The Shatsky Rise is an oceanic plateau consisting of three main massifs that were constructed in the Pacific Ocean by intense volcanism during the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous. In order to explore the sources of this oceanic plateau, we present noble gas compositions from fresh quenched glasses cored by ocean drilling at Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Site U1347 on the Tamu Massif and Site U1350 on the Ori Massif. The studied glasses are normal-type basalts, the most abundant of four types of basalts defined by trace element compositions. Possible disturbances of noble gas compositions by posteruption radiogenic ingrowth in aged glasses are assessed by extraction of gases from glass vesicles by stepwise crushing. The 3 He/ 4 He ratios in glasses from Site U1347 are lower than atmospheric 3 He/ 4 He, presumably owing to magma degassing coupled with radiogenic ingrowth of 4 He. In contrast, glasses from Site U1350 exhibit a limited range of 3 He/ 4 He (5.5–5.9 Ra). Uniform 3 He/ 4 He cannot be achieved if gases in glass vesicles have been affected by secondary contamination or posteruption radiogenic ingrowth. Therefore, the uniform 3 He/ 4 He in the normal-type basalts from Site U1350 is ascribed to their source characteristics. Relatively low 3 He/ 4 He among oceanic basalts suggests the involvement of recycled slab material in the source of the normal-type basalts. However, the depleted radiogenic isotope signatures are inconsistent with recycled slab being a distinct melting component. Instead, we propose that the normal-type basalts of the Shatsky Rise were sourced from a domain where subducted fertile material is dispersed in the mantle.

Oceanic plateaus are formed by a large volume of basaltic rocks on top of the oceanic lithosphere. Alteration of these basalt lava piles leads to significant chemical element exchanges between mantle and oceans that can strongly influence chemical budget. Here we report boron (B), chlorine (Cl), and other element concentrations in basalt samples from the Shatsky Rise to define alteration processes and to estimate the significance of oceanic plateaus in storing these elements. Sampling includes 121 basaltic lavas and 92 fresh glasses collected at various depths from Holes U1346A, U1347A, U1349A, and U1350A during Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 324. Loss on ignition (LOI) results indicate that alteration affected basalts from the summit sites (U1346 and U1349) more deeply than those from the flank sites (U1347 and U1350). The positive correlations between B, K, and LOI observed in the basalts indicate that low-temperature seawater-derived alteration was the predominant process affecting Shatsky Rise basalts. This is confirmed by the elevated B/K and modest Cl/K ratios of these altered basalts relative to the fresh glasses. In addition, B concentrations in the summit basalts (~132 ppm) are significantly higher than those in normal altered oceanic crust and are likely related to the presence of illite. This suggests that the Shatsky Rise oceanic plateau may be an important sink for B in the Pacific oceanic crust.

The Lyra Basin is believed to be a contiguous part of the Ontong Java Plateau (OJP), based on geophysical studies. Volcaniclastic rocks dredged at two sites in the Lyra Basin document another post-plateau episode of magmatism on the OJP; they are olivine-titanaugite-phyric alkali basalts with as much as ~30% modal phenocrysts. Lyra Basin basalts have compositions that vary from picritic (MgO ~22 wt%) to more evolved (MgO ~5 wt%) and have low SiO 2 (41–46 wt%), high TiO 2 (2–4 wt%), and high Na 2 O + K 2 O (1–5 wt%) contents that are distinctly different from tholeiites that compose the main OJP. The 40 Ar- 39 Ar weighted mean age of Lyra Basin basalts is 65.3 ± 1.1 Ma, determined using a single-grain laser fusion method of the ground-mass from the least altered alkali basalt and of biotite separates from differentiated samples. This age is interesting because it is much younger than the main stage of OJP formation (122 Ma) and no ca. 65 Ma alkaline basalts have been found previously near or on the OJP. Incompatible trace element modeling suggests that the volcanic rocks of the Lyra Basin may have been formed by a low degree of partial melting (~3%), predominantly at the garnet-lherzolite stability field from the same OJP mantle source preserved in its thick lithospheric root. However, major and trace elements and isotopic compositions can be better explained by magma mixing of Rarotongan alkali magma and magma derived from OJP-source mantle melting (12% partial melting at garnet stability field) in the ratio of 1:2. Although the trace element compositions of Lyra basalts can be reproduced by OJP-source mantle melting with or without contribution from the Rarotongan hotspot, the lower potassium content of the calculated Rarotongan hotspot-influenced melt is more compatible with that of an average composition of Lyra basalt. These results are consistent with previous reconstruction of the OJP path from 120 Ma to its present position, indicating that it may have passed over the Rarotongan hotspot at 65 Ma. In either case, the petrogenesis of Lyra Basin basalts highlights the role of the thick lithospheric root of the OJP in the late-stage development of the plateau. Additional evidence for episodic late-stage magmatic activity on the OJP helps to elucidate the magmatic evolution of the plateau and may provide insights into the origins of other large igneous provinces.

The few geological and geophysical studies of the Lyra Basin at the western margin of the Ontong Java Plateau (OJP; Pacific Ocean) revealed that it is underlain by thicker than normal oceanic crust. The unusually thick oceanic crust is attributed to the emplacement of massive lava flows from the OJP. Dredging was conducted to sample the inferred OJP crust on the Lyra Basin but instead recovered younger extrusives that may have covered the older plateau lavas in the area. The Lyra Basin extrusives are alkalic basalts with ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) t = 0.704513–0.705105, ( 143 Nd/ 144 Nd) t = 0.512709–0.512749, ε Nd (t) = +3.0 to +3.8, ( 206 Pb/ 204 Pb) t = 18.488–18.722, ( 207 Pb/ 204 Pb) t = 15.558–15.577, and ( 208 Pb/ 204 Pb) t = 38.467–38.680 that are distinct from those of the OJP tholeiites. They have age-corrected ( 187 Os/ 188 Os) t = 0.1263–0.1838 that overlap with the range of values determined for the Kroenke-type and Kwaimbaita-type OJP basalts, but their ( 176 Hf/ 177 Hf) t = 0.28295–0.28299 and ε Hf (t) = +7.9 to +9.3 values are lower. These isotopic compositions do not match those of any Polynesian ocean island volcanics. Instead, the Lyra Basin basalts have geochemical affinity and isotopic compositions that overlap with those of some alkalic suite and alnöites in the island of Malaita, Solomon Islands. Although not directly related to the main plateau volcanism at 120 Ma, the geochemical data and modeling suggest that the origin of the Lyra Basin alkalic rocks may be genetically linked to the mantle preserved in the OJP thick lithospheric root, with magmatic contribution from the Rarotongan hotspot.