Basalt from the Extinct Spreading Center in the West Philippine Basin: New Geochemical Results and Their Petrologic and Tectonic Implications

We present geological, bulk-rock geochemical and Sr–Nd–Hf isotopic data for mafic rocks from the West Philippine Basin (WPB). These mafic rocks comprise pillow basalts characterized by a vesicular structure. The mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB)-normalized trace element patterns of basalts from the study area display depletions in Nb. In addition, the chondrite-normalized lanthanide patterns of basalts from the WPB are characterized by significant depletions in the light lanthanides and nearly flat Eu to Lu segments. The investigated rocks have initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios (87Sr/86Sr(i)) of 0.703339–0.703455 and high εNd(t) values (8.0 to 8.7). Furthermore, basalts from the WPB have 176Hf/177Hf ratios that range from 0.28318 to 0.28321 and high εHf(t) from 15.2 to 16.3. Semi-quantitative modeling demonstrates that the parental melts of basalts from the study area were derived by ~20% adiabatic decompression melting of a rising spinel-bearing peridotite source. The Sr–Nd–Hf isotopic compositions of basalts from the WPB indicate that their parental magmas were derived from an upper mantle reservoir possessing the so-called Indian-type isotopic anomaly. Interpretation of the isotopic data suggests that the inferred mantle source was most likely influenced by minor inputs of a sediment melt derived from a downgoing lithospheric slab. Collectively, the petrographic and geochemical characteristics of basalts from the study area are analogous to those of mafic rocks with a back-arc basin (BAB)-like affinity. As such, the petrogenesis of basalts from the WPB can be linked to upwelling of an Indian-type mantle source due to lithospheric slab subduction that was followed by back-arc spreading.

Separation of Gagua Rise from Great Benham Rise in the West Philippine Basin during the Middle Eocene

The West Philippine Basin (WPB) has started opening at ~ 58 Ma and ceased spreading at ~ 33 Ma, developing a fast spreading (~ 44 mm/yr half-spreading rate) magmatic episode between 58 and 41 Ma and the second amagmatic episode between 41 and 33 Ma. The occurrence of the first stage of spreading is closely related to the Oki-Daito mantle plume and related Benham Rise (BR) and Urdaneta Plateau (UP) activity. To the east of the Luzon–Okinawa Fracture Zone (LOFZ), BR was the most active volcanism from 48 to 41 Ma. The geomagnetic ages on both sides of the LOFZ have been determined; however, their causal relationship and evolution in the WPB remain unclear. In this study, we performed integrated analyses of multichannel seismic data and swath bathymetry data for the area to the west of the LOFZ. To the west of the LOFZ, the Gagua Rise (GR), is identified by a high residual free-air gravity anomaly, volcanic seamount chains and an overlapping spreading center. The GR is located at magnetic isochrons C20/C22 (50 to 44 Ma) and shows a thick oceanic crust of at least 12.7 km. We first propose an oceanic plateau named Great Benham Rise (GBR) which includes GR, UP and BR. We infer that the GR was a portion of the GBR since ~ 49 Ma and was separated from the GBR at ~ 41 Ma by the right-lateral LOFZ motion. Later, the relict GBR magmatism only continued in the area to the east of the LOFZ. Overall, the GBR dominates the spreading history of the WPB.

In Situ Geochemical Compositions of the Minerals in Basaltic Rocks from the West Philippine Basin: Constraints on Source Lithology and Magmatic Processes

Since the early Cenozoic, the West Philippine Basin (WPB) and the whole Philippine Sea Plate (PSP) has undergone a complex geological evolution. In this study, we presented K-Ar ages, in situ trace element, and major element compositions of minerals of basalts collected from the Benham Rise and the Central Basin Fault (CBF) in the WPB, to constrain their magmatic process and regional geological evolution. Olivine phenocrysts and microlites in the alkali basalts (20.9 Ma) from the Benham Rise have forsterite (Fo) contents of 56.90%–76.10% and 53.13%-66.41%, respectively. The clinopyroxenes in the tholeiites (29.1 Ma) from the CBF is predominantly diopside and augite, and it is depleted in light rare earth elements (LREEs) (LaN/YbN=0.13–3.40) and large-ion lithophile elements (LILEs). The plagioclases in the basalts from both of the Benham Rise and the CBF are predominantly labradorite and andesine, with a minor amount of bytownite, and it is enriched in LREEs, Ba, Sr, and Pb and exhibits strong positive Eu anomalies. However, there exist obvious differences in plagioclase compositions between these two tectonic sites. The source lithology of the Benham Rise basaltic rocks could be garnet pyroxenite, and yet that of the CBF could be spinel-lherzolite. The calculated mantle potential temperature beneath the Benham Rise is 1439°C–1473°C, which is significantly higher than that beneath the CBF (1345°C–1381°C), suggesting there existed thermal anomaly beneath the Rise during basaltic magmatism. This study also calculated the temperature and pressure of the clinopyroxenes and plagioclases, which have been used to indicate magmatic processes. Finally, we suggest that the Benham Rise basaltic rocks may be related to a mantle plume (e.g., the Oki-Daito mantle plume), and the CBF was once located in a back-arc spreading center behind an active subduction zone. The extinction of the Oki-Daito mantle plume activity might be at about 20.9 Ma, and cessation of the back-arc spreading of WPB was at about 29.1 Ma or younger.