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- Paleomagnetic study of the Great Foum Zguid dyke (southern Morocco): A positive contact test related to metasomatic processesPublication . Silva, Pedro; Henry, B.; Marques, Fernando O.; Madureira, P.; Miranda, Jorge MiguelWhen a paleomagnetic pole is sought for in an igneous body, the host rocks should be subjected to a contact test to assure that the determined paleopole has the age of the intrusion. If the contact test is positive, it precludes the possibility that the measured magnetization is a later effect. Therefore, we investigated the variations of the remanent magnetization along cross-sections of rocks hosting the Foum Zguid dyke (southern Morocco) and the dyke itself. A positive contact test was obtained, but it is mainly related with Chemical/Crystalline Remanent Magnetization due to metasomatic processes in the host-rocks during magma intrusion and cooling, and not only with Thermo-Remanent Magnetization as ordinarily assumed in standard studies. Paleomagnetic data obtained within the dyke then reflect the Earth magnetic field during emplacement of this well-dated (196.9 +/- 1.8 Ma) intrusion.
- Palaeomagnetic study of a subaerial volcanic ridge (Sao Jorge Island, Azores) for the past 1.3 Myr: evidence for the Cobb Mountain Subchron, volcano flank instability and tectonomagmatic implicationsPublication . Silva, Pedro; Henry, B.; Marques, Fernando O.; Hildenbrand, A.; Madureira, P.; Meriaux, C. A.; Kratinova, Z.We present a palaeomagnetic study on 38 lava flows and 20 dykes encompassing the past 1.3 Myr on S. Jorge Island (Azores ArchipelagoNorth Atlantic Ocean). The sections sampled in the southeastern and central/western parts of the island record reversed and normal polarities, respectively. They indicate a mean palaeomagnetic pole (81.3 degrees N, 160.7 degrees E, K= 33 and A95= 3.4 degrees) with a latitude shallower than that expected from Geocentric Axial Dipole assumption, suggesting an effect of non-dipolar components of the Earth magnetic field. Virtual Geomagnetic Poles of eight flows and two dykes closely follow the contemporaneous records of the Cobb Mountain Subchron (ODP/DSDP programs) and constrain the age transition from reversed to normal polarity at ca. 1.207 +/- 0.017 Ma. Volcano flank instabilities, probably related to dyke emplacement along an NNWSSE direction, led to southwestward tilting of the lava pile towards the sea. Two spatially and temporally distinct dyke systems have been recognized on the island. The eastern is dominated by NNWSSE trending dykes emplaced before the end of the Matuyama Chron, whereas in the central/western parts the eruptive fissures oriented WNWESE controlled the westward growth of the S. Jorge Island during the Brunhes Chron. Both directions are consistent with the present-day regional stress conditions deduced from plate kinematics and tectonomorphology and suggest the emplacement of dykes along pre-existing fractures. The distinct timing and location of each dyke system likely results from a slight shift of the magmatic source.
- Reconstructing the architectural evolution of volcanic islands from combined K/AR, morphologic, tectonic, and magnetic data. The Faial Island exemple (Azores)Publication . Hildenbrand, A.; Marques, Fernando O.; Costa, A. C. G.; Sibrant, A. L. R.; Silva, Pedro; Henry, B.; MIRANDA, JORGE MIGUEL; Madureira, P.The morpho-structural evolution of oceanic islands results from competition between volcano growth and partial destruction by mass-wasting processes. We present here a multi-disciplinary study of the successive stages of development of Faial (Azores) during the last 1 Myr. Using high-resolution digital elevation model (DEM), and new K/Ar, tectonic, and magnetic data, we reconstruct the rapidly evolving topography at successive stages, in response to complex interactions between volcanic construction and mass wasting, including the development of a graben. We show that: (1) sub-aerial evolution of the island first involved the rapid growth of a large elongated volcano at ca. 0.85 Ma, followed by its partial destruction over half a million years; (2) beginning about 360 ka a new small edifice grew on the NE of the island, and was subsequently cut by normal faults responsible for initiation of the graben; (3) after an apparent pause of ca. 250 kyr, the large Central Volcano (CV) developed on the western side of the island at ca 120 ka, accumulating a thick pile of lava flows in less than 20 kyr, which were partly channelized within the graben; (4) the period between 120 ka and 40 ka is marked by widespread deformation at the island scale, including westward propagation of faulting and associated erosion of the graben walls, which produced sedimentary deposits; subsequent growth of the CV at 40 ka was then constrained within the graben, with lava flowing onto the sediments up to the eastern shore; (5) the island evolution during the Holocene involves basaltic volcanic activity along the main southern faults and pyroclastic eruptions associated with the formation of a caldera volcano-tectonic depression. We conclude that the whole evolution of Faial Island has been characterized by successive short volcanic pulses probably controlled by brief episodes of regional deformation. Each pulse has been separated by considerable periods of volcanic inactivity during which the Faial graben gradually developed. We propose that the volume loss associated with sudden magma extraction from a shallow reservoir in different episodes triggered incremental downward graben movement, as observed historically, when immediate vertical collapse of up to 2 m was observed along the western segments of the graben at the end of the Capelinhos eruptive crises (1957-58).
- Variation of magnetic properties in sedimentary rocks hosting the Foum Zguid dyke (southern Morocco): Combined effects of re-crystallization and Fe-metasomatismPublication . Silva, Pedro; Henry, B.; Marques, Fernando O.; Mateus, A.; Madureira, P.; Lourenço, N.; Miranda, Jorge MiguelThe effects of dyke intrusion on the magnetic properties of host sedimentary rocks are still poorly understood. Therefore, we have evaluated bulk magnetic parameters of standard palaeomagnetic samples collected along several sections across the sediments hosting the Foum Zguid dyke in southern Morocco. The study has been completed with the evaluation of the magnetic fabric after laboratory application of sequential heating experiments. The present study shows that: (1) close to Fourn Zguid dykes, the variations of the bulk magnetic parameters and of the magnetic fabric is strongly related with re-crystallization and Fe-metasomatism intensity. (2) The thermal experiments on AMS of samples collected farther from the dyke and, thus, less affected by heating during dyke emplacement, indicate that 300-400 degrees C is the minimum experimental temperature necessary to trigger appreciable transformations of the pre-existing magnetic fabrics. For temperatures higher than ca. 580 degrees C, the magnetic fabric transformations are fully realized, with complete transposition of the initial fabric to a fabric similar to that of samples collected close to the dyke. Therefore, measured variations of the magnetic fabric can be used to evaluate re-crystallization temperatures experienced by the host sedimentary rock during dyke emplacement. The distinct magnetic behaviour observed along the cross-sections strongly suggests that samples collected farther from the dyke margins did not experience thermal episodes with temperatures higher than 300 degrees C after dyke emplacement. (3) AMS data shows a gradual variation of the magnetic fabric with distance from the dyke margin, from sub-horizontal K-3 away from the dyke to vertical K3 close to the dyke. Experimental heating shows that heat alone can be responsible for this strong variation. Therefore, such orientation changes should not be unequivocally interpreted as the result of a stress field (resulting from the emplacement of the dyke, for instance). (4) Magnetic studies prove to be a very sensitive tool to assess rock magnetic transformations, thermally and chemically induced by dyke intrusion in hosting sediments.