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Discovery of young submarine volcanism in the Cook Islands: New constraints on the location of the Rarotonga hotspot.

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Title: Discovery of young submarine volcanism in the Cook Islands: New constraints on the location of the Rarotonga hotspot.
Authors: Du, Yifan1 (AUTHOR) ydu823@ucsb.edu, Jackson, Matthew G.1 (AUTHOR), Jicha, Brian2 (AUTHOR), Kylander-Clark, Andrew1 (AUTHOR), Byerly, Benjamin L.1 (AUTHOR), Bizimis, Michael3 (AUTHOR), Halldórsson, Sæmundur Ari4 (AUTHOR), Seward, Gareth G.E.1 (AUTHOR), Anderson, Olivia E.1 (AUTHOR), Rioux, Matthew1 (AUTHOR), Konrad, Kevin5 (AUTHOR), Harðardóttir, Sunna1 (AUTHOR), Bai, Ruixia1 (AUTHOR), Giuliani, Andrea6 (AUTHOR), Wiens, Douglas A.7 (AUTHOR), Wei, S. Shawn8 (AUTHOR), McCormack, Gerald9 (AUTHOR), Parianos, John Michael10 (AUTHOR)
Source: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. Feb2026, Vol. 415, p283-296. 14p.
Subjects: Submarine volcanoes, Analytical geochemistry, Plate tectonics, Islands, Volcanology, Lava flows
Geographic Terms: Cook Islands, Rarotonga (Cook Islands), Pacific Ocean
Abstract: A multiple-hotspot origin has been proposed for the Cook–Austral volcanic lineament in the southwest (SW) Pacific. One candidate, the Rarotonga hotspot, is associated with volcanism on only two islands: Rarotonga (1.157 ± 0.003 to 1.697 ± 0.055 Ma) and Aitutaki (youngest stage: 1.382 ± 0.058 to 1.941 ± 0.035 Ma), located ∼250 km apart in a north–south (N–S) direction. Their overlapping eruption ages and lack of clear age progression preclude a robust evaluation of a hotspot origin. This study identifies and investigates a new volcanic feature, Tama Seamount—located ∼80 km east–southeast (ESE) of Rarotonga Island along a Pacific plate flowline—potentially associated with the Rarotonga hotspot. New ages from two lavas (40Ar/39Ar groundmass ages: 0.664 ± 0.027 and 0.816 ± 0.020 Ma) and from a nepheline syenite xenolith—including zircon U–Pb dating (weighted mean age: 0.74 ± 0.02 Ma) and a biotite 40Ar/39Ar age (0.730 ± 0.007 Ma)—constrain Tama's age. These ages align with a Rarotonga hotspot age progression based on Pacific plate motion, and support a Rarotonga hotspot origin for Tama. We also report on the first lava samples dredged from the submarine flanks of Rarotonga Island, which exhibit geochemical fingerprints and an age (1.493 ± 0.007 Ma) consistent with those of previous Rarotonga samples. Furthermore, radiogenic isotopes of Tama samples in this study overlap with existing Rarotonga Island data, supporting a genetic relationship between Tama Seamount and Rarotonga Island. Together, these new results suggest Tama Seamount represents the youngest known expression of the Rarotonga hotspot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta is the property of Pergamon Press - An Imprint of Elsevier Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Engineering Source
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DbLabel: Engineering Source
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AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
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  Data: Discovery of young submarine volcanism in the Cook Islands: New constraints on the location of the Rarotonga hotspot.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Du%2C+Yifan%22">Du, Yifan</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> ydu823@ucsb.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jackson%2C+Matthew+G%2E%22">Jackson, Matthew G.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jicha%2C+Brian%22">Jicha, Brian</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kylander-Clark%2C+Andrew%22">Kylander-Clark, Andrew</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Byerly%2C+Benjamin+L%2E%22">Byerly, Benjamin L.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Bizimis%2C+Michael%22">Bizimis, Michael</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Halldórsson%2C+Sæmundur+Ari%22">Halldórsson, Sæmundur Ari</searchLink><relatesTo>4</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Seward%2C+Gareth+G%2EE%2E%22">Seward, Gareth G.E.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Anderson%2C+Olivia+E%2E%22">Anderson, Olivia E.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Rioux%2C+Matthew%22">Rioux, Matthew</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Konrad%2C+Kevin%22">Konrad, Kevin</searchLink><relatesTo>5</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Harðardóttir%2C+Sunna%22">Harðardóttir, Sunna</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Bai%2C+Ruixia%22">Bai, Ruixia</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Giuliani%2C+Andrea%22">Giuliani, Andrea</searchLink><relatesTo>6</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wiens%2C+Douglas+A%2E%22">Wiens, Douglas A.</searchLink><relatesTo>7</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wei%2C+S%2E+Shawn%22">Wei, S. Shawn</searchLink><relatesTo>8</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22McCormack%2C+Gerald%22">McCormack, Gerald</searchLink><relatesTo>9</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Parianos%2C+John+Michael%22">Parianos, John Michael</searchLink><relatesTo>10</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Geochimica+et+Cosmochimica+Acta%22">Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta</searchLink>. Feb2026, Vol. 415, p283-296. 14p.
– Name: Subject
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Submarine+volcanoes%22">Submarine volcanoes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Analytical+geochemistry%22">Analytical geochemistry</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Plate+tectonics%22">Plate tectonics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Islands%22">Islands</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Volcanology%22">Volcanology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Lava+flows%22">Lava flows</searchLink>
– Name: SubjectGeographic
  Label: Geographic Terms
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cook+Islands%22">Cook Islands</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Rarotonga+%28Cook+Islands%29%22">Rarotonga (Cook Islands)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Pacific+Ocean%22">Pacific Ocean</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: A multiple-hotspot origin has been proposed for the Cook–Austral volcanic lineament in the southwest (SW) Pacific. One candidate, the Rarotonga hotspot, is associated with volcanism on only two islands: Rarotonga (1.157 ± 0.003 to 1.697 ± 0.055 Ma) and Aitutaki (youngest stage: 1.382 ± 0.058 to 1.941 ± 0.035 Ma), located ∼250 km apart in a north–south (N–S) direction. Their overlapping eruption ages and lack of clear age progression preclude a robust evaluation of a hotspot origin. This study identifies and investigates a new volcanic feature, Tama Seamount—located ∼80 km east–southeast (ESE) of Rarotonga Island along a Pacific plate flowline—potentially associated with the Rarotonga hotspot. New ages from two lavas (40Ar/39Ar groundmass ages: 0.664 ± 0.027 and 0.816 ± 0.020 Ma) and from a nepheline syenite xenolith—including zircon U–Pb dating (weighted mean age: 0.74 ± 0.02 Ma) and a biotite 40Ar/39Ar age (0.730 ± 0.007 Ma)—constrain Tama's age. These ages align with a Rarotonga hotspot age progression based on Pacific plate motion, and support a Rarotonga hotspot origin for Tama. We also report on the first lava samples dredged from the submarine flanks of Rarotonga Island, which exhibit geochemical fingerprints and an age (1.493 ± 0.007 Ma) consistent with those of previous Rarotonga samples. Furthermore, radiogenic isotopes of Tama samples in this study overlap with existing Rarotonga Island data, supporting a genetic relationship between Tama Seamount and Rarotonga Island. Together, these new results suggest Tama Seamount represents the youngest known expression of the Rarotonga hotspot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta is the property of Pergamon Press - An Imprint of Elsevier Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=egs&AN=191168275
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1016/j.gca.2025.12.058
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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      Pagination:
        PageCount: 14
        StartPage: 283
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Submarine volcanoes
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Analytical geochemistry
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Plate tectonics
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      – SubjectFull: Islands
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      – SubjectFull: Volcanology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Lava flows
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Cook Islands
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Rarotonga (Cook Islands)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Pacific Ocean
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      – TitleFull: Discovery of young submarine volcanism in the Cook Islands: New constraints on the location of the Rarotonga hotspot.
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