Age and petrology of the Kalaupapa Basalt, Molokai, Hawaii ( geochemistry, Sr isotopes).

The post-erosional Kalaupapa Basalt on East Molokai, Hawaii, erupted between 0.34 and 0.57 million years ago to form the Kalaupapa Peninsula. The Kalaupapa Basalt ranges in composition from basanite to lava transitional between alkalic and tholeiitic basalt. Rare-earth and other trace-element abundances suggest that the Kalaupapa Basalt could be generated by 11-17% partial melting of a light-REE-enriched source like that from which the post-erosional lavas of the Honolulu Group on Oahu were generated by 2-11% melting. The 87Sr/86Sr ratios of the lavas range from 0.70320 to 0.70332, suggesting that the variation in composition mainly reflects variation in the melting process rather than heterogeneity of sources. The length of the period of volcanic quiescence that preceded eruption of post-erosional lavas in the Hawaiian Islands decreased as volcanism progressed from Kauai toward Kilauea. - Authors