The Shatsky Rise is one of the largest oceanic plateaus, a class of volcanic features whose formation is poorly understood. It is also a plateau that was formed near spreading ridges, but the connection between the two features is unclear. The geologic structure of the Shatsky Rise can help us understand its formation. Deeply penetrating two-dimensional (2-D) multichannel seismic (MCS) reflection profiles were acquired over the southern half of the Shatsky Rise, and these data allow us to image its upper crustal structure with unprecedented detail. Synthetic seismograms constructed from core and log data from scientific drilling sites crossed by the MCS lines establish the seismic response to the geology. High-amplitude basement reflections result from the transition between sediment and underlying igneous rock. Intrabasement reflections are caused by alternations of lava flow packages with differing properties and by thick interflow sediment layers. MCS profiles show that two of the volcanic massifs within the Shatsky Rise are immense central volcanoes. The Tamu Massif, the largest (~450 km × 650 km) and oldest (ca. 145 Ma) volcano, is a single central volcano with a rounded shape and shallow flank slopes (<0.5°–1.5°), characterized by lava flows emanating from the volcano center and extending hundreds of kilometers down smooth, shallow flanks to the surrounding seafloor. The Ori Massif is a large volcano that is similar to, but smaller than, the Tamu Massif. The morphology of the massifs implies formation by extensive and far-ranging lava flows emplaced at small slope angles. The relatively smooth flanks of the massifs imply that the volcanoes were not greatly affected by rifting due to spreading ridge tectonics. Deep intrabasement reflectors parallel to the upper basement surface imply long-term isostasy with the balanced addition of material to the surface and subsurface. No evidence of subaerial erosion is found at the summits of the massifs, suggesting that they were never highly emergent.

The Shatsky Rise, located in the northwest Pacific Ocean, is one of the largest oceanic plateaus. The origin and evolution of the oceanic plateaus are unclear because these features are remote and poorly imaged with geophysical data. Marine multi-channel seismic (MCS) data were collected over the Shatsky Rise to image its upper crustal structure. These data have the potential to improve understanding of the processes of basaltic volcanism and the formation and evolution of oceanic plateaus by providing direct insights into the geometry and distribution of igneous eruptions. In contrast to sedimentary settings, it is often difficult to interpret deeper layers within basaltic crust because of rugged layering and scattering. Reflections in igneous crust are characterized by poor lateral continuity compared with marine sediments and often by weak impedance contrasts, resulting in a lower signal-to-noise ratio and a more challenging interpretation. In this paper we apply the two-dimensional (2-D) anisotropic continuous wavelet transform (CWT) method to improve interpretations of MCS data from the Shatsky Rise oceanic plateau. Applying the transform to the time domain MCS profiles with appropriate values of wavelength and period produces new images with enhanced continuity of reflectors and reduced amplitudes of incoherent noise at different periods. The analysis of the results obtained by using 2-D CWT on the MCS data over the Tamu massif part of the Shatsky Rise also helps reveal features such as dome-like bulges possibly associated with lava intrusion and faults in the deeper part of the crust associated with volcanic rock. These were not readily seen in the original seismic images, but the suppression of random noise and other signals with low coherence makes their interpretation possible. These and similar results provide new insights into the complexity of the igneous processes forming the Tamu massif.

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.

ABSTRACT What causes recurrent mass extinctions of life? We find that the ages of 10 of the 11 well-documented extinction episodes of the last 260 m.y. show correlations, at very high confidence (>99.99%), with the ages of the largest impact craters or the ages of massive continental flood-basalt eruptions. The four largest craters (≥100 km diameter, impact energies ≥3 × 10 7 Mt trinitrotoluene [TNT]) can be linked with recognized extinction events at 36, 66, 145, and 215 Ma, and with stratigraphic distal impact debris correlative with the extinctions. The ages of 7 out of 11 major flood-basalt episodes can be correlated with extinction events at 66, 94, ca. 120, 183, 201, 252, and 260 Ma. All seven flood-basalt–extinction co-events have coincident volcanogenic mercury anomalies in the stratigraphic record, closely linking the extinctions to the volcanism. Furthermore, the seven major periods of widespread anoxia in the oceans of the last 260 m.y. are significantly correlated (>99.99%) with the ages of the flood-basalt–extinction events, supporting a causal connection through volcanism-induced climate warming. Over Phanerozoic time (the last 541 m.y.), the six “major” mass extinctions (≥40% extinction of marine genera) are all correlated with the ages of flood-basalt episodes, and stratigraphically with related volcanogenic mercury anomalies. In only one case, the end of the Cretaceous (66 Ma), is there an apparent coincidence of a “major” mass-extinction event with both a very large crater (Chicxulub) and a continental flood-basalt eruption (the Deccan Traps). The highly significant correlations indicate that extinction episodes are typically related to severe environmental crises produced by the largest impacts and by periods of flood-basalt volcanism. About 50% of the impacts of the past 260 m.y. seem to have occurred in clusters, supporting a picture of brief pulses of increased comet or asteroid flux. The largest craters tend to fall within these age clusters. Cross-wavelet transform analyses of the ages of impact craters and extinction events show a common, strong ~26 m.y. cycle, with the most recent phase of the cycle at ~12 Ma, correlating with a minor extinction event at 11.6 Ma. The stream of life flows so slowly that the imagination fails to grasp the immensity of time required for its passage, but like many another stream it pulses irregularly as it flows. There are times of quickening, the expression points of evolution, which are almost invariably coincident with some great geologic change, and the correspondence so exact and so frequent that the laws of chance may not be invoked by way of explanation. —Richard Swann Lull ( Organic Evolution , New York, Macmillan, 1929, p. 693)

Abstract The Indo-Myanmar Ranges (IMR) of NE India are host to various ophiolitic rocks, including metamorphosed Alpine-type harzburgite and lherzolite. Compared to abyssal peridotites of normal oceanic lithosphere, these ultramafic rocks are enriched in trace and rare earth elements. Spilitic pillow lavas along with mafic dykes and sills locally intruded into the serpentinized ultramafic rocks and associated pelagic sediments exhibit alkaline compositional affinities. Ophiolite formation and emplacement were by a process analogous to that described for mantle exhumation in hyper-extended continental margin settings and ophiolites in parts of the European Alps, involving very slow passive continental margin rifting accompanied by slow upwelling or extensional unroofing of the subcontinental upper mantle up to the seafloor. Preliminary palaeomagnetic measurements conducted on ultramafic rocks within the IMR ophiolite belt give a virtual geomagnetic pole (VGP) at 47° N, 045° E for thermal demagnetization (TDM) measurements and 33° N, 013° E for the alternating field demagnetization (AfD) measurements, requiring an anticlockwise rotation of the ultramafic bodies by 14° during the subduction process. The original trend of the spreading axis of the ophiolites was probably NE–SW, with spreading directed NW–SE. Computation of palaeolatitude of the ultramafic rocks gives an average value of 24.67°. Comparison between the palaeolatitude and the present latitude of the sample sites provides a mere latitudinal shift of less than 1°. Field studies, combined with an analysis of structural and tectonic features in the IMR, suggest a generalized WNW–ESE (east–west) compression and NNE–SSW (north–south) extension contradictory to the NNE–SSW contraction indicated by seismic data. Area balancing techniques employed along sections orientated perpendicular to regional tectonic strike in the IMR reveal systematic variations in the amount of crustal shortening, with a maximum of approximately 60% recorded in the Nagaland–Manipur segment along 25.644° N, 93.826° E–25.076° N, 95.897° E. The amount of shortening gradually decreases away from the axis of maximum shortening and on both sides. Calculations of relative plate motion based on rotation vectors given by different workers for various plate pairs represented in the region reveal that the interaction between the Indian and Myanmar plates can ideally produce the structural and tectonic features of this range. Dextral shear coupled to oblique subduction of the Indian Plate below the Myanmar Plate can best explain all of the structural and tectonic features present in the IMR.