Geochronologic evidence for Early Cretaceous volcanic activity on Barton Peninsula, King George Island, Antarctica

Abstract

Ages of six volcanic and plutonic rocks on Barton Peninsula, King George Island, were determined using ⁴⁰ Ar/ ³⁹ Ar and K-Ar isotopic systems. The ⁴⁰ Ar/³⁹ Ar and K-Ar ages of basaltic andesite and diorite range from 48 My to 74 My and systematically decrease toward the upper stratigraphic section. Two specimens of basaltic andesite which occur in the lowermost sequence of the peninsula, however, apparently define two distinct plateau ages of 52-53 My and 119-120 My. The latter is interpreted to represent the primary cooling age of basaltic andesite, whereas the former is interpreted as the thermally-reset age caused by the intrusion of Tertiary granitic pluton. The isochron ages calculated from the isotope correlation diagram corroborate our interpretation based on the apparent plateau ages. It is therefore likely that volcanism was active during the Early Cretaceous on Barton Peninsula. When the K-Ar ages of previous studies are taken into account with our result, the ages of basaltic andesite in the northern part of the Barton Peninsula are significantly older than those in the southern part. Across the north-west-south-east trending Barton fault bounding the two parts, there are significant differences in geochronologic and geologic aspects.