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Radiocarbon Ages of Lacustrine Deposits in Volcanic Sequences of the Lomas Coloradas Area, Socorro Island, Mexico

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Jack D. Farmer ,
Maria C. Farmer  and
Rainer Berger
Jack D. Farmer
Affiliation:
NASA-Ames Research Center, MS-239-4, Moffett Field, California 94035 USA
Maria C. Farmer
Affiliation:
Departments of Geography and Anthropology, Unversity of California, Los Angeles, California 90024 USA
Rainer Berger
Affiliation:
Departments of Geography and Anthropology and Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90024 USA
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Abstract

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Extensive eruptions of alkalic basalt from low-elevation fissures and vents on the southern flank of the dormant volcano, Cerro Evermann, accompanied the most recent phase of volcanic activity on Socorro Island, and created the Lomas Coloradas, a broad, gently sloping terrain comprising the southern part of the island. We obtained 14C ages of 4690 ± 270 BP (5000–5700 cal BP) and 5040 ± 460 BP (5300–6300 cal BP) from lacustrine deposits that occur within volcanic sequences of the lower Lomas Coloradas. Apparently, the sediments accumulated within a topographic depression between two scoria cones shortly after they formed. The lacustrine environment was destroyed when the cones were breached by headward erosion of adjacent stream drainages. This was followed by the eruption of a thin basaltic flow from fissures near the base of the northernmost cone. The flow moved downslope for a short distance and into the drainages that presently bound the study area on the east and west. The flow postdates development of the present drainage system and may be very recent. Our 14C data, along with historical accounts of volcanic activity over the last century, including submarine eruptions that occurred a few km west of Socorro in early 1993, underscore the high risk for explosive volcanism in this region and the need for a detailed volcanic hazards plan and seismic monitoring.

Type
Articles
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 35 , Issue 2 , 1993 , pp. 253 - 262
Copyright
Copyright © The American Journal of Science 

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