Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Intra-oceanic Barren Island and Narcondam Arc Volcanoes, Andaman Sea: Implications for Subduction Inputs and Crustal Overprint of a Depleted Mantle Source

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Topics in Igneous Petrology

Abstract

The active Barren Island volcano and the Pleistocene Narcondam ­volcano, located ∼140 km to the North, are the only two subaerially exposed Andaman arc volcanoes, which rise from the 1,000 to 2,300 m deep seafloor of the Andaman Sea, and are associated with the subduction of the Indian plate beneath the Burma plate. Lavas at Barren Island range in composition from basalt to andesite while lavas from Narcondam volcano range from andesite to silicic andesite/dacite. Similarities in the geochemistry of both lava suites include strong and comparable depletions in Nb and Ta (K2O/Nb ∼0.7; Ba/Nb 130–250), low MORB-like Nb/Zr (0.01–0.03) and nearly constant U/Th (0.15–0.22). These characteristics suggest a genetic link between both magma suites, but there are geochemical differences such as elevated trace element abundances and ratios in Narcondam lavas compared to Barren Island lavas. These include elevated Ba, Rb, and U concentrations and higher Ba/Zr and Nb/Zr. Additionally, isotopic ratios of Barren Island lavas are 87Sr/86Sr ∼0.7039–0.7041, 143Nd/144Nd ∼0.51285–0.51296, and 206Pb/204Pb ∼18.063–18.309. For Narcondam, isotope ratios are 87Sr/86Sr > 0.705, 143Nd/144Nd ∼0.51270, and 206Pb/204Pb ∼18.565–18.617. Additional geochemical parameters (e.g., Sr/Y, Zr/Y, Th/La, U/La, Ba/La) of Narcondam lavas positively correlate with increasing SiO2 but are anchored at the mafic end within compositions observed at Barren Island volcano.

Similarities in the geochemistry of both lava suites, of which some (e.g. high Th/Nb) stand out in comparison to other intra-oceanic arc systems, almost certainly originate early during the generation of these magmas, most-likely in the source of magmas that do not change subsequently. On the other hand, generally more incompatible element enriched silicic Narcondam magmas are best explained by amphibole-dominated fractionation of a Barren Island-type basalt. Such a scenario would be consistent with an increase of Sr/Y correlated with increased silica and the presence of greater amphibole in samples with higher Sr/Y. The shift in isotopic values from typical Barren Island values to those of Narcondam samples is likely caused by assimilation of extended continental crust and/or sediments from the fan associated with the Irrawaddy Delta at the Myanmar continental margin.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Barclay J, Rutherford MJ, Carroll MR, Murphy MD, Devine JD, Gardner J, Sparks RSJ (1998) Experimental phase equilibria constraints on pre-eruptive storage conditions of the Soufriere Hills magma. Geophys Res Lett 25(18):3437–3440

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Curray JR (2005) Tectonics and history of the Andaman Sea region. J Asian Earth Sci 25:187–232

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dasgupta S, Mukhopadhyay M (1993) Seismicity and plate deformation below the Andaman arc, northeastern Indian Ocean. Tectonophysics 225:529–542

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson J, Turner S, Handley H, Macpherson C, Dosseto A (2007) Amphibole sponge in arc crust? Geology 35:787–790

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Defant MJ, Drummond MS (1990) Derivation of some modern arc magmas by partial melting of young subducted lithosphere. Nature 347:662–665

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duncan RA, Keller RA (2004) Radiometric ages for basement rocks from the Emperor Seamounts, ODP Leg 197. Geochem Geophys Geosyst 5: Art.No. Q08L03. doi: 10.1029/2004GC000704

    Google Scholar 

  • Elliott T (2003) Tracers of the slab. In: Eiler J (ed) Inside the subduction factory. Geophys Monog 138:23–45

    Google Scholar 

  • Gasparotto G, Spadafora E, Summa V, Tateo F (2000) Contribution of grain size and ­compositional data from the Bengal Fan sediment to the understanding of Toba volcanic event. Marine Geol 162:561–572

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gill JB (1981) Orogenic andesites and plate tectonics. Springer, Berlin, pp 1–391

    Google Scholar 

  • Haldar D, Banerjee PK, Streck MJ, Mukherjee P (2007) Quaternary volcanism on the Barren and Narcondam Islands in the Andaman Sea: Arc magmatism within a rift tectonic environment. In: Ray J, Bhattacharyya C (eds) Igneous petrology: 21st century perspective. Allied Publishers Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson DM, Hooper PR, Conrey RM (1999) XRF analysis of rocks and minerals for major and trace elements on single dilution Li-tetrahorate fused bead. Adv X-ray Anal 41:843–867

    Google Scholar 

  • Khan PK, Chakraborty PP (2005) Two-phase opening of Andaman Sea: a new seismotectonic insight. Earth Plan Sci Lett 229:259–271

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kimberly P, Siebert L, Luhr JF, Simkin T (1998) Volcanoes of Indonesia, v. 1.0 (CD-ROM), Smithsonian Institution, Global Volcanism Program, Digital Information Series, GVP-1

    Google Scholar 

  • Knaack C, Cornelius SB, Hooper PR (1994) Trace element analyses of rocks and minerals by ICP-MS. GeoAnalytical Lab, Washington State University, Washington DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Koppers AAR (2002) ArArCALC – software for 40Ar/39Ar age calculations. Comput Geosci 28:605–619

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leat PT, Smellie JL, Millar IL, Larter RD (2003) Magmatism in the South Sandwich arc. In: Larter RD, Leat PT (eds) Intra-oceanic subduction systems: tectonic and magmatic processes. Geological Society of Special Publications 219, London, pp 285–313

    Google Scholar 

  • Leeman WP, Lewis JF, Evarts RC, Conrey RM, Streck MJ (2005) Petrologic constraints on the thermal structure of the Cascades arc. J Volcanol Geotherm Res 140:67–105

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luhr JF, Haldar D (2006) Barren Island volcano (NE Indian Ocean): Island-arc high-alumina basalts produced by troctolite contamination. J Volcanol Geotherm Res 149:177–212

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • May WE, Watters RL (2004) Certificate of Analysis, Standard Reference Materials 997. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), 1–2

    Google Scholar 

  • Naslund HR (1989) Petrology of the Basistoppen sill, east Greenland: a calculated magma differentiation trend. J Petrol 30:299–319

    Google Scholar 

  • Office of Naval Research (2009) The Andaman Sea, An Atlas of Oceanic Internal Solitary Waves, Global Ocean Associates, http://www.internalwaveatlas.com/Atlas_PDF/IWAtlas_Pg207_AndamanSea.PDF

  • Pal T, Mitra SK, Sengupta S, Katari A, Bandopadhyay A (2007) Dacite – andesite of Narcondam volcano in the Andaman Sea – an imprint of magma mixing in the inner arc of the Andaman–Java subduction system. J Volcanol Geotherm Res 168:93–113

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patino LC, Carr MJ, Feigenson MD (2000) Local and regional variations in Central American arc lavas controlled by variations in subducted sediment input. Contrib Mineral Petrol 138:265–283

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pearce JA, Baker PE, Harvey PK, Luff IW (1995) Geochemical evidence for subduction fluxes, mantle melting, and fractional crystallization beneath the South Sandwich Island arc. J Petrol 36:1073–1109

    Google Scholar 

  • Plank T, Langmuir CH (1998) The chemical composition of subducting sediment and its consequences for the crust and mantle. Chem Geol 145:325–394

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raju KAK, Ramprasad PS, Rao PS, Rao BR, Varghese J (2004) New insights into the tectonic evolution of the Andaman basin, northeast Indian Ocean. Earth Planet Sci Lett 221:145–162

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramos FC (1992) Isotope geology of the Grouse Creek Mountains, Box Elder County, Utah. MS thesis, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, pp 1–92

    Google Scholar 

  • Renne PR, Swisher CC, Deino AL, Karner DB, Owens TL, DePaolo DJ (1998) Intercalibration of standards, absolute ages and uncertainties in 40Ar/39Ar dating. Chem Geol 145:117–152

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodolfo KS (1969) Bathymetry and marine geology of the Andaman Basin, and tectonic implications for Southeast Asia. Geol Soc Am Bull 80:1203–1230

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rutherford MJ, Devine JD (2003) Magmatic conditions and magma ascent as indicated by ­hornblende phase equilibria and reactions in the 1995–2002 Soufriére Hills magma. J Petrol 44:1433–1454

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rutherford MJ, Hill PM (1993) Magma ascent rates from amphibole breakdown: Experiments and the 1980-1986 Mount St Helens eruptions. J Geophys Res 98:19667–19685

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shanker R, Haldar D, Absar A, Chakraborty SC (2001) Pictorial monograph of the Barren Island Volcano: the lone active volcano in the Indian subcontinent. Geological Survey of India, Kolkata, p 87

    Google Scholar 

  • Sun SS, McDonough WF (1989) Chemical and isotopic systematics of oceanic basalts: implications for mantle composition and processes. In: Saunders AD, Norry MJ (eds) Magmatism in the Ocean Basins. Geological Society of America Special Publication 42, pp 313–345

    Google Scholar 

  • Stern RJ, Kohut E, Bloomer SH, Leybourne M, Fouch M, Vervoort J (2006) Subduction factory processes beneath the Guguan cross-chain, Mariana Arc: no role for sediments, are serpetinites important? Contrib Mineral Petrol 151:202–221

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Streck MJ (2008) Mineral textures and zoning as evidence for open system processes. Rev Miner Geochem 69:595–622

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Streck MJ, Grunder AL (1997) Compositional gradients and gaps in high-silica rhyolites of the Rattlesnake Tuff, Oregon. J Petrol 38:133–163

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thorne L et al (2005) The great Sumatra–Andaman earthquake of 26 December 2004. Science 308:1127–1133

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watson EB, Harrison TM (1983) Zircon saturation revisited: temperature and composition effects in a variety of crustal types. Earth Planet Sci Lett 70:295–304

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams H, Turner FJ, Gilbert (1982) Petrography: an introduction to the study of rocks in thin sections. W.H. Freeman, New York, pp 1–626

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolff JA, Ramos FC (2003) Pb isotope variations among Bandelier Tuff feldspars: no evidence for a long-lived silicic magma chamber. Geology 31:533–536

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We like to thank the editors of this special publication for their invitation to contribute this paper. We also thank the two reviewers for constructive comments that helped to improve this manuscript. Further more, we thank Tim Elliott for making his data compilations available.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology, Portland State University, Portland, OR, 97207, USA

    Martin J. Streck & Aspen Gillam

  2. Department of Geological Sciences, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, 88003, USA

    Frank Ramos

  3. Geology Department, Presidency College, Kolkata, 700 073, India

    Dhanapati Haldar

  4. College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA

    Robert A. Duncan

Authors
  1. Martin J. Streck
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Frank Ramos
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Aspen Gillam
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Dhanapati Haldar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Robert A. Duncan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Martin J. Streck .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Geology, University of Calcutta, Ballygunge Circular Rd. 35, Kolkata, 700019, India

    Jyotisankar Ray

  2. Dept. Earth Sciences, Florida Center for Analytical, Florida International University, Miami, 33199, Florida, USA

    Gautam Sen

  3. , Department of Geology, University of Calcutta, Ballygunge Circular Road, Kolkata, 700019, India

    Biswajit Ghosh

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Streck, M.J., Ramos, F., Gillam, A., Haldar, D., Duncan, R.A. (2011). The Intra-oceanic Barren Island and Narcondam Arc Volcanoes, Andaman Sea: Implications for Subduction Inputs and Crustal Overprint of a Depleted Mantle Source. In: Ray, J., Sen, G., Ghosh, B. (eds) Topics in Igneous Petrology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9600-5_11

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation