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Emergence and evolution of Santa Maria Island (Azores)—The conundrum of uplifted islands revisited

2016; Geological Society of America; Volume: 129; Issue: 3-4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1130/b31538.1

1943-2674

Ricardo S. Ramalho, George Helffrich, José Madeira, Michael A. Cosca, Christine Thomas, Rui Quartau, Ana Hipólito, Alessio Rovere, Paul J. Hearty, Sérgio P. Ávila,

Geological and Geophysical Studies

Research Article| March 01, 2017 Emergence and evolution of Santa Maria Island (Azores)—The conundrum of uplifted islands revisited Ricardo S. Ramalho; Ricardo S. Ramalho † 1School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Wills Memorial Building, Queen's Road, Bristol, BS8 1RJ, UK2Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University, Comer Geochemistry Building, 61 Route 9W/P.O. Box 1000, Palisades, New York 10964-8000, USA †ric.ramalho@bristol.ac.uk Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar George Helffrich; George Helffrich 3Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-IE-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar José Madeira; José Madeira 4Departamento de Geologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal5Instituto Dom Luiz, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Michael Cosca; Michael Cosca 6U.S. Geological Survey, Denver Federal Center, MS 963, Denver, Colorado 80225, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Christine Thomas; Christine Thomas 7Institut für Geophysik, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, Corrensstraße 24, 48149 Münster, Germany Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Rui Quartau; Rui Quartau 5Instituto Dom Luiz, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal8Divisão de Geologia Marinha, Instituto Hidrográfico, Rua das Trinas, 49, 1249-093 Lisboa, Portugal Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Ana Hipólito; Ana Hipólito 9Instituto de Investigação em Vulcanologia e Avaliação de Riscos (IVAR), Universidade dos Açores, Rua da Mãe de Deus, Edifício do Complexo Científico, 3° Andar-Ala Sul, 9500-321 Ponta Delgada, Açores, Portugal Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Alessio Rovere; Alessio Rovere 10Center for Marine Environmental Sciences (MARUM), University of Bremen, and Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Ecology (ZMT), Marum Pavillion 1110, 28359 Bremen, Germany Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Paul J. Hearty; Paul J. Hearty 11Department of Environmental Studies, University of North Carolina, Wilmington, North Carolina 28403, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Sérgio P. Ávila Sérgio P. Ávila 12Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre s/n, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal13Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos (CIBIO), InBIO Laboratório Associado, Pólo dos Açores, Departamento de Biologia da Universidade dos Açores, Campus de Ponta Delgada, Apartado 1422, 9501-801 Ponta Delgada, Açores, Portugal Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Ricardo S. Ramalho † 1School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Wills Memorial Building, Queen's Road, Bristol, BS8 1RJ, UK2Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University, Comer Geochemistry Building, 61 Route 9W/P.O. Box 1000, Palisades, New York 10964-8000, USA George Helffrich 3Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-IE-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan José Madeira 4Departamento de Geologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal5Instituto Dom Luiz, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal Michael Cosca 6U.S. Geological Survey, Denver Federal Center, MS 963, Denver, Colorado 80225, USA Christine Thomas 7Institut für Geophysik, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, Corrensstraße 24, 48149 Münster, Germany Rui Quartau 5Instituto Dom Luiz, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal8Divisão de Geologia Marinha, Instituto Hidrográfico, Rua das Trinas, 49, 1249-093 Lisboa, Portugal Ana Hipólito 9Instituto de Investigação em Vulcanologia e Avaliação de Riscos (IVAR), Universidade dos Açores, Rua da Mãe de Deus, Edifício do Complexo Científico, 3° Andar-Ala Sul, 9500-321 Ponta Delgada, Açores, Portugal Alessio Rovere 10Center for Marine Environmental Sciences (MARUM), University of Bremen, and Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Ecology (ZMT), Marum Pavillion 1110, 28359 Bremen, Germany Paul J. Hearty 11Department of Environmental Studies, University of North Carolina, Wilmington, North Carolina 28403, USA Sérgio P. Ávila 12Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre s/n, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal13Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos (CIBIO), InBIO Laboratório Associado, Pólo dos Açores, Departamento de Biologia da Universidade dos Açores, Campus de Ponta Delgada, Apartado 1422, 9501-801 Ponta Delgada, Açores, Portugal †ric.ramalho@bristol.ac.uk Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 22 Mar 2016 Revision Received: 10 Aug 2016 Accepted: 23 Sep 2016 First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Online Issn: 1943-2674 Print Issn: 0016-7606 © 2016 Geological Society of America GSA Bulletin (2017) 129 (3-4): 372–390. https://doi.org/10.1130/B31538.1 Article history Received: 22 Mar 2016 Revision Received: 10 Aug 2016 Accepted: 23 Sep 2016 First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Ricardo S. Ramalho, George Helffrich, José Madeira, Michael Cosca, Christine Thomas, Rui Quartau, Ana Hipólito, Alessio Rovere, Paul J. Hearty, Sérgio P. Ávila; Emergence and evolution of Santa Maria Island (Azores)—The conundrum of uplifted islands revisited. GSA Bulletin 2017;; 129 (3-4): 372–390. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/B31538.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract The growth and decay of ocean-island volcanoes are intrinsically linked to vertical movements. While the causes for subsidence are better understood, uplift mechanisms remain enigmatic. Santa Maria Island in the Azores Archipelago is an ocean-island volcano resting on top of young lithosphere, barely 480 km away from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Like most other Azorean islands, Santa Maria should be experiencing subsidence. Yet, several features indicate an uplift trend instead. In this paper, we reconstruct the evolutionary history of Santa Maria with respect to the timing and magnitude of its vertical movements, using detailed field work and 40Ar/39Ar geochronology. Our investigations revealed a complex evolutionary history spanning ∼6 m.y., with subsidence up to ca. 3.5 Ma followed by uplift extending to the present day. The fact that an island located in young lithosphere experienced a pronounced uplift trend is remarkable and raises important questions concerning possible uplift mechanisms. Localized uplift in response to the tectonic regime affecting the southeastern tip of the Azores Plateau is unlikely, since the area is under transtension. Our analysis shows that the only viable mechanism able to explain the uplift is crustal thickening by basal intrusions, suggesting that intrusive processes play a significant role even on islands standing on young lithosphere, such as in the Azores. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.