Large Igneous Provinces

This book explores all aspects of large igneous provinces as key processes in shaping our planet, for researchers, graduate students and mining industry professionals.

Published by the American Geophysical Union as part of the Geophysical Monograph Series, Volume 100. Continental flood basalts, volcanic passive margins, and oceanic plateaus represent the largest known volcanic episodes on our planet, yet they are not easily explained by plate tectonics. Indeed, some are likely to record periods when the outward transfer of material and energy from the Earth's interior operated in a significantly different mode than at present. In recent years, interest in large-scale mafic magmatism has surged as high-precision geochronological, detailed geochemical, and increasingly sophisticated geophysical data have become available for many provinces. However, the sheer amount of recent material, often in the form of detailed collaborative research projects, can overwhelm newcomers to the field and experts alike as the literature continues to grow dramatically. The need for an up-to-date review volume on a sizable subset of the major continental and oceanic flood basalt provinces, termed large igneous provinces, was recognized by the Commission on Large-Volume Basaltic Provinces (International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior), and the co-editors were charged with organizing and implementing such a volume. We hope that this volume will be valuable to researchers and graduate students worldwide, particularly to petrologists, geochemists, geochronologists, geodynamicists, and plate-tectonics specialists; it may also interest planetologists, oceanographers, and atmospheric scientists.

"Comprises articles stemming from the March 2013 international conference at London's Natural History Museum. Researchers across geological, geophysical, and biological disciplines present key results from research concerning the causes of mass extinction events"--

This summary report commences with a brief metallogenic overview of the northern Pacific Rim, with particular attention paid to the world-class Mesozoic and Cenozoic ore deposits that define the region's premier metallogenic provinces. This is followed by a summary of the relative attractiveness of the region's various mining jurisdictions, as recorded by recent exploration activity.

This book is Open Access. A digital copy can be downloaded for free from Wiley Online Library. Exploring the links between Large Igneous Provinces and dramatic environmental impact An emerging consensus suggests that Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) and Silicic LIPs (SLIPs) are a significant driver of dramatic global environmental and biological changes, including mass extinctions. Environmental changes caused by LIPs and SLIPs include rapid global warming, global cooling ('Snowball Earth'), oceanic anoxia events, mercury poisoning, atmospheric and oceanic acidification, and sea level changes. Continued research to characterize the effects of these extremely large and typically short duration igneous events on atmospheric and oceanic chemistry through Earth history can provide lessons for understanding and mitigating modern climate change. Large Igneous Provinces: A Driver of Global Environmental and Biotic Changes describes the interactions between the effects of LIPs and other drivers of climatic change, the limits of the LIP effect, and the atmospheric and oceanic consequences of LIPs in significant environmental events. Volume highlights include: Temporal record of large igneous provinces (LIPs) Environmental impacts of LIP emplacement Precambrian, Proterozoic, and Phanerozoic case histories Links between geochemical proxies and the LIP record Alternative causes for environmental change Key parameters related to LIPs and SLIPs for use in environmental change modelling Role of LIPs in Permo-Triassic, Triassic-Jurassic, and other mass extinction events The American Geophysical Union promotes discovery in Earth and space science for the benefit of humanity. Its publications disseminate scientific knowledge and provide resources for researchers, students, and professionals.

This memoir is the first to review all of Antarctica’s volcanism between 200 million years ago and the Present. The region is still volcanically active. The volume is an amalgamation of in-depth syntheses, which are presented within distinctly different tectonic settings. Each is described in terms of (1) the volcanology and eruptive palaeoenvironments; (2) petrology and origin of magma; and (3) active volcanism, including tephrochronology. Important volcanic episodes include: astonishingly voluminous mafic and felsic volcanic deposits associated with the Jurassic break-up of Gondwana; the construction and progressive demise of a major Jurassic to Present continental arc, including back-arc alkaline basalts and volcanism in a young ensialic marginal basin; Miocene to Pleistocene mafic volcanism associated with post-subduction slab-window formation; numerous Neogene alkaline volcanoes, including the massive Erebus volcano and its persistent phonolitic lava lake, that are widely distributed within and adjacent to one of the world’s major zones of lithospheric extension (the West Antarctic Rift System); and very young ultrapotassic volcanism erupted subglacially and forming a world-wide type example (Gaussberg).