Geochemistry of Syntectonic Carbonate Veins Within Late Cretaceous Turbidites, Hikurangi Margin (New Zealand): Implications for a Mid-Oligocene Age of Subduction Initiation

We document the geochemistry of calcite veins in the Late Cretaceous Tikihore Formation (Raukumara Peninsula, New Zealand) to characterize their fluid composition and source and to help establish the age of subduction initiation at the Hikurangi margin of the Australia-Pacific plate boundary. The calcite veins occur within normal faults offsetting turbidites that accumulated in a lower slope basin. Vein calcite trace metal content and rare earth element patterns are consistent with a seawater-derived brine composition. Oxygen isotope (delta O-18) values range from -6.1 to +8.4 parts per thousand and are -0.2 parts per thousand VPDB on average; positive delta C-13 values of up to +28 parts per thousand VDPB reflect methanogenesis. Oxygen isotope temperature data indicate that calcite vein mineralization occurred at temperatures in the range of 29 degrees C-48 degrees C. This is markedly less than the maximum burial temperature experienced by the host rocks, which we estimate to be 104 +/- 10 degrees C at 30-27 Ma from the inverse modeling of apatite fission track data. The vein calcite has a 28.5 +/- 4.9 Ma U-Pb age. From these data, we infer that the succession above Tikihore Formation was removed by slumping, thereby resulting in fluid overpressure in the reservoir, followed by hydraulic fracturing and the precipitation of the vein calcite. Ultimately, the data presented here from the Tikihore veins are consistent with subduction initiation at 30-27 Ma, based on the U-Pb age of the vein calcite and modeling of apatite fission track data for the host sandstone, corroborated by the 30-27 Ma timing of back thrusting on the Taranaki Fault and related foredeep development in eastern Taranaki Basin.

Automated summary

This study documents the geochemistry of calcite veins in the Late Cretaceous Tikihore Formation in New Zealand, providing insights into their fluid composition and source. The results suggest that subduction initiation at the Hikurangi margin of the Australia-Pacific plate boundary likely occurred around 30-27 Ma, based on the U-Pb age of the vein calcite and modeling of apatite fission track data.