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The Macquarie Ridge Complex (MRC) on the Australia‐Pacific plate boundary south of New Zealand is an extinct mid‐ocean ridge that has experienced a complex tectonic history and produced highly heterogeneous mid‐ocean ridge basalts (MORBs). When and how seafloor spreading ceased along the proto‐Macquarie mid‐ocean ridge remain elusive, and it is unclear how the mantle source of MORBs is affected by the gradual cessation of seafloor spreading at mid‐ocean ridges. To constrain the tectonic evolution of the MRC, the mantle source variations for MORBs at dying mid‐ocean ridges, and the mechanisms of mantle enrichment and asthenospheric heterogeneities, we report 11 pyroxene, plagioclase, basaltic glass, groundmass, and sericite 40Ar/39Ar and one zircon U‐Pb ages for the MRC MORBs. Our data reveal that basalts from the MRC seamounts were erupted between 25.9 and 1.6 Ma and Macquarie Island at ∼10 Ma. Combined age and plate reconstruction results reveal that the cessation of seafloor spreading at the MRC generally propagated from south to north along the ridge. Basalts produced by the then dying Macquarie mid‐ocean ridge at different times on different seamounts/island show a large variation in isotopic compositions and there is no clear correlation between ages and isotopic ratios. The heterogeneity of mantle source for MORBs from the proto‐Macquarie mid‐ocean ridge suggests that the upper asthenospheric mantle is heterogeneous, and such heterogeneity becomes most obvious at dying mid‐ocean ridges where the degrees of partial melting are low and a large range of melt compositions are produced. Key Points: New ages of basalts from the Macquarie Ridge Complex (MRC) at the Australia‐Pacific plate boundary are reportedThe cessation of seafloor spreading was progressed from south to north along the Macquarie RidgeUpper mantle heterogeneity becomes obvious at dying mid‐ocean ridges where the melting degrees are low and various melt compositions are produced [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The temporal relationship between tectonic and volcanic activity on passive continental margins immediately before and after the initiation of mid-ocean ridge spreading is poorly understood because of the scarcity of volcanic samples on which to perform isotope geochronology. We present the first accurate geochronological constraints from a suite of volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks dredged from the 70,000 km² submerged Wallaby Plateau situated on the Western Australian passive margin. Plagioclase 40Ar/39Ar and zircon U-Pb sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe ages indicate that a portion of the plateau formed at ca. 124 Ma. These ages are at least 6 m.y. younger than the oldest oceanic crust in adjacent abyssal plains (minimum = 130 Ma). Geochemical data indicate that the Wallaby Plateau volcanic samples are enriched tholeiitic basalt, similar to continental flood basalts, including the spatially and temporally proximal Bunbury Basalt in southwestern Australia. Thus, the Wallaby Plateau volcanism could be regarded as a (small) flood basalt event on the order of 104-105 km³. We suggest that magma could not erupt prior to 124 Ma because of the lack of space adjacent to the plateau. Eruption was made possible at 124 Ma via the opening of the Indian Ocean during the breakup of Greater India and Australia along the Wallaby-Zenith Fracture Zone. The scale of volcanism and the temporal proximity to breakup challenges the prevailing theory that the Western Australian margin formed as a volcanic passive margin. Given that the volume of volcanism is too small for typical flood basalts associated with volcanic passive margins, we suggest that the two end members, magma-poor and volcanic passive margins, should rather be treated as a continuum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Macquarie Ridge Complex (MRC), located at the Australian–Pacific plate boundary south of New Zealand, is a rugged bathymetric ridge comprising a series of submarine seamounts and Macquarie Island, the only subaerial portion of the complex. Mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORBs) from Macquarie Island show various enrichments in incompatible elements with compositions ranging from typical normal MORB to enriched MORB. However, these basalts have isotopic compositions trending towards a high μ-like (μ = 238U/204Pb; HIMU) mantle component, which is unusual for MORB-type rocks. The origin of this mantle signature is not understood, and it is unclear whether this isotopic signature is characteristic of the entire MRC or unique to Macquarie Island. Here we report new major and trace element abundances, and Sr, Nd, and Pb isotopes for samples from the MRC seamounts and from new sampling sites on Macquarie Island. The geochemical and isotopic data show that the entire MRC comprises normal to enriched MORB. Mixing modelling indicates that the heterogeneous isotopic signatures of the MRC basalts are not derived from contamination of the nearby Balleny mantle plume but have affinities with that of the Cenozoic Zealandia intraplate HIMU-like basalts. We propose that the heterogeneous geochemical signatures of the MRC basalts are derived from amphibole-bearing garnet pyroxenite veins, which is supported by the rare earth element partial melting modelling and strong correlations between Nd and Pb isotopic ratios vs La/Sm. We posit that the pyroxenite veins were generated in the oceanic lithospheric mantle, which was metasomatised by hydrous and carbonatitic fluids/melts derived either from delaminated, metasomatised Zealandia subcontinental lithosphere mantle, or from subducted material in the asthenosphere. The subducted material could be derived from ancient and/or recent subduction along the former east Gondwana margin. • Geochemical and isotope data are reported for MORB from the Macquarie Ridge Complex. • The isotopes the Macquarie Ridge basalts vary from MORB to a HIMU-like component. • The chemical heterogeneity of the Macquarie MORB was caused by pyroxenite veins. • The pyroxenite veins were generated in metasomatized lithospheric mantle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large igneous provinces (LIPs) typically form in one short pulse of ~1-5 Ma or several punctuated ~1-5 Ma pulses. Here, our 25 new 40Ar/39Ar plateau ages for the main construct of the Kerguelen LIP--the Cretaceous Southern and Central Kerguelen Plateau, Elan Bank, and Broken Ridge--show continuous volcanic activity from ca. 122 to 90 Ma, a long lifespan of >32 Ma. This suggests that the Kerguelen LIP records the longest, continuous high-magmaflux emplacement interval of any LIP. Distinct from both short-lived and multiple-pulsed LIPs, we propose that Kerguelen is a different type of LIP that formed through long-term interactions between a mantle plume and mid-ocean ridge, which is enabled by multiple ridge jumps, slow spreading, and migration of the ridge. Such processes allow the transport of magma products away from the eruption center and result in long-lived, continuous magmatic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]