Rock Coring Koolau Volcano

• Mantle plumes produce basalts which provide fundamental information on the composition and history of the mantle. The Hawai'ian plume is the classic example of a mantle plume and its basalts are unquestionably the best studied suite from any plume.
  The subaerially exposed lavas of Koolau Volcano belong to the Enriched Mantle1 endmember of ocean island basalts and they define a geochemical endmember among Hawai'ian shield lavas in major and trace elements and in isotopes. Koolau lavas are important to an understanding of the origin and evolution of the Hawai'ian plume and the mantle. In particular, Koolau lavas appear to provide the strongest evidence for deep mantle recycling of crust (sediments and basalt), although this interpretation remain controversial and is based on sampling only the uppermost veneer of the volcano. It is important to establish the longevity of the distinctive Koolau geochemical signature by sampling deeper and older lavas from the volcano. If there were basaltic and sedimentary components in the Hawai'ian plume, were they restricted to the final stages of Koolau volcano´s growth? Scientific drilling will allow us to answer this question by obtaining lavas from subsurface of this enigmatic volcano.

(Photo ©:ICDP)

See also:

• ICDP-13/99

Pacific, United States of America, Hawai'i, Oahu, Honolulu, Koolau

21° 20' 39.36'' N, 157° 52' 22.36'' W (Please scroll down to end of page for more information.)

• Begin of drilling April 19, 2000
• End of drilling May 25, 2000

• International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP)
• U.S. National Science Foundation
• U.S. Universities

• Michael O. Garcia, University of Hawai'i, Honolulu, Department of Geology and Geophysics

No Co-PIs found for this project

• California Institute of Technology
• Carnegie Institution of Washington
• DOSECC, Inc.
• GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Scientific Drilling ICDP (Operational Support Group OSG/ICDP)
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences
• Max-Planck-Institute Mainz for Chemistry
• Tokyo Institute of Technology
• University of California at Berkeley
• University of Hawai'i, Honolulu, Department of Geology and Geophysics
• Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Coring , Drilling , Hf Isotopes , High Resolution , HSDP , ICDP-13/99 , ICP-MS , KOOLAU , Mantle Plume , Periodicity , Recycling , Source Character , Thermal Regimes , Trace Elements , U.S.A. , Volcanic Systems , Volcanics

Drilling operations and scientific evaluations have been finalized

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