title: Nannofossils in 2011 El Hierro eruptive products reinstate plume model for Canary Islands.
abstract: The origin and life cycle of ocean islands have been debated since the early days of Geology. In the case of the Canary archipelago, its proximity to the Atlas orogen led to initial fracture-controlled models for island genesis, while later workers cited a Miocene-Quaternary east-west age-progression to support an underlying mantle-plume. The recent discovery of submarine Cretaceous volcanic rocks near the westernmost island of El Hierro now questions this systematic age-progression within the archipelago. If a mantle-plume is indeed responsible for the Canaries, the onshore volcanic age-progression should be complemented by progressively younger pre-island sedimentary strata towards the west, however, direct age constraints for the westernmost pre-island sediments are lacking. Here we report on new age data obtained from calcareous nannofossils in sedimentary xenoliths erupted during the 2011 El Hierro events, which date the sub-island sedimentary rocks to between late Cretaceous and Pliocene in age. This age-range includes substantially younger pre-volcanic sedimentary rocks than the Jurassic to Miocene strata known from the older eastern islands and now reinstate the mantle-plume hypothesis as the most plausible explanation for Canary volcanism. The recently discovered Cretaceous submarine volcanic rocks in the region are, in turn, part of an older, fracture-related tectonic episode.
authors.affiliation: Uppsala University, Dept. of Earth Sciences, Centre for Experimental Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry (CEMPEG), Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Kirsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zaczek
authors.affiliation: 1] Uppsala University, Dept. of Earth Sciences, Centre for Experimental Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry (CEMPEG), Uppsala, Sweden [2] University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Dept. of Physics (GEOVOL), Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain.
authors.forename: Valentin R
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Troll
authors.affiliation: University of Lisbon, Faculty of Sciences, Dept. and Centre of Geology, Portugal.
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cachao
authors.affiliation: University of Lisbon, Faculty of Sciences, Dept. and Centre of Geology, Portugal.
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.affiliation: Uppsala University, Dept. of Earth Sciences, Centre for Experimental Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry (CEMPEG), Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Frances M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Deegan
authors.affiliation: University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Dept. of Physics (GEOVOL), Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan Carlos
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Carracedo
authors.affiliation: Estacion Volcanologica de Canarias, IPNA-CSIC, La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain.
authors.forename: Vicente
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Soler
authors.affiliation: Uppsala University, Dept. of Earth Sciences, Centre for Experimental Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry (CEMPEG), Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Fiona C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Meade
authors.affiliation: Uppsala University, Dept. of Earth Sciences, Centre for Experimental Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry (CEMPEG), Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Steffi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Burchardt