Paleomagnetism and age of the Leucite Hills Volcanic complex, Wyoming: Implications for eruptive history, landscape evolution, and the geomagnetic instability timescale (GITS)

The Leucite Hills Volcanic Field, southwest Wyoming comprises two dozen volcanic features including necks, flows, dikes, and plugs. It has been the focus of many petrologic studies as its volcanic and shallow intrusive rocks are one of the only surficial manifestations of ultrapotassic lamproite. We build on paleomagnetic findings of Sheriff and Shive (1980) by providing further paleomagnetic data from the Boars Tusk dike and Black Rock flows. We also characterize the magnetic mineral assemblage of these lamproites. Principal component analysis of alternating field (AF) and thermal demagnetization data indicate that the dike and breccias of Boars Tusk record a reversed magnetic polarity and the Black Rock lava records a normal polarity, both consistent with previous findings. This recording is typically carried by minerals with coercivities >15 mT and susceptibility measurements indicate magnetite, maghemite, and titanomagnetite as likely magnetic carriers. AF and thermal demagnetization experiments evince secondary magnetizations held by lower coercivity grains, likely caused by lightning strikes. Ar-40/Ar-39 incremental heating experiments from Boars Tusk and Black Rock give plateau ages of similar to 2500 ka and similar to 900 ka, respectively. Recent advances in the chronology of geomagnetic field reversals and excursions during the Quaternary permit integration of the Boars Tusk dike into the lower Matuyama chron, whereas the Black Rock lavas most probably record the Kamikatsura excursion. Notably, Black Rock records high inclinations that suggest the short-lived excursion achieved a full geomagnetic reversal, something not observed at other localities recording the Kamikatsura excursion. The Leucite Hills offer further opportunities to refine the Quaternary geomagnetic instability time scale (GITS), and to improve understanding of the eruptive and geomorphic evolution of this unusual volcanism.

Automated summary

The Leucite Hills Volcanic Field in southwest Wyoming is a volcanic area consisting of various volcanic features. The study focuses on the petrology of the volcanic and intrusive rocks, which are unique surface manifestations of ultrapotassic lamproite. By analyzing paleomagnetic data and magnetic mineral assemblage, the researchers were able to gain insights into the magnetic properties of the rocks. The findings also contribute to the understanding of the geomagnetic instability and eruption of this unusual volcanism.