Neogene to Recent Mafic Volcanism in Death Valley Reveals Architecture of Deep Mojavia Lithosphere

Abstract:

At 10-0 m.y., the evolution of the Death Valley region, SE California, was characterized by repeated extrusion of mafic and intermediate lavas. The volume of these lavas appears to have diminished with time, from the relatively extensive (now faulted) Sheephead, Death Valley, Shoshone, and Funeral basalts to small monogenic volcanic centers (Split Cinder Cone, Ubehebe). A common denominator of these lavas is their transitional alkaline character (in general, trachybasalts to trachydacites with Na > K), relatively low MgO (1.5 to 6 wt.%), varying Fe₂O₃(tot) (4 to 12 wt.%) and Ni (10 to 80 ppm). They are all strongly enriched in the LREE: Chondrite-normalized La/Yb varies between 10 and 28, with the earlier, more voluminous lavas being less enriched (10 to 18) than the youngest volcanics (27 to 28). The initial Nd isotope composition of the lavas is outstandingly varying and does not correlate with fractionation stage. Their epsilon-Nd values vary from -10 to -2 and none of them thus registers a major asthenospheric component. Overall, these transitional mafic magmas probably represent relatively low-degree melts from the subcontinental lithosphere underneath the cratonic Mojavia crust. The ¹⁴⁷Sm/¹⁴⁴Nd ratios of the lavas show a restricted range (0.0930 to 0.1140) and, together with the measured ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd ratios of the lavas, define Meso- to Neoproterozoic depleted mantle model ages between 800 and 1200 Ma. These have now spatial control across the Death Valley region and are clearly lower than those measured for the exposed craton. This suggest that the Mojavia cratonic mantle lithosphere may be a random amalgamation of ultramafic domains that vary in the degree of metasomatism and rejuvenation.