Tectonic-Volcanic Interplay in the Dabbahu Segment of the Afar Rift from Cosmogenic 3He Constraints

The Afar Rift in Ethiopia is one of the only subaerial locations in the world where the transition from continental break-up to oceanic-spreading can be observed. Extension and volcanism in the Afar is concentrated in tectono-magmatic segments (TMS), similar in size and morphology to those that characterise spreading ridges. The Dabbahu TMS is the southernmost of the western Afar and has recently been the site of significant activity. A massive seismic event in late 2005, triggered by the injection of an 8-m wide dyke, heralded the onset of a new rifting period in the Dabbahu TMS. Volcanic activity associated with the periods of magma-driven extension, which have recurred at 4-8 mth intervals, has been both silicic (explosive) and basaltic (fissural). The most recent activity in the Afar thus testifies to the close interplay of tectonics and magmatism in rifting environments. In an effort to decipher the long-term structural and volcanic evolution of Dabbahu TMS we have employed the cosmogenic nuclide dating technique to provide chronological data for the segment. This method has advantages over other geochronological tools in that we can target both volcanic and tectonic surfaces of a few Kyr to several Myr age. Baddi Volcano, located off-axis on the western margin of the TMS, is a bimodal central stratovolcano typical of the Afar TMS. Late-stage basaltic lava flows cap an acidic base, which has been dated at 290 ± 4 ka using the K-Ar technique (Lahitte et al., 2003). Following preliminary sampling in 2007, we have determined a cosmogenic 3He age of 53.4 ± 3.7 ka from multiple samples from one of the basaltic flows on the NW flank of Baddi. These data show a significant time gap (240 Kyr) between the final phase of acidic volcanism and the onset of basaltic activity at the central volcanoes, presumably related to the rate of magma chamber replenishment. To test whether the spectacular shift to basaltic activity at 53 ka represents replenishment of the entire sub-rift plumbing system, work is underway to measure cosmogenic 3He ages of further structural and volcanic features in the TMS, including the flows that form the extensive basaltic floor of the segment and large fault scarps formed during the initiation of rifting. Reference: Lahitte et al., 2003. EPSL 207, 103-116