. Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Jefferson, Newberry Volcano, Mt. Shasta and Lassen Domefield have more recent inception ages of 200-300 ka. Only the Sisters cluster and Mt. Baker have established eruptive histories spanning less than 50 kyr. Ancestral volcanoes centered 5-20 km from active stratocones appear to have similar total durations (200-600 kyr), but are less well exposed and dated. The underlying mechanisms governing volcano lifecycles are cryptic, presumably involving tectonic and plumbing changes and perhaps circulation cycles in the mantle wedge, but are remarkably consistent along the arc.