Strontium isotope ratios of pore waters and planktonic foraminifera from DSDP holes

A detailed record of the strontium-87 to strontium-86 ratio in seawater during the last 100 million years was determined by measuring this ratio in 137 well-preserved and well-dated fossil foraminifera samples. Sample preservation was evaluated from scanning electron microscopy studies, measured strontium-calcium ratios, and pore water strontium isotope ratios. The evolution of the strontium isotopic ratio in seawater offers a means to evaluate long-term changes in the global strontium isotope mass balance. Results show that the marine strontium isotope composition can be used for correlating and dating well-preserved authigenic marine sediments throughout much of the Cenozoic to a precision of +/- 1 million years. The strontium-87 to strontium-86 ratio in seawater increased sharply across the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary, but this feature is not readily explained as strontium input from a bolide impact on land.

(Table 1) Distribution of ichthyolith subtypes at DSDP Hole 62-464

At Site 464, a 308-meter-deep hole was drilled on the Hess Rise (39°51.64'N, 173°53.33'E; water depth 4637 m). The upper strata consist of siliceous clay and oozes of Pleistocene, Pliocene, and possibly latest Miocene ages (36 m) and the lower strata are Albian chert, chalk, and marlstone (219 m). The middle part of the stratigraphic section is pelagic brown clay (53 m) which is essentially barren of microfossils except for ichthyoliths. At the base of this middle unit in Core 10 is a recrystallized Cretaceous radiolarian assemblage and an impoverished late Miocene nannofossil assemblage. Fifteen samples from Cores 6 through 10 in the middle unit and three samples from the overlying siliceous clay were examined for ichthyoliths.

(Table 1) Geochemistry of feldspars at DSDP Holes 62-464 and 62-465A

Labradorite is the principal feldspar in tholeiitic basalt from Deep Sea Drilling Project Site 464, on northern Hess Rise. Andesine and oligoclase constitute most primary feldspar in the reportedly trachytic rocks from southern Hess Rise at Site 465. Secondary sanidine(?) has replaced the primary phases at Site 465. The secondary potassium feldspar probably resulted from reaction of trachyte with potassium-bearing hydrothermal fluids or sea water.

Seismic properties of volcanic rocks from DSDP Hole 62-465A

Hess Rise, a major structural feature in the northern Pacific, is one of several oceanic plateaus which apparently possess anomalous seismic structures (Sutton et al., 1971). Hence, Laboratory measurements of compressional- and shear-wave velocities in rocks from oceanic plateau regions are of considerable interest. Several questions come to mind: (1) Are compressional - wave velocities of volcanic rocks from oceanic plateaus similar to basalts of equivalent age from normal oceanic crust? (2) Do velocity-density relations for plateau rocks fit the well-established trends for Layer 2 basalts? (3) How do Poisson's ratios, determined from compressional- and shear-wave velocities, of oceanic plateau rocks compare with those of normal sea-floor basalts? To answer these questions, we have selected for velocity measurements five volcanic samples from different depths from Hole 465A, on southern Hess Rise. It is particularly significant that all the rocks are vesicular and have been highly altered, which significantly affects their elastic properties.

Geochemistry of oceanic crust of the Cocos Plate

New geochemical data from the Cocos Plate constrain the composition of the input into the Central American subduction zone and demonstrate the extent of influence of the Galápagos Hotspot on the Cocos Plate. Samples include sediments and basalts from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 1256 outboard of Nicaragua, gabbroic sills from ODP Sites 1039 and 1040, tholeiitic glasses from the Fisher Ridge off northwest Costa Rica, and basalts from the Galápagos Hotspot Track outboard of Central Costa Rica. Site 1256 basalts range from normal to enriched MORB in incompatible elements and have Pb and Nd isotopic compositions within the East Pacific Rise MORB field. The sediments have similar 206Pb/204Pb and only slightly more radiogenic 207Pb/204Pb and 208Pb/204Pb isotope ratios than the basalts. Altered samples from the subducting Galápagos Hotspot Track have similar Nd and Pb isotopic compositions to fresh Galápagos samples but have significantly higher Sr isotopic composition, indicating that the subduction input will have a distinct geochemical signature from Galápagos-type mantle material that may be present in the wedge beneath Costa Rica. Gabbroic sills from Sites 1039 and 1040 in East Pacific Rise (EPR) crust show evidence for influence of the Galápagos Hotspot ?100 km beyond the morphological hotspot track.